Whether you call it chewing tobacco, snuff, quid, chaw, plug, or spit tobacco, all forms of smokeless tobacco are still tobacco. Smokeless tobacco is addictive and contains nicotine and other toxic substances. Chewing tobacco is leaf tobacco that is placed between the cheek and teeth. Snuff is finely ground and is placed between the cheeks and gums. TV, billboard, and magazine ads promote smokeless tobacco as safe and socially acceptable.
Smokeless tobacco is far from safe.
Chewing tobacco causes cancer of the mouth, cheeks, or gums. This cancer can develop in tobacco chewers of any age. Smokeless tobacco, like cigarettes, can increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. All smokeless tobaccos increase the user s heart rate and blood pressure. While only five percent of adults use smokeless tobacco, twenty percent of high school boys and one percent of high school girls use it.