Teens and Chew Tobacco Use

Chew tobacco belongs to a family of tobacco delivery option called smokeless tobacco. Tobacco administered smokeless is mostly chewed or snuffed. For many years smoking tobacco has been the norm delivered through tobacco cigarettes.

Worldwide teen smoking statistics show a slow decline in tobacco use by young people. In the developed world in particular, teens have been receiving education on the dangers of smoking. This large-scale awareness raising coupled with stinging smoking bans and smoking laws can be credited for slow but declining numbers.

Over 3000 youngsters are thought to become new teenage smokers on a daily basis in America. Most of these start to smoke secretly without parents, guardians and authorities knowing. The causes of smoking vary but certainly include peer pressure, day to day stress and general family dysfunction.

A new trend has since been observed were more and more teens are switching to chewing smokeless tobacco. There are a number of reasons why chew tobacco is the latest hit amongst young people. These would include;

• Aggressive marketing of smokeless tobacco by tobacco industry
• Wide and improved availability of smokeless tobacco products
• The ease with which chewing tobacco can be concealed from parents and authorities
• Teens prefer to date peers who do not smoke

One of the key drivers in the raise of chewing tobacco use is the perceived little risk of using smokeless tobacco products. This in turn has increased smokeless tobacco approval amongst teen peers. This perception is flawed and completely misleading. In actual fact chewing tobacco, the newly found haven for teens, is devastatingly harmful.

Not only is it addictive, it is the source of chew tobacco cancer that occurs in repeated users of chew.The cancer includes mouth cancer, throat cancer and even gum cancer. It is also a cause of serious dental oral diseases and conditions such as gum recession and bad breath. These disturbing chewing tobacco pictures need no further explanation of the effects of chewing tobacco. They call for nothing less than quitting chewing amongst teens.

Chewing tobacco amongst teens will do nothing but increase medium to long-term public health care costs. Over 80% of people who smoke today started off as teens.

It is therefore apparent that future tobacco use trends are founded in teen years today. For this reason prevention and quit programs are of paramount importance and agent.

Quitting smoking is admittedly hard yet it can be done. Studies show that following a stop smoking program and using stop smoking aids doubles success rates in most people. If you are deciding on stopping smoking you will require adequate information as well as good tools to help you succeed. Whilst we understand that not all tools are meant for everyone we found this LifeSign QuitKey Smoking Cessation Computer handy. It works like a quit smoking program which alters your smoking routine easing you off cigarettes gradually. Please take your time to check if this is for you.

SOURCES:

• http://tobacco.einnews.com/article.php?nid=299Quit Smoking Through Hypnosis
• Mowery PD, Brick PD, Farrelly MC. Legacy First Look Report 3. Pathways to Established Smoking: Results from the 1999 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Washington DC: American Legacy Foundation. October 2000.

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