Smokeless Tobacco More Toxic Than Cigarettes, Study Says (TIMES)
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On November 18, 2015, Time Inc. network reported that researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that chewing tobacco or snus can lead to higher health risks than smoking cigarettes.
Findings published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention came from an analysis of markers of tobacco exposure among 23,648 adults blood and urine samples. The results highlight the need to continue studying the toxic ingredients found in smokeless tobacco and are as follows:
- Smokeless tobacco users have high levels of known harmful and addictive constituents and that in some cases these levels are higher than those observed among cigarette smokers.
- Smokeless tobacco is especially common among young people, with 9.6% of male high school students currently reporting they chew tobacco, snuff or dip in 2013.
Further research is essential since tobacco manufacturers are pushing back against regulation for stricter warning on their products. In addition, there is an increase in the number of young people turning to more sources of tobacco and nicotine other than cigarettes.