In that year, Massachusetts became the first state to require warning labels on smokeless tobacco. Other states considered similar action. Federal legislation requiring uniform labeling was passed in l986. Dentist Greg Connolly, D.M.D., a leading opponent of smokeless tobacco and director of the Office for Nonsmoking and Health in Massachusetts, pressured U.S. Tobacco to stop using current sports heroes to endorse smokeless tobacco products. Though proponents claim that smokeless tobacco is a safe alternative to smoking, the 1986 Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General doesn't see it that way.
Smokeless tobacco is causally related to oral cancer, says the report.
In fact, the report says that the increased risk of cancer of the cheek and gums may reach nearly fiftyfold among long-term snuff users. Nitrosamines, the chief cancer-causing compounds in smokeless tobacco, are contained in the tobacco. A dip of snuff, for instance, delivers 10 times more nitrosamines than a cigarette. Despite this risk, the habit is attractive for many users. Jared Taylor of Menlo Park, Calif., a fourth-generation chewer who quit after 15 years because of his concern over the link between chewing tobacco and cancer, nevertheless admits he misses his habit.