Spit Tobacco Fact Sheet

• Spit tobacco (also called smokeless tobacco) comes in two forms
  • “Chew” is a leafy, bulky tobacco sold in pouches.
  • “Snuff” is a finely ground tobacco sold in small tins
    
    
• Spit tobacco is addictive
  • Spit tobacco contains the addictive drug nicotine. Holding an average size dip in your mouth for 30 minutes exposes you to as much nicotine as you would get from smoking 2-3 cigarettes. Contrary to myth, spit tobacco is not a safe alternative to cigarettes!
    
    
• Spit Tobacco does NOT improve performance in sports!
  • In a Major League Baseball poll, not one player who used dip or chew said that the tobacco improved his game or sharpened his reflexes.
  • Scientists agree that spit tobacco does not improve athletic performance.
    
    
• Spit Tobacco is harmful to your health
  • Spit tobacco contains at least 28 known cancer-causing chemicals, which can lead to cancer of the mouth and throat. On average, half of oral cancer victims are dead within 5 years of diagnosis. It is hard to cure because it spreads so fast.
  • Spit tobacco can cause gum recession. Gum recession (when gums pull away from the teeth), besides being unattractive, can also make you vulnerable to decay on tooth roots and make your teeth sensitive. Gum recession is usually permanent and is difficult to repair.
  • Sores, white patches and lumps inside the mouth are signs of tissue damage caused by using spit tobacco. Some white patches can turn into cancer over time.
  • Spit tobacco users are more likely than nonusers to get oral cancer – cancer of the mouth and throat.
    
    
• Spit tobacco can ruin your image
  • Stained teeth, tobacco stuck between teeth, bad breath and behaviors such as constant spitting and drooling are a turnoff to many people.
    
    
• Quit while you’re ahead of the game!
  • Up to a certain point, if you quit, your body can heal itself…but the longer you use spit tobacco, the bigger your risk of getting cancer. You don’t have to dip for 30 years to get cancer!
  • Some athletes have developed mouth cancer after only 6 or 7 years of using spit tobacco!