Smokeless Tobacco: It Can Snuff You (1986)

[music] [music] Tobacco has been used in different forms for years. We usually think of cigarettes, but there is another kind that has recently gained in popularity. This type is called smokeless tobacco because you don't have to light it. You just put some in your mouth. Some people think that if they don't light up, if they just dip a little snuff, they don't take the chance of hurting their health the way they might with cigarettes. There's much medical evidence, however, that proves this thinking is wrong. As more and more people use smokeless tobacco, there is increasing concern over its dangers. Medical experts predict that if the use of smokeless tobacco continues to increase as it has in 15 years there will be an epidemic of oral cancer. So why is it that there is more snuff dipping than ever before? Because of the public's increasing concern over the health hazards of smoking cigarettes, tobacco companies are turning to promoting snuff and chewing [music] tobacco. They are paying well-known athletes and celebrities a lot of money to try and persuade you to use these products. We're going to take a look at some of the facts about smokeless tobacco, what the tobacco companies and those well-paid celebrities [music] don't tell you, and how smokeless tobacco can affect your health. What we've seen in this country is an unregulated industry using clever advertising to hook young people onto a harmful product. >> The use of smokeless tobacco is a serious threat. We're seeing everything from severe and irreversible damage to gums and teeth to cancer of the mouth. >> Skillful advertising is convincing young people that what we used to think of as a dirty and undesirable habit is really the thing to do. It's macho. Although advertisements for smokeless tobacco imply it's less harmful than smoking, this just isn't true. Tobacco is tobacco. Here's a tragic example of what smokeless tobacco can do. This is Shawn Marcy. At the age of 19, he died of oral cancer. But what do the tobacco companies say in the face of such facts? Here is the position taken by one tobacco company when confronted with this evidence. Smokeless tobacco has never been scientifically established to cause any harm to humans. That includes oral cancer. In India, where people use smokeless tobacco rather than smoke cigarettes, 40% of all the cancers are cancer of the mouth. In this country, if the use of smokeless tobacco continues at this rate, we could see an epidemic of mouth cancer among our young people when they reach middle age. Athletes have often been looked upon as some kind of heroes by many fans. Unfortunately, because a few professional sports players encourage the use of snuff, many young people have begun using it. And I started because like the major leaguers were chewing at the time and it kind of got me and my friends to do it. >> Well, since all the athletes and u singers do it, I thought I'd try it. It doesn't hurt them. >> My brother was using it so I gave it a try. I kind of liked it. It gave me a buzz. >> Well, a lot of baseball players use it and they wouldn't use it if it hurt him. >> Sure I do. It's better than smoking and I hate cigarettes. >> Actually, I started when I was 14 years old. Athlete of mine, friend of mine, told me to try this and from then on I've been chewing ever since. The use of tobacco has a decidedly negative effect on your health. Whether you smoke it or chew it, your health is at risk. Tobacco is the culprit, and it doesn't matter in what form it's used in. >> Snuff, which has become so popular, is of real concern because it contains dangerously high levels of cancer-causing agents called nitrosamines. The tissue where the snuff rests is bathed in these cancercausing nitrosamines. The levels are thousands of times greater than what the United States Department of Agriculture would allow in cured meats such as bacon. The demand for smokeless tobacco has risen nearly 1/3 over the last 10 years. Compared to cigarettes, cigars, and pipes, [music] it's the only form of tobacco to rise significantly. Many problems go with the habit, both socially and medically. Socially, one of the most obvious problems is having to spit. You have to spit. You have to constantly spit. >> Uh, you spit. There is no way you can avoid it. >> Once I was in the bank and I didn't want to spit on the floor, so I swallowed it and was sick the rest of the day. I spit about once a minute. Therefore, I carry cups with me and have spatoon around the room. >> Yeah, I I chew in class whenever I get a chance. I'm usually sit in the back with other tobacco chewers and I usually bring a cup and if I don't have a cup, I just kind of spit on the floor. Oh, I think it's pretty gross. I see some of the guys using it and thinking they're really cool. It turns me off. >> Girls in general don't like it. Once when I was in high school, I lost my homecoming date cuz the girls told her that you better not kiss him if he's giving you back. >> Besides having to constantly spit, there can be other problems. >> Every time I go to the dentist, he tells me to stop it. He says it's bad for my mouth. Sometimes my lip turns white and sort of kind of numb. Sometimes the skin peels off. >> Well, when I first started, my dentist knew right away. So, like to tell you the truth, I'm trying to quit. >> My teeth are more susceptible to hot and cold now, and I feel a numbness in my gums every day. My gums have deteriorated from the chew. Um, yeah, I get a sore throat occasionally and also I get river gullies in my mouth. The clinical term for river gullies is lucoplacia. It is considered a precancerous condition and occurs where the chewing tobacco contacts the mouth and irritates the membrane and gums. Lucoplacia is characterized by a white leathery patch on the lips or inside of the cheek which results in cancerous diagnosis in about 6% of all cases. Lesions are also common with tobacco chewers. I've been chewing for about uh seven years. Uh I wish I never started. I started when I was 19 and uh I spend a lot of time at the dentist now because of it. >> I've noticed my taste and smell have gone downhill because it seems like I just add more salt and pepper to everything I eat. >> Tobacco chewers also risk losing their teeth because the roots have been exposed to bacterial infection because of the receding gum lines. This recession of the gums is permanent, by the way, and the sand and grit mixed in with the chewing tobacco acts like sandpaper on the enamels of the teeth. More tooth wear and cavities are the result. >> Besides teeth and gum problems, an even more serious danger is oral cancer. The documented risk are these. Tobacco chewers are four times more likely to get oral cancer than non-users. If they are chronic users, they're 50 times as likely to get it. 87% of oral cancer cases are attributable to the use of snuff. Nationwide, 15,000 people are discovered to have oral cancer each year. Nearly half of them die from it. Shawn Marcy of Ada, Oklahoma died from oral cancer. Shawn was a high school track star. He had been dipping snuff since he was 12. The surgeons removed a large part of Shaun's tongue, but at the time he wouldn't allow further surgery because he did not want to be disfigured for life. The cancer continued to spread, but even more surgery couldn't save his life. Shawn's last days were spent in pain with a tube through his nose to eat and a tracheotomy tube to breathe. His weight went from 150 lbs down to 85. He was 19 years old. We talked with Shaun's doctor, Dr. Carl Hook. The nose and throat surgeon who treated him. Here's what he said. Shaun's problem with the cancer of the tongue that he developed was directly related to his use of tobacco and headneck surgeons are now seeing the increased incidence and the cause and effect of smokeless tobacco problems and cancer of the mouth. >> We also talked to Shawn's mother. Shawn thought uh smokeless tobacco was safe. He did not think the athletes would be advertising it if it were not. >> Sean's mother sued the US tobacco company over the death of her son because she says it knew its product was dangerous and should have printed a warning on the package. Despite [music] the fact that it is now a federal law that all smokeless tobacco products carry a warning, Mrs. Marcy lost her case. Unfortunately, medical experts and judges don't always agree, but these facts remain. Shawn Marcy is dead, [music] and he chewed smokeless tobacco from the age of 12. Medical experts are continuing to issue warnings. The US government's National Cancer Institute says >> the use of smokeless tobacco is a dangerous practice [music] because it contains cancer-causing nitrosamines. The surgeon general's office says >> smokeless tobacco does indeed pose a cancer [music] threat. It is also associated with other pathological conditions. >> And the World Health Organization also states that smokeless tobacco can cause cancer. Given the obvious risk associated with smokeless tobacco, why do people keep using it? Why don't they just quit? >> Well, right now, to be honest, I'm trying to quit, but it's not easy. >> Oh, most certainly. I know I'm addicted. I've been chewing since I've been 10 years old. I wish I never started. And man, I wish I could just quit. >> Been able to cut down some, especially since my friends started making fun of me. >> Well, to be honest with you, dipping doesn't um give me a buzz anymore. I've tried to quit, but it's not that easy. >> I set rules for myself to try to quit. Uh I get home from a day of work, and that will be my only time to be able to chew. >> I admit I'm not too knowledgeable about uh the risk of chewing. In a way, I'm addicted. I went through about three or four cans the last series of games we had. >> If you're using snuff or chewing tobacco, see your dentist regularly. Remember, since chewing tobacco numbs the mouth, pain is typically not one of the symptoms of oral cancer. So, watch for these danger warnings. Sores that don't heal and that bleed easily. A lump or thickening around the mouth. Whitish patches, particularly where you hold the tobacco. difficulty in chewing or swallowing of food and a feeling that there is something in your throat. The industry's paid a lot of money to popular sport figures to advertise snuff. As an example, these simple looking packets here are advertised as a clean, pleasant alternative to cigarette smoking. That's to get you started. And then they say once you get used to these, you can graduate to the more potent and stronger form of snuff. as if it's something that you really wanted to do. >> Approximately three months before Shawn died, when he still thought he might make it, he wanted to go around to the schools and show [music] the children how bad he looked so that they would be aware of just how dangerous snuff really was. It's a horrible way to die. Shawn had not had any food for the last four months of his life, except what would go through his feeding tube in his nose. As you've seen, the use of smokeless tobacco can result in serious health problems. But that isn't going to stop the tobacco companies and the sports heroes from trying to sell it to you. Think about what the health experts have said. Think about what the users you've seen here have said. And when it comes to smokeless tobacco, what do you think? >> [music] [music]