• Smokeless tobacco is a mixture of tobacco, nicotine, sweeteners, abrasives, salts and chemicals. It comes in two basic forms: chew and snuff.
• Chew is a leafy tobacco sold in pouches. Plug tobacco, sold in brick form, is a form of chew.
• Snuff is finely ground tobacco in powder form, sold in small tins. Moisture releases the nicotine, which enters the bloodstream through the lining of the mouth and nose.
• Smokeless tobacco is addictive and can harm your health in many ways.
  
• 8 - 10 dips or chews of smokeless tobacco contain the same amount of nicotine as 30 - 40 cigarettes.
• Nicotine causes your heart to beat faster and your blood pressure to increase.
• Most smokeless tobacco users start at a young age. It is often flavoured with licorice, cherry or mint, and sweetened with molasses or sugar - flavours that appeal to children.

Health Effects of Smokeless Tobacco

Harmful Chemicals
Smokeless tobacco can contain more nicotine than cigarettes. It also contains over 3,000 chemicals, including 28 known cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens).

The most harmful carcinogens in smokeless tobacco are the tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). Other cancer-causing substances are formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, arsenic, nickel, cadmium and benzopyrene.

Quick Facts

• Smokeless tobacco causes oral cancer. About half of all oral cancer victims die within 5 years.
• Long-term moist snuff users increase their risk of cancer of the cheek and gum by up to 50 times.
• Smokeless tobacco increases the risk of cancers of the throat, voice box and esophagus.

If you would like to quit smoking or using other forms of tobacco, call the toll-free Quitnow helpline at 1-877-455-2233 or visit Quitnow.ca.