“Tobacco kills” are the very first words that can be said about this green leafy plant that is processed to prepare the tobacco that we get in the markets. Whether it is used by way of smoking or chewing or smelling, the effects are simply harmful and fatal also in some events.

Fact 1 What is Tobacco?

Tobacco is obtained from a green leafy plant that grows mostly in warm climatic regions. After picking the leaves, they are thoroughly dried, grounded and then used in different ways like smoked in a cigarette or pipe, chewed which is also called smokeless tobacco or chewing tobacco and sniffed called snuff. In all forms they harm the user in different ways and users become preys to the deadliest of diseases like cancer.

Fact 2 What does Tobacco contain?

Tobacco contains a chemical known as Nicotine that causes the damage. On smoking or chewing tobacco the nicotine enters the bloodstream and creates the urge to take in more of it thus making it an addictive drug. Since nicotine is a stimulant, one feels energetic but does not realize the bad effects of tobacco.

Fact 3 Is chewing tobacco safer than smoking?

Today’s trend is to chew tobacco and not smoke cigarettes assuming that chewing is less harmful. But the actual fact is that smokeless tobacco or chewing tobacco is not at all a safer alternative. Those who profess so are doing evil to the society. The use of chewing tobacco has increased mostly among the young people for they are constantly being warned about smoking cigarettes. But one must not forget that the nicotine content is remaining within it and it is the root of all diseases.

Some also think that chewing tobacco helps to quit smoking. But there are no such evidences or proofs so far. Rather this idea is baseless and just a way of taking in the nicotine that has already become an addiction to the user.

Fact 4 Health hazards of chewing tobacco

Long-term use of chewing tobacco causes serious health problems like:

1. Cancer – The risk of certain types of cancers like esophageal cancer and innumerable oral cancers like mouth, throat, teeth, cheeks, gums, lips and tongue are caused by chewing tobacco.
2. Addiction – Just as smoking creates an addiction for it, chewing tobacco also has the same effect. The body absorbs the nicotine when you chew tobacco and when you try to withdraw from it symptoms like intense cravings, irritability, increased appetite and depression are visible in tobacco users.
3. Gum diseases – When you place the product into your mouth, they cause the gums to pull away from the teeth where the tobacco is placed and this leads to gum problems initially and then bleeding gums and gum ulcers follow leading to cancers.
4. Cavities – The sugary tobacco that is chewed forms cavities in the teeth. The coarse particles present in the chewing tobacco, scratches the gums, causes irritation and the enamels of the teeth wear away faster than usual and the teeth become weaker and more vulnerable to cavities.
5. Cardiac problems – Chewing tobacco has proved to increase heart rate and blood pressure and this leads to cardiac arrests and stroke.
6. Damage to mouth lesions – Chewing tobacco develops white patches inside the mouth that swell up and burst forming ulcers inside the mouth. Continuous use of chewing tobacco aggravates it and slowly it becomes cancerous.
7. Another ill effect of chewing tobacco is poor reproductive functioning of the body that causes low birth-weight of the baby.

Well, whatever reasons you may put forth in favor of chewing tobacco, accept the real truth and stay pre-warned of the ill effects of chewing tobacco. There is no safe level of tobacco.