Fitness Vices Series 11: Is chewing tobacco better than cigarettes?

Not only cigarettes but also many other tobacco products are very popular nowadays. While cigarettes as such are no longer as trendy as they were in the past, other products often experience a big boom. In today's article, we look at chewing tobacco, which is also no longer the trendiest tobaccoproduct and is often replaced by other products, but it is still a very common form of nicotine intake.

In the eleventh episode of our series on vices, we look at the risks of chewing tobacco and answerWe will also answer the question of whether this form of tobacco product is preferable (or rather, less unhealthy) to conventional cigarettes.

What is chewing tobacco?

If you are not a regular user of tobacco products, you may find it difficult to distinguish between the different types. Chewing tobacco is not the same as nicotine sachets, which we have also covered. These are tobacco leaves that have been modified so that they can be used directly in the mouth. Chewing tobacco is used by inserting it between the upper lip and the gum. All the substances from the chewing tobacco are absorbed into the body through the mucous membrane in the mouth. While nicotine sachets contain only nicotine (or other flavourings), chewing tobacco also contains otherother substances naturally present in tobacco (the negative health effects of which may vary) and, in many cases, flavourings.

However, it should be borne in mind that there are several types of chewing tobacco and their characteristics may therefore vary. Similarly, it is good to know that some forms may be banned in certain countries, while in others, forms that you will not encounter here are legal. Most chewing tobaccos are characterised by the need to spit, which makes them relatively impractical. This is one of the reasons why more and more people are replacing them with nicotine sachets or other forms of chewing tobacco.

Health risks associated with chewing tobacco

The main argument made by chewing tobacco fans is that unless it is burned and theninhalation as with cigarettes, the worst substances are not released into the body and there is no risk of lung cancer. This is true, since smoking does indeed get into the body the substances that are chewedbut chewing tobacco is also associated with an increased risk of cancer. The statistics are even worse when only the cancers that are typical of smokers are considered. Although, according to the study cited, chewing is not as dangerous as smoking, it is far from it is not a safe way to use tobacco and carries a high risk of health complications. It is worth noting that studies have shown that oral, pharyngeal and laryngeal cancers are usually involved.

Beware of addiction

But that's far from all. In fact, the nicotine in tobacco is extremely addictive no matter what form you take into your body. In terms of addictiveness, it is even compared to cocaine or heroin. Regardless of the form, it is associated with a large number of health complications, and it is far from being a substance that can be of any benefit to the body. In the context of nicotine's addictiveness, it is worth mentioning its effect on the production of certain hormones. In fact, nicotine stimulates the release of dopamine, which means that, with frequent use, a person hastend to use more and more nicotine because it is the only way to achieve the pleasurable sensation caused by increased dopamine production. In addition, chewing tobacco often contains more nicotine than cigarettes. While a person absorbs about 1.2-1.4 mg of nicotine from a regular cigarette, the nicotine content of chewing tobaccoin snuff can reach more than 32 mg per pack. It should be added, however, that not all of this amount is absorbed through the mucous membranes.

Chewing tobacco and a healthy smile

Last but not least, we must also mention the negative effects of chewing tobacco on the teeth. It probably comes as no surprise that putting tobacco directly into your mouth is not particularly good for your teeth. The study cited says that people who chew tobacco have increasedan increased risk of tooth decay, both superficial and coronal. In addition, tobacco does not help tooth discoloration, which it reflects negatively on, causing a not-so-pretty yellow discoloration.

All in all, chewing tobacco is associated with a large number of negative health effectseven though at first sight it may look like a much healthier option compared to cigarettes. For this reason, we certainly cannot recommend the use of chewing tobacco.

Effects of chewing tobacco on performance

Chewing tobacco is popular among certain groups of athletes (of particular note isbaseball players), as it reportedly helps to enhance their performance or concentration. To be completely objective, we must mention that some studies do indeed report a possible link between nicotine intake and improvements in some physical performance factors. For example, this could be motor skills, reaction time, or other factors. Along with this, however, we need to add that some other factors, on the contrary, deteriorate - an example could be strength or anaerobic threshold. At the same time, it is important to remember all the health risks mentioned above.

It is therefore true that in certain situations, nicotine intake before sporting performance may seem like a good idea. After all, it is still not a banned substance, so its use is perfectly fine in this regard. However, from a health point of view, it is not something we can recommend. It should also be borne in mind that, while tobacco intake can, for example, make your motor temporarily improve your abilities, over time they will deteriorate significantly in the absence of nicotine. Conditioning your performance on nicotine intake is definitely not a sensible solution in the long term.

How does chewing tobacco compare to other nicotine products?

We have already touched on the comparison of chewing tobacco with cigarettes in the previous paragraphs. It is true that since smoking introduces a myriad of very harmful substances into the body, the risk of cancer is much higher for smokers. Compared to cigarettes, therefore, chewing tobacco does indeed fare better, although it has to be said that the bar is not really very high in this case.

The comparison between chewing tobacco and nicotine sachets, which are the most similar, is also relatively straightforward. Given that nicotine sachets contain nothing that is not also found in chewing tobaccotobacco, it is hard to imagine that they could be any more harmful than chewing tobacco. Such a situation could only arise if the nicotine sachet in question contained significantly more nicotine than chewing tobacco. This is of course possible, but in the vast majority of cases chewing tobacco will be more harmful.

This comparison is in no way intended to recommend either product. All three carry major health risks and if you do not use them, we certainly do not recommend that you start.

Summary in conclusion

Although the use of chewing tobacco does not involve inhalation of fumes as in the case of cigarettes, thechewing tobacco poses a major health risk as it is associated with an increased incidence of cancer and other diseases. It also has a negative impact on dental health and contains highly addictive nicotine. Compared to cigarettes, it may be a less health-harming option, e.g.However, it should be avoided and if you do not use it, do not start using it.

If you are looking for substances that will help with concentration but do not carry an increased risk of cancer and otherRead our article on the top 5 smart drugs to help with concentration.