Snuff or chewing tobacco should not be used as a healthier alternative to cigarettes or as a smoking cessation aid, just as cigarettes are addictive and harmful, warn researchers in the online edition of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Scientists from the University of Illinois have shown in their latest research that smokeless tobacco products, such as dry and moist snuff and chewing tobacco, like cigarettes increase the risk of fatal heart attacks, stroke and certain types of cancer.
It has long been wondered whether non-smoking tobacco is a healthier choice than cigarettes; it even seemed that the use of cigarette substitutes in the form of chewing tobacco and snuff helped to quit smoking.
Recent studies have shown that this is not the case. A safer and more effective method of helping you quit smoking is nicotine replacement therapy in the form of nicotine patches or gums. Importantly, no increased risk of heart attack or stroke was found in clinical trials with this type of therapy.
Due to the ban on smoking in public places in many places in Europe and the world, non-smoking tobacco products have recently become more popular. Their use by teenagers is also a problem (PAP).