Smokeless Tobacco causes cancer?

Personally, I have never used any for of tobacco products. I have never smoked a cigarette, nor a cigar in my lifetime and I also have never used dip nor snuff either. I have been taught all my life that those four products cause several different types of cancer including oral cancer, throat cancer, and lung cancer. Our society as a whole, questions why cancer is increasing so rapidly in our modern society but the truth is, is that many individuals disregard the safety precautions to prevent these terrible illness’ and use these tobacco products. At a young age of four months old, my left lung collapsed, contributing to the effects of the chronic asthma I have today. Asthma and the knowledge I have been educated on in my household, along with 13 years of education in school, have prevented me from trying these tobacco products that are so frequently used.

I was interested in finding out if all the negative knowledge I have learned about tobacco is real and to what extent. I have witnessed the excessive use of dip in college and questioned why so many people take part in using these products and why they are so popular if it truly does cause cancer. Are people just not educated on the effects of tobacco on the body or do they just not care? Does tobacco, specifically smokeless tobacco, actually cause cancer? These questions have lead me to research the effects of smokeless tobacco on the human body.

tobacco-1

According to the TIME article, ” AHA: Don’t be fooled, smokeless tobacco isn’t exactly safe,” smokeless tobacco is not a better alternative to cigarettes. It may have a lesser risk of a heart attack or stroke; however, smokeless tobacco causes an increase in the chance of getting oral and throat cancers. Smokeless tobacco was said to increase your chances of getting a heart attack 30-40 percent more than those individuals who do not use tobacco products at all. These concerns have not stopped young males from using these products because in another TIME  studies show that about 9.6% of high school males used smokeless tobacco in 2013 and it only risen since then.

snuff

Pros:

  • Creates a temporary “enjoyable buzz”

Cons:

  • Risk of oral cancer
  • Risk of throat cancer
  • Risk of a stroke or heart attack
  • Addictive
  • Expensive

Clearly, the cons and risks of smokeless tobacco outweigh the pros by a significant amount. To answer the question previously asked, “Are people just not educated on the effects of tobacco on the body or do they just don’t care?”, I concluded that most individuals just ignore the adverse effects of tobacco and that once they start they find it so hard to stop. It even says on every smokeless tobacco tin, “smokeless tobacco is addictive,” which points toward the fact that every individual that dips is aware that the drug may cause one to become dependent on it. Even if one is educated on the fact that tobacco can be dangerous, they can become hooked on it causing them also to be a regular tobacco user.

cancer

Where does science come into play?:

X Variable: Smokeless tobacco use

Y Variable: Longterm effects on the human body (cancer)

Experiment type: Experimental/Observational

Null Hypothesis: Smokeless tobacco has no effect on the human body.

Alternative hypothesis: Smokeless tobacco causes an increase in the chance of getting cancer.

Reverse Causation: Cancer causes an increase in smokeless tobacco use.

Chance

I would accept the alternative hypothesis and would reject the null hypothesis because there is enough data to back up the statement that smokeless tobacco causes cancer. Reverse causation does not make sense because if an individual has cancer, he or she would not decide to use smokeless tobacco more if it causes a high risk of cancer in the right state of mind. Chance is always an option but there are enough statistics and information to lead me to rule it out.

chewing-tobacco

Overall, the studies and research done clearly show that the alternative hypothesis was correct because smokeless tobacco use clearly portrays that the product causes an increase in a persons chances of getting cancer. The cons outweighed the pros by a significant amount due to its high risks, expensive costs, and addictiveness. Is this enough to get you to quit or refrain from using smokeless tobacco?

Smokeless Tobacco More Toxic Than Cigarettes, Study Says

AHA: Don’t Be Fooled, Smokeless Tobacco Isn’t Exactly Safe

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-pros-and-cons-of-smokeless-tobacco-products/2/

4 thoughts on “Smokeless Tobacco causes cancer?

  1. Jarrod T Skole

    I have a ton of friend who came back after college last year and told them they started to dip. They said it was just a thing that their college does and it gives them a fun head high. I never looked at them differently for it but I always wondered why they would risk the chance of having lip or mouth cancer just for a fun head high. Of course there is the third variable when it comes to situations like this, the cool factor. If a lot of people are dipping in your college and you are a freshman, you will most likely start to do it just to fit in. Personally, I think the cons of dip and cigarettes outweigh the pros of being a cool and fitting in.

  2. Xueyao Cao

    Sometimes I saw people smoking a lot I would wonder why they couldn’t stop since the aftermath of smoking was so significant. I remember Andrew used to talk about the same thing that the negative consequences caused by smoking are so significant, but people just do not see it. I thought about it and came up with several things that might caused this issue. The addiction towards tobacco would be one of them. Also, as we’ve talked about it in class smokers at the past would always said that their gramma smoked like a chimney and lived to 105. It’s not that smokers don’t know the cons of smoking, but they normally used anecdotal as a way to convince themselves and the others that the cancers won’t always be the case. They might think that if they are lucky enough, they won’t get any types of cancer even though they smoke as a chimney.

  3. Derek William Drotman

    Personally i think all of these products are stupid and a waste of time in money. I still don’t know why people will use these products even after the know the harm it can do to you. I know the negative effects but I don’t believe everyone else does. I wish your blog included a study on the percent of tobacco users get some time of cancer as a direct result of using these products. If more readers would have seen the numbers it would give them another reason to stop! Here is a study that test the tobacco smoke exposure to a persons risk in breast cancer I hope you enjoy. http://bmccancer.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2407-8-157

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