Tobacco is a leaf product which contains nicotine and are the primary ingredients of a cigarette. Yes, when we think of tobacco, we mostly think about cigarettes because that is the most common product that has tobacco in it. But actually, tobacco is divided into smoked tobacco or smokeless tobacco.
Cigarette is categorized as a smoked tobacco, along with pipes and cigars. Meanwhile notable smokeless tobacco products are chewing tobacco and the dipping tobacco. What is the dipping tobacco? Does it also share the health risks of smoking? And what are the health benefits of quitting dipping tobacco?
What is a Dipping Tobacco?
A dipping tobacco is a smokeless-tobacco product that is grounded or shredded finely and then moisted. The dipping tobacco bears nicknames such as the “dip” and the “rub.” The process of using a dipping tobacco is known as to the “dipping.”
The dipping tobacco itself is an evolution of the dry snuff used by Americans up to the 1700s. Dry snuffs are also a smokeless-tobacco product that is made of dry or pulverized tobacco. It is consumed by taking a fingerful of it from the tin or can, pinched and then inhaled manually.
Dipping tobaccos come in 5 sizes, namely pouch (like a teabag), fine cuts or snuffs which are in grainy form, long cuts, wide cuts, as well as extra long cuts. Dipping tobaccos are also flavored normally, with strong or fruity flavors such as peppermint, grape, cherry, orange, lemon, watermelon, among others. At some cases, exotic flavors such as bourbon or rhum are also produced.
Dipping tobacco was originally referred to as the “moist snuff”, in which the second term is derived from the Swedish word “snus”. This also inspired dipping tobacco brand names to have Scandinavian sounding words, such as “Copenhagen”, named after Denmark’s capital city as well as “Skoal.” Skoal is based on the Scandinavian (collective term to describe something of Danish, Swedish, Norwegian and Icelandic origin) word “skål” meaning “cheers”.
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Dipping Tobacco’s Nutritional Facts
- Calories – 100 g
- Total Fat – 0 g
- Saturated Fats – 0 g
- Polyunsaturated Fats – 0 g
- Monounsaturated Fats – 0 g
- Trans Fats – 0 g
- Cholesterol – 0 g
- Sodium – 250 mg
- Potassium – 0 mg
- Total Carbohydrates – 11 g
- Dietary Fibres – 0 g
- Sugars – 0 g
- Protein – 0 g
- Vitamins
- Vitamin A – 0 %
- Vitamin C – 0 %
- Calcium – 0 %
- Iron – 0%
Data above are based on the nutritional facts of “Copenhagen” Dipping Tobacco.
All percentages presented are percentage daily value (DV) of a 2000-calorie diet.
Is Dipping Tobacco a Considerable Alternative to Cigarettes?
Dipping tobacco or snuff contains no tar or any other toxic substances released by burning cigarettes such as carbon monoxide, hydrogen cyanide or ammonia, but let’s not forget that all tobacco products still have nicotine content. Hence, dipping tobacco poses no remarkable differences to that of conventional cigarettes.
Health Hazards of Dipping Tobacco
There are many health benefits of quitting dipping tobacco, as there are many hazard of dipping tobacco.
- Nicotine Addiction
Nicotine addiction is the state of being dependent on nicotine. One simple case of nicotine addiction is nicotine withdrawal upon smoking. The drop of nicotine level in the blood cause the smoker to feel edgy and agitated, hence the continuous desire to light up cigarettes after cigarettes. Nicotine addiction also cause increased heart rate plus dopamine in the brain, as well as restrict the release of insulin from the pancreas.
- A Numerous Range of Cancers
Using dipping tobacco still pose you the risks of various cancers, such as oral cancer, esophageal cancer as well as pancreatic cancer.
Oral cancer develops in the tissues of mouth and the throat, affecting the lips, tongue, gum, inner lining of the cheek, hard as well as soft palates. Oral cancer has the symptoms of a sore in your mouth that doesn’t heal, oral bleeding, loss of teeth, neck lump, persisting earache, facial numbness, jaw pain or stiffness, tongue pain, as well as difficulty swallowing. 83% of oral cancer patients have their tumor growth to be localized, and over 60% of all diagnosed with this cancer survived beyond 5 years/
Esophageal cancer is the cancer that forms in the esophagus’ linings. Esophagus is the channel that transports food from the throat to the stomach. The symptoms of esophageal cancers are heartburn, indigestion, frequent choking, rapid weight loss, nausea, chest pain, fatigue, chronic cough, as well as hiccups. When still on the early stages, esophageal cancer can be treated with the help of endoscopy, but should it gets worse, then chemotherapy or radiation therapy come as the best options.
Meanwhile, pancreatic cancer affects the pancreas. Pancreas produces essential enzymes needed by the body to digest carbohydrates, proteins as well as fats. The symptoms of pancreatic cancer include appetite loss, rapid weight loss, abdominal pain, blood clotting, depression, as well as jaundice, which is yellow skin and eyes. Surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy may be used to treat this type of cancer.
High blood pressure or hypertension occurs when blood pressure rises to the alarming levels. The narrower your arteries are, the higher the risk of high blood pressure is. High blood pressure may eventually lead to cardiovascular diseases. Hypertension is a silent killer, so it is best to regularly check your blood pressure and adapt to a healthy living before it starts to attack you.
- Cardiovascular Diseases
Cardiovascular diseases are diseases that involve the heart and blood vessels. Examples of cardiovascular diseases are stroke, cardiac arrest, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, and congenital heart disease.
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- Stroke
A stroke is a medical emergency that takes place as the blood flow into the brain is interrupted. Without blood, the cells start to die, and if not treated on time it can even cause death. There are three types of stroke, namely ischemic stroke, transient-ischemic stroke as well as hemorrhagic stroke. Stroke can be detected through a dropped face, slurry speech, dropping arm, cognitive issues, loss of balance, extreme headache as well as vision loss.
Those are basically how dipping tobacco pose dangers to your own health. As you can see, it has no positive differences compared to ordinary cigarettes, so it is best for you to stay away from tobacco at all costs!