Smokeless Tobacco and Teenagers

Smokeless Tobacco and Teenagers

Introduction

Use of smokeless tobacco is found to be among the major forms of tobacco being utilized and practiced by adults and adolescents in United States of America. It is a non denying the fact as proposed by researches and experiments that use of smokeless tobacco just like the smoking tobacco is exceedingly adverse affecting the physical and mental health of the user in serious ways (Critchley & Unal, 2003). The use of smokeless tobacco has been considerably low among women and adolescent girls since always as compared to the adult males and adolescent and teenager boys (Nelson et.al, 2006).

The purpose of this article is to discuss the issue of smokeless tobacco and teenagers specifically associating it with the human health. The article reflects the meaning and the practice of smokeless tobacco as to what constitutes this kind of tobacco. The article will include the description of the body systems which are affected by the use of smokeless tobacco. It also provides an analysis of the different risks and benefits on the human health associated with the use of smokeless tobacco. In the end, the article entails a summary of the stance on the pertinent topic.

Smokeless Tobacco

Smokeless tobacco as the name implies is that kind of tobacco which does not yield smoke as in case of cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco is usually available in two forms which include snuff and chewing tobacco. Snuff comes in the form of powered tobacco, also known as dipping tobacco. Chewing tobacco includes plug tobacco in the form of a brick or leaf tobacco (Taybos, 2003).

Body Systems Affected by Smokeless Tobacco

Earlier when the smokeless tobacco came in the limelight, a large number of people were appealed by the massive advertisement and marketing. People misbelieved that smokeless tobacco is a safer substitute to cease smoking and using cigarette (Hatsukami et.al, 2004). However, later a large number of researches and different medical societies and institutes around the world provided that smokeless tobacco is in no manner a safer and healthy substitute. The effects of smokeless tobacco are as damaging and serious as that of cigarettes and other smoking form of tobacco (Critchley & Unal, 2003).

Using smokeless tobacco adversely affects the physical and mental health of the user. It badly impacts different body systems of the person using it as habit continuously in a large amount (Hatsukami et.al, 2004). The body systems which are affected by the use of smokeless tobacco includes the muscular system, cardiovascular and circulatory system, endocrine system, immune system, nervous system, reproductive system, urinary system, digestive system and skeletal system (Critchley & Unal, 2003).

Studies have proved that nearly all the systems of a human body are affected by the use of smokeless tobacco in one way or another. Although, the effects are more serious and greater in extent on some body systems such as the cardiovascular system (Asplund, 2003) as compared to others, but the effects are adverse on the entire body ...