--- title: Smokeless Tobacco Has Higher Toxin Exposure Than Cigs, Study Suggests description: Smokeless tobacco may expose people to more toxins than cigarettes canonical: https://time.com/4116934/smokeless-tobacco-more-toxic-than-cigarettes-study-says/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-11-18T05:05:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:57:09.285Z article:section: Health og:title: Smokeless Tobacco Has Higher Toxin Exposure Than Cigs, Study Suggests og:description: Smokeless tobacco may expose people to more toxins than cigarettes og:url: https://time.com/4116934/smokeless-tobacco-more-toxic-than-cigarettes-study-says/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Smokeless Tobacco Has Higher Toxin Exposure Than Cigs, Study Suggests twitter:description: Smokeless tobacco may expose people to more toxins than cigarettes twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Smokeless Tobacco More Toxic Than Cigarettes, Study Says > Sponsored content. 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With smokeless tobacco products becoming more popular, the American Heart Association issued a new warning about the health risks associated with their use_ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Nov 18, 2015 5:05 AM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Nov 18, 2015 5:05 AM UTC [In a new study](http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/early/2015/11/09/1055-9965.EPI-15-0376.abstract), researchers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that adults who used only smokeless tobacco had higher levels of nicotine concentrations in their system as well as higher concentrations of tobacco-specific nitrosamines, compounds linked to higher cancer risk. The findings, published in the journal _Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention_ came from an analysis of markers of tobacco exposure among 23,684 adults participating in a survey who also provided urine or blood samples for measurements from 1999 to 2012. “Our results have shown that smokeless tobacco users have high levels of known harmful and addictive constituents and that in some cases these levels are higher than those observed among cigarette smokers. This finding is a cause of considerable concern for individual and public health,” the study authors conclude in their report. The researchers note that smokeless tobacco is especially common among young people, with 9.6% of male high school students currently reporting they chew tobacco, snuff or dip in 2013. The study authors say the findings highlight the need for further study of the toxic ingredients found in smokeless tobacco, especially since tobacco manufacturers are pushing back against regulations for stricter warnings on their products. [Snus maker Swedish Match recently petitioned the FDA](http://time.com/3817902/fda-snus-smokeless-tobacco/) to remove required warning labels that note that snus can cause mouth cancer, gum disease and tooth loss. The company is arguing that there is insufficient evidence to support these claims. The need for more research is also essential as young people in particular are turning to sources of tobacco and nicotine other than cigarettes. Though the new study did not look at e-cigarettes, other federal data has suggested that [use of e-cigs among middle and high schoolers has tripled](http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2015/p0416-e-cigarette-use.html) and questions about their effect on health remain. ## Transcript >> Now if you're a smoker, you know it's getting harder and harder to light up anywhere in public these days. So more people are picking up another habit and that's smokeless tobacco. So that's why I became interested when I saw a new policy statement from the American Heart Association warning about the heart risks associated with smokeless tobacco. I had a chance to speak with Dr. Ralph Sacco, president of the association about why they began to look at this issue now. >> I think it's become a growing concern that particularly young people, adolescence, maybe using more smokeless tobacco and the American Heart Association is concerned that with the focus away from cigarette smoking, the people are thinking about smokeless tobacco as an alternative. >> Let's take a look at some of the options that are out there on the market. First we've got the traditional chewing tobacco which as the name implies is a wet form of the mashed up tobacco leaves that you leave in your mouth. And we've got the drier snuff which come in orange flavors and mint flavors and these you just sniff and then we also have what's popular in Europe particularly in Sweden something called Snus. And these are teabag- like pockets of the tobacco that you just stick between your gum and your cheek. And more recently tobacco companies have been making things like tobacco flavored lozenges and even strips. And these are like the dissolvable breath strips that you leave on your tongue. Some people currently look to smokeless products as a safe and even they think healthy alternative to smoking while others use them as a way to help them quit smoking. But looking at the studies, the heart experts found that there is an increased risk of heart attack and stroke from using smokeless tobacco products. Now while it's true that this risk is still less than that from smoking cigarettes, it's still enough of a risk to warrant a warning. >> The bottom line is smokeless tobacco in our view is probably just as bad as cigarette smoking. We need to encourage the public to be aware of the risks associated with smokeless tobacco and we also encourage the FDA to continue its monitoring and reducing the impact of smokeless tobacco on our public. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4116934/smokeless-tobacco-more-toxic-than-cigarettes-study-says/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4116934/smokeless-tobacco-more-toxic-than-cigarettes-study-says/"},"headline":"Smokeless Tobacco More Toxic Than Cigarettes, Study Says","datePublished":"2015-11-18T05:05:25.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:57:09.285Z","description":"New data from FDA and CDC researchers suggests chewing tobacco or snus can increase exposure to harmful substances","url":"https://time.com/4116934/smokeless-tobacco-more-toxic-than-cigarettes-study-says/","keywords":["Public Health","tobacco","Nicotine","chemicals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4116934/smokeless-tobacco-more-toxic-than-cigarettes-study-says/","name":"Smokeless Tobacco More Toxic Than Cigarettes, Study Says"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"When There's No Smoke, It's Still Dire","description":"With smokeless tobacco products becoming more popular, the American Heart Association issued a new warning about the health risks associated with their use","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/bspWu15K/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2010-09-17T14:18:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bspWu15K.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4116934/smokeless-tobacco-more-toxic-than-cigarettes-study-says/","duration":"PT2M34S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4116934/smokeless-tobacco-more-toxic-than-cigarettes-study-says/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```