When I came to Penn State, the first thing I wanted to do was make some new friends. Everyone says that when you go to college, meeting new people becomes so easy. On my first day here, I was alone for the whole day. I immediately questioned my college choice and wanted my old friends with me. The next day, everything changed. Before I knew it, I made so many new friends that I hope to stay by throughout my entire time here. The one weird thing I realized is that many kids here use smokeless tobacco (the students over 18 years of age of course). At my high school, the only tobacco I saw being used was cigarettes. It is something that I have never seen people use, and I am very interested in the answer to this question; are they better for you than the tobacco you can smoke?
Photo of a can of smokeless tobacco
From the research I have done, it is almost certain that they are equal. Many people may believe, like me, that cigarettes are worse. In fact, they are equally addicting. Nicotine addiction depends on how much you use and how often. An individual can get hooked on cigarettes just as fast as they can with smokeless tobacco. It even says on can’s of dip “This is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes.” Jeez, people need to learn to read their products before they buy them.
Why must we put an end to this?
People are dying! Many people overlook the effects of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The last thing I want to witness is one of my friends get hospitalized due to an addiction they could never stop. According to Action On Smoking And Health, there are about 1.1 billion tobacco users in this world! Also, tobacco KILLS almost 50% of it’s users. How many deaths do you think happened in the 20th century due to tobacco related diseases? Well, there has been a recorded 100 million people. These numbers must decrease, and people need to start realizing the health effects of being addicted to nicotine. Our nation’s population is decreasing due to these products.
I think that its a very good idea that you posted this. In my high school there was a higher concentration of students who used smokeless tobacco opposed to those who used smoking tobacco. The major reason for this was because teachers and administration turned a blind eye to things that they did not see. Out of sight out of mind was a major reason why people would chew instead of smoke. This made it easy for students to get their nicotine fix during the day. However, smoking and chewing are detrimental to your health. One who chews will not get lung cancer, but they will have a greater chance of getting mouth and other oral cancers.
Dip is extremely popular among college students because it is one of the few stimulants that can be used in public. (You can’t smoke indoors, nor can you drink alcoholic beverages in public). It is also popular because it helps you maintain focus when writing essays, and can ease the stress that comes with being a college student. I’ve heard that dip also contains three times the amount of nicotine as a cigarette. Despite this fact, cigarette use seems to be a tougher habit to quit than its smokeless counterpart of the same leaf. Dip interacts with dopamine receptors in the brain by cutting into your gums through fiberglass and dispersing the material through your gums, which then gives you a “buzz.”