What happens if you smoke snus

It is dependence forming, but does not appear to cause cancer or respiratory diseases. It may cause a slight increase in cardiovascular risks and is likely to be harmful to the unborn fetus, although these risks are lower than those caused by smoking. Over the same time period, rates of lung cancer and myocardial infarction have dropped significantly faster among Swedish men than women and remain at low levels as compared with other developed countries with a long history of tobacco use.

Quitting all tobacco is the best course of action. However, smokers who have not been successful in quitting or who do not want to quit tobacco entirely may be able to reduce their risks by learning about and switching to a product like snus, Wackowski said. However, this information can be challenging to communicate and is a key area for research work.

It's important for smokers to know that the reduced risks may come from completely switching over from smoking to snus use, and not using both products, she said. It's also important that such messaging does not unintentionally encourage product initiation among non-users, especially youth.

Materials provided by Rutgers University. Original written by Patti Verbanas. Note: Content may be edited for style and length. Science News. Story Source: Materials provided by Rutgers University.

Journal Reference : Olivia A. Wackowski, Anne E. Ray, Jerod L. It found a high incidence of oral, pharyngeal, and overall total smoking-related cancer in the snus users studied. An independent report was commissioned by leading Swedish snus producer Swedish Match. It comments on the characteristic type of mouth lesion that snus users may get. These are reversible after snus use is stopped, the report notes. Smoking has a high risk of stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer.

The rate of stomach cancer among smokers is almost double that of nonsmokers. A study in Sweden came to the same conclusion. A study reviewed the health records of , male Swedish construction workers from to , with follow-up records through The smokeless tobacco studied may be different from snus, however. Smoking doubles your risk of skin cancer , specifically squamous cell carcinoma.

A nationwide study in Sweden found no association of an increased risk of smoking to skin squamous cell carcinoma. It also noted that snus users had a decreased risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma. The country of manufacture makes a difference in the composition of the snus product.

This may affect cancer risk. American snus products contain more nicotine than Swedish snus. Two main factors control how much nicotine you get from snus:. A higher pH more alkali means the nicotine in the snus can be absorbed faster into your bloodstream. Swedish snus has a median pH of 8. Swedish snus also contains significantly higher moisture than American brands. Higher moisture content increases the rate that nicotine can be absorbed into your bloodstream.

The higher rate of nicotine delivery means that users of Swedish snus are less likely to turn to cigarettes for their nicotine source. A survey of 1, ex-smokers in Sweden found that 29 percent had switched to snus to quit smoking.

The tobacco in Swedish snus is air- or sun-dried, which reduces the nitrite level compared to the tobacco in American snus, which is normally fire-cured.

The higher pH and moisture content, as well as the lower nitrite levels, allow Swedish snus to deliver more nicotine at less risk of adverse effects than the American brands. Swedish snus users develop a dependency on the nicotine, but the risk of cancer and heart disease is considerably lessened compared to smoking.

There are other health effects of snus. Here are a few examples. A review of public health effects of snus in Sweden reported that snus users may have a small cardiovascular risk compared to nonsmokers.

It also reported that all the large studies on the subject in Sweden are in agreement that smokeless tobacco has a much lower risk for adverse cardiovascular effects than smoking does. The opposite conclusion was reached by a study of middle-aged Swedish men. This study concluded that high consumption of snus predicts a risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors that increase your likelihood of developing heart disease, diabetes, or stroke. A study that looked at Swedish snus users over time at ages 21, 30, and 43 found no association between snus use and risk of metabolic syndrome.

The researchers suggested that it would be useful to look at the risk for people who used snus and smoked cigarettes. In , the American Heart Association issued a policy statement based on data from two Swedish studies.

These studies concluded that heavy use of snus appears to increase the odds of developing metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. A large Swedish study of to year-olds suggested that snus use was associated with a higher prevalence of asthma.