Smokeless Tobacco Can Also Increase Cancer Risk..

July 7, 2008 - P. Boffetta, S. Hecht, N. Gray, P. Gupta and K Straif; Smokeless tobacco and cancer; The Lancet Oncology 9(7):667-675, 2008 - Abstract. The researchers sought to quantify the risk of smokeless tobacco after a number of studies differed on just how dangerous the products were. An assessment of eleven studies worldwide concluded that smokeless tobacco products (STP) lead to an 80% increase in risk of oral cancer, a 60% increase in risk of esophageal cancer, and a 60% increase in risk of pancreatic cancer. There also seem to be geographic differences in how these specific cancers are related to STP use. More than 50% of oral cancers in India and Sudan can be attributed to STPs specific to those countries, compared to only 4% of oral cancers in the USA. Sweden can blame 20% of esophageal and pancreatic cancer on STPs that are consumed there. Research from the USA suggests an 80% increase in lung cancer risk for STP users. One study found that men that quit smoking and switched to spit tobacco had about a 2.5 times increase risk of death from oral cavity and pharynx cancers than those who stopped using tobacco completely.

According to the authors, there is strong support from animal studies and research on cancer mechanisms that indicates an increase in cancer risk due to STPs. It was concluded that getting cigarette users to switch to STPs was not good public policy. More on SNUS use and untoward experiences. It should be remembered that the number of studies on smokeless tobacco is relatively slight compared to the wealth of literature published relating to smoking. (Marita Broadstock, NZHTA Report, volume 10 Number 1, February 2007) References: Smokeless Tobacco Can Also Increase Cancer Risk by Peter M. Crosta, Medical News Today, 7/3/2008 and Smokeless tobacco ups oral cancer risk 80 percent: WHO, Reuters, 7/1/2008. (TobaccoWatch.org)