Each year more than 30,000 people are diagnosed with cancers of the mouth and throat. Often the disease can be managed with drug treatment or minor surgery. However, if the cancer is not caught early enough, surgery becomes more extensive, often causing permanent disfigurement and loss of jaw function. In more than 8,000 instances every year, oral cancers lead to death. Not all oral cancers are caused by smoking and tobacco products, but tobacco users are at much higher risk for this serious disease.
Smokeless tobacco offers the same addictive drug as cigarettes-nicotine.
Nicotine includes cancer-causing agents and is in no way safe, whether inhaled, digested, or introduced through contact with the tissues of the mouth. Smokeless tobacco takes its toll in other ways, too. Tobacco used in the mouth can cause your gums to recede, irritate your gums, wear down tooth surfaces, and lead to decay. You can develop a variety of mouth sores and ugly, unpleasant tooth stains. The mouth sores may, in fact, be precancerous, a symptom that oral cancer may be developing.