Nicotine enters the users' bloodstream through the oral mucosa and or the gastrointestinal tract. Holding tobacco in the mouth brings multiple potentially carcinogenic chemicals into contact with the body. Studies also suggest that using smokeless tobacco causes tooth decay and gum disease, which lead to tooth loss. After several years, leukoplakia a precancerous condition that presents red and white and finally pearly gray patch alterations of the gum and cheek can develop. Following 20 years of use, oral cancers develop with regularity.
Alcohol speeds up the timing of the mouth cancers, as does the use of snuff.
There are efforts to reduce access to tobacco products for underage users. This effort has had some success with young adults. Perversely, the same efforts could inadvertently entice teens to use smokeless tobacco exactly because it is forbidden. One successful method to employ for teens is to inform them not only of tobacco's effects on health , but also of its unattractiveness. Nothing is a more powerful influence on a teenager who is concerned with the development of self-image than the notion that this habit is repulsive to others.