Posted on 01/10/2010 6:06:55 AM PST by Kaslin
Upon thinking of someone using smokeless tobacco, you may immediately think: a vile, disgusting habit with no redeeming social value. That, it turns out, is only half-true. It may be vile and disgusting with a good deal of social value.
Not in an absolute sense. Dipping snuff or chewing tobacco can lead to nicotine addiction, gum disease and even oral cancer, while scaring off potential employers and romantic partners in droves. But in relative terms -- relative to smoking -- it could be a boon to individual and public health. Any smoker who gives up cigarettes for snuff is clearly doing his or her body a favor.
Thats because most of the danger from tobacco actually comes from setting it afire and inhaling the smoke. Omitting that step makes a huge difference. A 2002 report by Britains Royal College of Physicians found that the consumption of non-combustible tobacco is of the order of 10-1,000 times less hazardous than smoking, depending on the product. The American Council on Science and Health puts the overall health risk at about 2 percent of that from sucking on a cancer stick.
The implications are obvious: The best thing a nicotine fiend can do is quit tobacco entirely. For the 46 million Americans who have not been able to follow that advice -- a number that has stubbornly refused to shrink -- the next best thing is to use the kind of tobacco that doesnt require incineration. The change would also be a blessing to nonsmokers, who would no longer have to put up with noxious fumes and discarded butts.
(Excerpt) Read more at townhall.com ...
I laugh that so many people think chewing is gross. I always say it is no different than tea. It is ground up leaves for crying out loud.
Every once in a while I run into one of those maroons that tries to tell me they put glass in chew. I find this helpful, as it lets me know I am dealing with a dupe that will believe anything.
Then they QUICKLY get sick.
Tobacco products do not drive up health costs. If everybody smoked healths costs would be minimized greatly. People will live a lot fewer years and won’t be a drain on the system in the later years.
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