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Different Types of Chewing Tobacco: What Surprising Varieties Do You Know?
Chewing tobacco is a smokeless tobacco product that is placed between the cheek and lower gums to extract its flavor. This tobacco usually consists of coarsely chopped mature tobacco that is flavored and sweetened, as opposed to finely ground infused tobacco. Chewing tobacco contains nicotine, which makes it highly addictive, and quitting chewing tobacco is as challenging as quitting smoking. Chewing tobacco use is associated with numerous health hazards, such as dental disease, oral cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, coronary heart disease, and more, as well as negative effects on the reproductive system, including stillbirth, premature birth, and low birth weight.
Types of chewing tobacco
Chewing tobacco can be found in the form of loose leaves or compressed into small square "pieces." Almost all modern chewing tobacco is made by drying, cutting, fermenting, and processing the leaves, a process that may include sweetening and flavoring. Historically, many brands of chewing tobacco popular during the American Civil War were made from cigar trimmings.
Loose leaf chewing tobacco is the most common type of chewing tobacco and usually consists of chopped tobacco leaves that are sweetened and sometimes flavored.
Loose leaf type
Loose leaf chewing tobacco is the most common on the market and is usually sold in 3-ounce closed bags. Loose leaf tobacco has a thicker texture due to added sweeteners. Common brands include America's Best Chewing Tobacco, Beech-Nut, and Stoker's.
Block type
Block chewing tobacco is tobacco leaves pressed into a square mass that users can bite off or cut into small pieces to chew. Block tobacco is declining in popularity and is not as readily available on the market as loose leaf tobacco. In the past, this type of tobacco could be smoked or chewed, but now they are clearly two different products.
Roll type
Roll chewing tobacco consists of tobacco leaves coiled into a rope-like mass. Unlike most loose leaf tobaccos, rolled chewing tobacco usually does not have added sweetness. Users can bite off or cut parts of rolled tobacco, which is currently found mainly in Appalachia.
Health effects
Although safer than smoking, chewing tobacco is still highly addictive and comes with significant health risks, and there is no safe level of use. According to global data, approximately 650,000 people die each year due to such products. Chewing tobacco use can lead to a variety of health problems, such as gum disease, oral cancer, esophageal cancer, pancreatic cancer, cardiovascular disease, and female reproductive system malformations.
The use of chewing tobacco may lead to a high risk of throat and lung cancer, especially in Southeast Asian countries.
Effects during pregnancy
Chewing tobacco can also cause adverse reproductive effects, including stillbirth, premature birth, and low birth weight. The nicotine component of tobacco use during pregnancy can affect the baby's brain development before birth, posing a threat to the health of both mother and baby that cannot be ignored.
Relationship with baseball
In the first draft of baseball's rules in 1845, the carcinogenic potential of chewing tobacco was unknown. Over time, however, players and coaches began using chewing tobacco heavily. Although the popularity of cigarettes has gradually replaced the habit of chewing tobacco for some players, the habit is still prevalent in the sports world.
Famous football player Joe Garagiola once warned: "You may not like what I say, but lung cancer kills, and oral cancer kills you bit by bit."
Influence on youth
Many experts believe that baseball players' tobacco chewing behavior has a reinforcing effect on adolescents, particularly among young men in sports. Gregory Connelly, a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, pointed out that the use of smokeless tobacco among teenagers today is increasing compared with the past.
Statistics
According to a 2009 survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 8.9% of U.S. high school students used smokeless tobacco at least once within 30 days, with the usage rate among males being significantly higher than among females. Some states, such as Wyoming and South Dakota, report the highest rates of cigarette smoking among high school students, raising concerns about youth health.
Brand and History
Chewing tobacco is one of the oldest ways of consuming tobacco, with Native Americans chewing tobacco leaves long before Europeans arrived in the Americas. With the rise of commercial sales, tobacco products have gradually become an important industry in North and South America. As times change, many traditional brands and types of chewing tobacco have been affected, but they still have inherent markets in some areas.
While chewing tobacco remains popular in some societies, and many new brands and forms have emerged, it always comes with health risks that cannot be ignored. When we face the evolution of smoking culture, everyone will have different thoughts and answers on whether to continue using such products?
