Smokeless Tobacco: Health Effects
From the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention
Overview
Smokeless tobacco is associated with
many health problems. Using smokeless
tobacco:
•
•
•
•
•
Can lead to nicotine addiction 1,2
Causes cancer of the mouth, esopha-
gus (the passage that connects the
throat to the stomach) and pancreas
(a gland that helps with digestion
and maintaining proper blood sugar
levels) 1,2
Is associated with diseases of the
mouth 1,3
Can increase risks for early deliv-
ery and stillbirth when used during
pregnancy 2
Can cause nicotine poisoning in
children 4
•
May increase the risk for death from
heart disease and stroke 1,3
Using smokeless products can cause
serious health problems. Protect your
health; don’t start. If you do use them, quit.
Addiction to Smokeless Tobacco
•
Smokeless tobacco contains nicotine,
which is highly addictive. 1,2
•
Because young people who use
smokeless tobacco can become
addicted to nicotine, they may be
more likely to also become cigarette
smokers. 5
•
•
Smokeless Tobacco and Cancer
•
•
Many smokeless tobacco products
contain cancer-causing chemicals. 1,6
The most harmful chemicals are
tobacco-specific nitrosamines, which
•
form during the growing, curing,
fermenting and aging of tobacco.
The amount of these chemicals varies
by product. 1
The higher the levels of these chemi-
cals, the greater the risk for cancer. 2
Other chemicals found in tobacco also
can cause cancer. These include: 6
• A radioactive element (polo-
nium-210) found in tobacco
fertilizer
• Chemicals formed when tobacco
is cured with heat (polynuclear
aromatic hydrocarbons, also
known as polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons)
• Harmful metals (arsenic, beryl-
lium, cadmium, chromium,
cobalt, lead, nickel, mercury)
Smokeless tobacco causes cancer of
the mouth, esophagus and pancreas. 1
References
1.
World Health Organization. IARC Mono-
graphs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic
Risks to Humans. Volume 89: Smoke-
less Tobacco and Some Tobacco-Specific
N-Nitrosamines. [PDF–3.18 MB] Lyon
(France): World Health Organization, Inter-
national Agency for Research on Cancer, 2007
[accessed 2014 Oct. 31].
2.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Ser-
vices. The Health Consequences of Smoking –
50 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon
General. (cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/
sgr/50th-anniversary/index.htm) Atlanta: U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
National Center for Chronic Disease Preven-
tion and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking
and Health, 2014 [accessed 2014 Oct. 31].
3.
Piano MR, Benowitz NL, Fitzgerald GA,
Corbridge S, Heath J, Hahn E, et al. Impact of
Smokeless Tobacco Products on Cardiovascu-
lar Disease: Implications for Policy, Prevention
and Treatment: A Policy Statement from the
American Heart Association. Circulation
2010; 122 (15):1520-44 [cited 2014 Oct. 31].
4.
Connolly GN, Richter P, Aleguas A Jr,
Pechacek TF, Stanfill SB, Alpert HR. Unin-
tentional Child Poisonings Through Ingestion
of Conventional and Novel Tobacco Products.
Pediatrics 2010; 125(5): 896–9 [cited 2014
Oct. 31].
5.
Lund I, Scheffels J. Smoking and Snus Use
Onset: Exploring the Influence of Snus Debut
Age on the Risk for Smoking Uptake with
Cross-Sectional Survey Data. Nicotine and
Tobacco Research 2014; 16 (6):815–9 [cited
2014 Oct. 31].
6.
Stanfill SB, Connolly GN, Zhang L, Jia LT,
Henningfield JE, Richter P, et al. Global
Surveillance of Oral Tobacco Products:
Total Nicotine, Unionised Nicotine and
Tobacco-Specific N-Nitrosamines. Tobacco
Control 2011 May; 20 (3):e2. doi:10.1136/
tc.2010.037465 [cited 2014 Oct. 31].
7.
California Environmental Protection Agency.
Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement
Act of 1986: Chemicals Known to the State
to Cause Cancer or Reproductive Toxicity
(May 2, 2014).[PDF-403 KB] California
Environmental Protection Agency, Office of
Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
[accessed 2014 Oct. 31].
Smokeless Tobacco and
Oral Disease
Washburn, continued from page 1
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•
Smokeless tobacco can cause white
or gray patches inside the mouth
(leukoplakia) that can lead to cancer. 1
Smokeless tobacco can cause gum
disease, tooth decay and tooth loss. 1,3
Reproductive and
Developmental Risks
•
•
Using smokeless tobacco during
pregnancy can increase the risk for
early delivery and stillbirth. 2
Nicotine in smokeless tobacco prod-
ucts that are used during pregnancy
can affect how a baby’s brain develops
before birth. 2,7
Other Risks
•
Courtesy photo
Kevin Washburn, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, at The White House Tribal
Nations Conference
determination, including addressing past
disputes through the Ramah settlement,
improving the federal acknowledgement
process, updating right-of-way regula-
tions, and the land-into-trust process.
Washburn has been fighting for man-
datory funding for self-determination
contract support costs. Washburn also has
prioritized investment in the next genera-
tion of Indian Country, working with his
colleagues at the Bureau of Indian Educa-
tion to transform the agency to better serve
American Indian and Alaska Native youth.
Particularly meaningful to Washburn,
the department, under his guidance, has
energetically executed the president’s strat-
egy to restore Tribal homelands. Shortly
after he took office, Washburn improved
federal land-into-trust policy with the so-
called “Patchak Patch” regulatory fix and
helped reverse longstanding policy against
federal trust lands in Alaska.
He also worked to implement the
HEARTH Act, minimize state taxation
of business activity on Indian reservations
and establish the Land Buy Back Program
which, in only two years of active land
purchases, has invested nearly $730 mil-
4
•
Siletz News
•
lion in Indian Country to restore nearly
1.5 million acres of land to Indian Tribes.
Working with Indian Country and the
U.S. Department of Justice, Washburn also
helped implement the Violence Against
Women Act Reauthorization of 2013, which
now includes protections for American
Indian women, and he helped implement the
Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, which he
had helped write as a law professor.
Washburn also oversaw the estab-
lishment of the White House Council on
Native American Affairs. The council is
succeeding in producing better coordi-
nation across the federal government in
services to Indian Country.
With his team, Washburn also helped
coordinate four of the seven annual White
House Tribal Nations Conferences.
Washburn is the longest serving
assistant secretary for Indian Affairs since
Ada Deer, who served from 1993 to 1997.
Washburn succeeded Larry Echohawk,
who served nearly three years from May
2009 through April 2012.
During his time at the department,
Washburn has been on leave from the Uni-
versity of New Mexico, where he served
as the dean of the School of Law.
January 2016
•
•
Using smokeless tobacco increases
the risk of death from heart disease
and stroke. 1,3
Smokeless tobacco can cause nicotine
poisoning in children. 4
Additional research is needed to
examine long-term effects of newer
smokeless tobacco products, such as
dissolvables and U.S. snus (a smoke-
less tobacco product).
Frank, continued from page 1
lish the Medicine Creek Treaty National
Historic Site.
The Billy Frank Jr. Tell Your Story
Act is supported by the National Congress
of American Indians, Affiliated Tribes
of Northwest Indians and the Northwest
Indian Fisheries Commission.
About NCAI
Founded in 1944, the National Con-
gress of American Indians is the oldest,
largest and most representative American
Indian and Alaska Native organization in
the country.
NCAI advocates on behalf of Tribal
governments and communities, promot-
ing strong Tribal-federal government-
to-government policies and a better
understanding among the general public
regarding American Indian and Alaska
Native governments, people and rights.
For more information, visit ncai.org.
For more information about the
Siletz Tribe, please visit
ctsi.nsn.us.
Natural Resources
looking for photos
of hunting, fishing
and gathering
The Natural Resources Depart-
ment is requesting pictures of
hunting/fishing/gathering. These
pictures will be kept in a photo book
at the Natural Resources office and
will be available for everyone who
visits our department to view.
Please send a copy to Rosie
Williams at rosiew@ctsi.nsn.us or
P.O. Box 549, Siletz, OR 97380-
0549; or stop by the office. No
originals, please.
