Stop blowing smoke – and vapor

Whether you’re an accomplished sports enthusiast or a weekend watcher, it was easy to get caught up in the excitement, drama and incredible teamwork on display in the MLB baseball Championship Series and the World Series.  And beyond the heartbreak, frustration, athleticism and celebration, there were no shortages of close-up shots of players and coaches spitting sunflower seeds, popping Bazooka gum bubbles, stuffing their cheeks with chewing tobacco, or placing pinches of smokeless tobacco in their mouths.

Paid television advertising for cigarettes might be controlled, but professional baseball is like a non-stop commercial for smokeless tobacco products . . . and kids notice and emulate their heroes. Researchers have discovered that about 3.5 percent of people aged 12 and older in the United States use smokeless tobacco — that’s about 9 million people. Use of smokeless tobacco was higher in younger age groups, with more than 5.5 percent of people aged 18 to 25 saying they were current users. About one million people age 12 and older started using smokeless tobacco in the year before the survey. About 46 percent of the new users were younger than 18 when they first used it.

The damages from smokeless tobacco products include throat, tongue, sinus, jaw, esophageal and mouth cancers, lesions, damage to teeth and gums, heart disease and stroke.

Additionally, startling numbers of young people start smoking cigarettes in their early teens and continue into adulthood. And the results are alarming – even with all we know about the perils and health risks associated with tobacco use, more than 45 million Americans still smoke cigarettes. There also are approximately 13.2 million cigar smokers in the United States, and 2.2 million who smoke tobacco in pipes.

More than half of cigarette smokers have attempted to quit for at least one day in the past year. Many of them turn to nicotine chewing gums or smoking-cessation drugs prescribed by their doctors. And over the past several years, the trend has been to vapes, or e-cigarettes, essentially nicotine-delivery systems that use a heated vapor that is inhaled by the consumer. These vapes have become hugely popular – they produce less second-hand smoke, are more discreet, and don’t contain the same high level of carcinogenic particulates found in regular tobacco. But they are still habit-forming, and their long-term use is suspect in terms of dangerous side effects.

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and a good time to revisit the role tobacco products play in damaging health by contributing directly to lung cancer, other cancers and respiratory illnesses – diseases that also cost billions of dollars a year in lost-work-time and healthcare costs.

  • Tobacco contributes to 5 million deaths worldwide every year. For centuries, cigarettes have remained basically the same:  Tobacco rolled in paper. What makes them so deadly are the estimated 4,000 chemicals they give off when lit. Some of those chemicals, like arsenic, formaldehyde and lead can cause cancer and a long list of other deadly diseases.
  • Chewing tobacco comes as long strands of loose leaves, plugs, or twists of tobacco. Pieces, commonly called plugswads, or chew, are chewed or placed between the cheek and gum or teeth. The nicotine in the piece of chewing tobacco is absorbed through the mouth tissues. The user spits out the brown saliva that has soaked through the tobacco.
  • Snuff is used by placing a pinchdiplipper, or quid between the lower lip or cheek and gum. The nicotine in the snuff is absorbed through the tissues of the mouth. Moist snuff is also available in small, teabag-like pouches or sachets that can be placed between the cheek and gum. These are designed to be both “smoke-free” and “spit-free” and are marketed as a discreet way to use tobacco. Dry snuff is sold in a powdered form and is used by sniffing or inhaling the powder up the nose.
  • An e-cigarette is a battery-powered tube about the size and shape of a cigarette. A heating device warms a liquid inside the cartridge, creating a vapor you breathe in. Puffing on an e-cigarette is called “vaping” instead of “smoking.” E-cigarettes also make chemicals, but in much smaller numbers and amounts than tobacco cigarettes.
  • When you quit smoking or using products containing nicotine, risk of having a heart attack drops sharply after just one year, as does the risk of strokes and conditions such as ulcers, artery and respiratory disease, and cancers of the larynx, lung and cervix.

What you should know about e-cigarettes, or “vapes”

All e-cigarettes work basically the same way. Inside, there’s a battery, a heating element, and a cartridge that holds nicotine and other liquids and flavorings. Features and costs vary. Some are disposable. Others have a rechargeable battery and refillable cartridges.

The nicotine inside the cartridges is addictive. When you stop using it, you can get withdrawal symptoms including feeling irritable, depressed, restless and anxious. It can be dangerous for people with heart problems. It may also harm your arteries over time and contribute to respiratory ailments, heart disease and cancers. Additionally, the wide variety of non-nicotine flavors and additives found in e-cigarettes are now being tested, and researchers are finding dubious results, including danger to unborn children and reproductive systems, cancer risks, and the buildup of arterial plaque that can lead to heart disease and strokes.

Quitting is hard, but you can increase your chances of success with help. The American Cancer Society can tell you about the steps you may take to quit smoking, and provide resources and support that can increase your chances of quitting successfully. And if you have or know children, you’ll want to learn more about the dangers of alternative nicotine products, and how to help raise awareness and promote prevention.  To learn about available tools, call the American Cancer Society at 1-800-227-2345 or visit
