Chewing tobacco, boys and baseball

Likely users of chewing tobacco are teenage boys who play baseball. But, no matter who uses, chewing tobacco can harm oral health.

According to the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), children, especially boys, may begin using chewing tobacco as early as grammar school. Approximately four percent of boys in grammar school use chewing tobacco. This percentage leaps to 20 percent for high school boys, half of whom develop pre-cancerous white patches in their mouths.

Many boys begin to use chewing tobacco when they become involved in sports, particularly baseball. Researchers believe that young people are influenced by seeing professional baseball players using it during televised games. Major League Baseball is working with health care professionals to discourage this practice.

Chewing tobacco and oral health

Just because chewing tobacco is smokeless does not mean it is harmless, especially when it comes to oral health.

Like other tobacco products, chewing tobacco can lead to higher incidences of cavities and oral cancer. Here are just a few of the known health dangers of smokeless tobacco, which includes chewing tobacco:

• Smokeless tobacco products, just like cigarettes, contain at least 28 cancer-causing chemicals.
• Smokeless tobacco is known to cause cancers of the mouth, lip, tongue and pancreas.
• Users also may be at risk for cancer of the voice box, esophagus, colon and bladder, because they swallow some of the toxins in the juice created by using smokeless tobacco.
• Smokeless tobacco can irritate your gums, causing gum (periodontal) disease.
• Sugar is often added to enhance the flavor of smokeless tobacco, increasing the risk for tooth decay.
• Smokeless tobacco typically contains sand and grit, which can wear down your teeth.

What you can do

If you are a smoker or a parent with a child or teen whom you suspect may be using tobacco, you can start by understanding that tobacco dependence is a nicotine addiction disorder.

There are four aspects to nicotine addiction: physical, sensory, psychological and behavioral. All aspects of nicotine addiction need to be addressed in order to break the habit. This can mean that tobacco users may need to try several times before they are able to successfully kick the habit.

Speak to your child directly about the risks associated with all tobacco products. If you have friends or relatives who have died of a smoking-related illness, share the truth about it with your child, and discuss ways your child can say no to tobacco.

If you or your spouse smokes, consider this statistic from the American Lung Association: Youths who have two parents who smoke are more than twice as likely to become smokers than those whose parents do not smoke.

Information courtesy of the Academy of General Dentistry and the American Dental Association.