Dissolvable Tobacco
Dissolvable tobacco products (otherwise known as “dissolvables”) dissolve in your mouth and do not require spitting or discarding of the product. Dissolvable tobacco products can be in the form or lozenges, strips, sticks, and some may look like candy. Since these products are relatively new to the market, there is limited research on the health risks, but further studies are being conducted on long lasting health effects.
Health risks:
- The use of dissolvable tobacco can lead to oral cancer, gum disease, and nicotine addiction.
- Users have an 80 percent higher risk of developing oral cancer and a 60 percent higher risk of developing pancreatic and esophageal cancer.
- Dissolvables can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks.
- The size and shape of dissolvables makes them easy for children to ingest, which can lead to accidental poisoning.
References:
https://www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/Labeling/ProductsIngredientsComponents/ucm482569.htm
Greg Connolly et al., Unintentional Child Poisonings Through Ingestion of Conventional and Novel Tobacco Products, 125 PEDIATRICS 896, (2010), available at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2010/04/19/peds.2009-2835.abstract.
Karen C. Sokol, Smoking Abroad and Smokeless at Home: Holding the Tobacco Industry Accountable in a New Era, 18 N.Y.U. J. LEGIS. & PUB. POL’Y 81, 114-15 (2010).
Paolo Boffetta et al., Smokeless Tobacco and Cancer, 9 LANCET 667-75 (2008).
U.S. Food & Drug Admin., Health Effects of Dissolvable Tobacco Products (2012), available at http://www.fda.gov/downloads/AdvisoryCommittees/CommitteesMeetingMaterials/TobaccoProductsScientificAdvisoryCommittee/UCM288283.pdf;