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A nicotine rich leave of tobacco plant which are dried and fermented for chewing is known as chewing tobacco or spit tobacco or more common smokeless tobacco.
Chewing tobacco is really harmful for ones health as it contains carcinogens. It is known to have at least 28 cancer causing chemicals. The main carcinogens found in tobacco are the tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNAs). We will be discussing the side effects of chewing tobacco in this article.
6 Side Effects Of Chewing Tobacco
1. Reproductive & Developmental Effects
During pregnancy it is prescribed not to use any nicotine containing supplement or drug as it result in abnormal development of baby brain. And also researchers and studies show that use of nicotine during pregnancy have resulted in early delivery or still birth.(1)
2. Precancerous Mouth Lesions
Chewing tobacco increases your risk of developing small white patches called leukoplakia, which is usually observed to be developed on cheek, tongue or vulva. These mouth lesions are really harmful as they soon become cancerous which cannot be treated easily and have registered a number of deaths.(2)
3. Heart Disease
Chewing tobacco regularly can also affect the main pumping life organ in your body that is heart. It can cause high blood pressure, increased risk of heart attack.(3)
4. Cancer
Tobacco contains cancer causing chemicals. The most harmful are the tobacco specific nitro-amines which are formed during fermenting and aging of tobacco. Higher the levels of these chemicals, more is the risk of cancer. The other chemicals found in tobacco that can cause cancer are:
- A radioactive element polonium-210
- Poly-nuclear aromatic hydrocarbons
- Harmful metals such as beryllium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, lead etc. The cancer caused by chewing tobacco are throat cancer, esophagus cancer and stomach cancer(4)
[ Read: Baking Soda for Cancer]
5. Addiction
The chemical present in tobacco called nicotine is highly addictive. If a person starts chewing tobacco he or she becomes habitual of it. Nicotine has such chemical property that our body starts craving for it more and more. Thereby starting from one a day chewing tobacco, people start chewing it the whole day on continuous basis. Your body starts absorbing nicotine from chewing tobacco or snuff as it does from cigarettes. And end results lead in intense cravings, irritability, and depressed mood.(5)
6. Poisoning Children
As the chemical nicotine is having such a addictive property, so young children get easily addictive to such chemicals and that leads to serious health issues. The nicotine affects the lungs and liver first, and as children do not have a strong immune system, it becomes highly toxic and can turn fatal.
While initially it might feel really nice to chew tobacco for the instant high it gives. With days passing by, one would be nearing death by chewing every single strand of tobacco. If one wants to live a healthy long life, one should completely stop this habit and look for anti – addiction measures to quit chewing it.(6)
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