| 9 weeks 12 hours 53 min ago Use of smokeless tobacco on the rise
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(NECN/ABC) - While cigarette smoking is down in the United States, the use of smokeless tobacco is on the rise, especially among young people. According to the CDC, smokeless tobacco contains 28 cancer-causing ingredients, and a new review finds that users face an increased risk for a variety of cancers.
An estimated 3 percent of American adults use smokeless tobacco and the rate is much higher - around 8 percent - for high school students.
The Federal Trade Commission notes that companies are spending record amounts of advertising dollars on smokeless tobacco, and surveys suggest the efforts are paying off, with many people convinced snuff is safer than smoking cigarettes.
Smoking is indeed worse for your health, researchers conclude in a new review, but dip and snuff are far from safe.
Scientists analyzed the medical literature and found that smokeless tobacco users have a higher risk for many cancers.
They're twice as likely to get oral cancer, and 60 percent more likely to get pancreatic cancer or cancer of the esophagus.
Results for lung cancer were mixed, with around half of studies supporting a link.
The report also found that snuff and dip raise the odds for tooth decay and gum disease.
Doctors conclude tobacco users would get only limited benefit from switching from cigarettes to snuff, due to the remaining elevated risks for many diseases.
ABC's Dr. Timothy Johnson reports.
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