The Georgia Department of
Public Health's (DPH) Tobacco Use Prevention Program (TUPP) has recently
noticed an alarming trend around the state. The use of smokeless tobacco by
young people, also known as smokeless tobacco/snuf/chew, is steadily
increasing.
The 2011 Georgia Youth
Tobacco Survey found that 18,000 middle school students and 43,000 high
school students are using smokeless tobacco. This means 61,000 Georgia youth
are exposed to numerous carcinogens that are known to cause cancer and have
adverse health effects in their youth and adult years. Smokeless tobacco is
not a safe alternative to smoking. There are numerous evidence-based
research studies that have consistently determined that smokeless tobacco
can have substantial adverse health effects.
The 2012 surgeon general's
report, "Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults," makes several
key points about the use of smokeless tobacco products. Smokeless tobacco
contains at least 28 carcinogens, and there is strong evidence to show that
users have an increased risk of developing leukoplakia, a precancerous
lesion inside the mouth, as well as oral cancers. Other undesirable oral
health outcomes that have been linked to smokeless tobacco use include
receding gums, periodontal disease, and tooth decay. Less serious outcomes
include staining of teeth and bad breath.
For these reasons, TUPP has
promoted tobacco-free school policies and tobacco prevention education
campaigns statewide. These interventions are designed to promote peer
education on the dangers of all tobacco products, including smokeless
tobacco use, and dispel the myth that smokeless is safe to use. These
education campaigns have resulted in 88 local school board adoptions of
model tobacco-free campus policies. These policies not only restrict smoking
but also smokeless tobacco use. This means that 88 out of 181 Georgia school
districts are protecting youth from exposure to secondhand smoke and
educating youth on the dangers of all tobacco use, including smokeless
tobacco.
In addition to the education
campaign, DPH promotes the Georgia Tobacco Quit Line. The Georgia Tobacco
Quit Line is a free telephone counseling service targeting youth 13 to17
years of age and adults 18 years of age and older. The free cessation
counseling provides smokeless tobacco users effective cessation strategies;
in addition provides free cessation counseling for other tobacco products
such as bidis, hookahs, snus, and dissolvables. Youth can talk
confidentially with a counselor by calling 1-877-270-STOP (7867).. Data from
the 2008 Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence Clinical Practice Guideline
suggest that smokers are more likely to quit successfully if they use
evidence-based counseling or medication treatment than if they tried to quit
on their own (Fiore, et.al, 2008).
The Quit Line, coupled with the Georgia school-based education campaigns, is
providing key messages to youth.. The key messages include: there are no
safe levels of exposure to secondhand smoke, tobacco and health just do not
mix, and we can make tobacco use the exception and not the norm.
-Story by Program Manager
Kenneth Ray, DPH Tobacco Use Prevention Program
