Are adults snoozing while kids are "snusing?"..

April 8, 2008 - Hookah smoking yesterdays news. Sixteen year old - "The preferred method of tobacco in school these days, he said, is smokeless tobacco. The current rage is a less conspicuous product called "Snus" (pronounced "snoos"), a non-chew, no-spit oral tobacco that's stuffed between the lip and gum. One of the more popular brands, Camel Snus with the tagline will be "Pleasure for where ever, whenever", manufactured by tobacco giant RJ Reynolds, is sold in tea-bag like pouches about the size of a lozenge. Teachers can't easily detect the pouches, so kids can fly under the radar when they use it in school. Even so, the habit has become so prevalent that there have been recent announcements on the loudspeaker at my son’s high school reminding students that smokeless tobacco is a code of conduct violation. When I asked my son how common it was, he guessed that about 10 percent of the boys in his class were using it. A Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released in June 2006, revealed that the prevalence of smokeless tobacco use is closer to 14 percent among high school-aged boys and a little over 2 percent among girls. The rate varied widely across states with 4.4% usage among male students in Maryland and 26.5% in West Virginia. Overall, the percentage was highest among white male students (17.6%) and rose each year from 9th to 12th grade among male students. According to the CDC, smokeless tobacco carries four dangerous health effects: It contains 28 cancer-causing agents (carcinogens); It’s a well- known cause of cancer, increasing the risk of cancer of the mouth; Oral health problems strongly associated with smokeless tobacco use are leukoplakia (a lesion of the soft tissue that consists of a white patch or plaque that cannot be scraped off) and recession of the gums; Smokeless tobacco use can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence and adolescents who use smokeless tobacco are more likely to become cigarette smokers. It’s quite possible that kids are unaware of these warnings. the five largest smokeless tobacco manufacturers spent a new record of $250.79 million on smokeless tobacco advertising and promotion during 2005 alone. We are afraid those tobacco control people that favor the use of SNUS in harm reduction are convincing our youngsters that the product is save so give it a try. If this continues it could happen that our youngsters could be the next generation of nicotine addicts never able to reach their full potential... Youth exposed to smokeless tobacco ads despite settlement… A few related news briefs: March 4, 2008, February 21, 2008, January 20, 2008,January 14, 2008, November 27, 2007,November 20, 2007, November 1, 2007, October 23, 2007 and August 31, 2007. Also Philip Morris' Black & Mild is the most popular brand of cigars for smokers 12 and older. (TobaccoWatch.org)