Far from having adverse effects limited to the mouth, smokeless tobacco affects the normal function of a key family of enzymes found in almost every organ in the body, according to the first report on the topic in ACS’ monthly journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. The enzymes play important roles in production of hormones, including the sex hormones estrogen and testosterone; production of cholesterol and vitamin D; and help the body breakdown prescription drugs and potentially toxic substances. Smokeless tobacco also damages genetic material in the liver, kidney and lungs. Krishan Kh ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco companies bill their newest product as a way its users can enjoy tobacco without smoking. It’s smokeless. It’s spitless. It’s snus. And it has government officials and scientists worried about its effect on the tobacco-using population. “Snus is being marketed as something you can use when you can’t smoke,” said Dr. Terry Pechacek, associate director of science for the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Smoking and Health. Snus has been around for years, originating in Sweden as smokeless tobacco. But unlike smokele ... Jump to full article >>

The Wall Street Journal “Numbers Guy” blog said that while smokeless tobacco products remain far less popular than cigarettes in the United States, a collection of products that deliver nicotine without smoke—including dip, chew, snuff and newer items that look more like chewing gum—have sparked a heated debate about health risks. Opponents of these products have presented numbers that suggest smokeless tobacco is an enormous public-health threat akin to cigarettes, while supporters, including some scientists, suggest smokeless items could offer a solution to smoking’s to ... Jump to full article >>

Chewing of tobacco is injurious to health, but still those consuming it, here’s a word of caution. Poisoning the poison, many illegal traders in the city are adulterating the gutkha with highly cancerous catechu of kiln. At tip-off, a team of KNN health department conducted a raid on Saturday in a tobacco factory located at PA-10 Seeta Ram Nagar, Aihrwain, Chakeri. Nearly 200 kilograms of adulterated materials were recovered from the possession of Sada Shiv Tiwari, owner of the factory that was running without the food licence. The KNN team along with the police force and additional magi ... Jump to full article >>

An effort to extinguish the city’s ban on flavored chewing tobacco is up in smoke. The maker of Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco sued the city claiming only the feds can regulate the sale of tobacco products. Manhattan Federal Judge Colleen McMahon shot them down Wednesday, saying federal law allows communities to set their own policies about access to tobacco. “This decision … is not only a win for the children of New York City,” said City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. “Our law is a good progressive law that will protect our youngest New Yorkers. If toba ... Jump to full article >>

Swedish Match North America marketers started in Vail. Now they are handing out silvery sample packs of snus, a traditional Swedish-style snuff, on Wall Street. It’s the clearest sign yet that the Chesterfield County-based company has a different strategy for snus than that of the nation’s top two tobacco firms, which also are pushing the smokeless tobacco. One element: The company is selling snus as a high-end product. “We are emphasizing the Swedish cachet,” Richard Flaherty, president of Swedish Match North America, said yesterday when asked about the Wall Street pus ... Jump to full article >>

Cigarette maker Altria Group Inc. said Thursday that it plans to expand its Marlboro Snus smokeless tobacco nationwide by the end of March as it looks to shore up its business as American smoke fewer cigarettes. The Richmond-based owner of Philip Morris USA, which makes the top-selling Marlboro brand, began testing the product in select markets in 2007. Snus (pronounced “snoose”) are teabag-like pouches that users stick between their cheek and gum. As tax increases, health concerns, smoking bans and social stigma continue cutting demand for cigarettes, Altria and other tobacco comp ... Jump to full article >>

U.S. health officials are seeking more information about the possible attraction and addiction of flavored, dissolvable tobacco products that regulators worry look too much like candy and can entice children. The products, made by Reynolds American Inc’s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co and by Star Scientific Inc, contain powdered “smokeless” tobacco and are brightly colored, with flavors such as coffee and mint. Companies have argued that the products, which include dissolvable tablets, are aimed at adults who must deal with a growing number of smoking bans in public places as well ... Jump to full article >>

Rick Bender, a former spit tobacco user and oral cancer survivor, will tell his story at a one-hour presentation on from 7 to 8 p.m. Feb. 9 at the MSU Billings Petro Theatre. The presentation is free and open to the public. This program is designed for anyone, but is especially targeted for young adults and teenagers who think that tobacco only causes cancer in older adults. The event is part of “Through with Chew Week” promoted by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. Bender’s appearance at MSU Billings is sponsored by the university’s Student Health Services and ... Jump to full article >>

Smokeless tobacco products, also known as chew or “snuff,” are far from a healthy alternative for tobacco users intending to get a nicotine fix without cigarettes, according to a study published by Portland State chemistry professor Dr. James Pankow. His study resulted in an article named “Levels of mint and wintergreen flavorants: Smokeless tobacco products vs. confectionary products,” which was published in a nationwide journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology. Pankow’s research, which was conducted at PSU by four faculty members of the chemistry department, concluded that smokeless t ... Jump to full article >>

State officials are seeking $3 million in federal stimulus money to snuff out candy-flavored chewing tobacco and cigars that critics say are aimed at youths. If the Department of Health Services receives the federal grant and lawmakers approve, it would fund a statewide campaign to persuade local communities around Wisconsin to ban sales of products like cherry-flavored chaw. A state official said this backdoor approach could eventually lead to a statewide prohibition just as local bans on smoking in bars and restaurants led to the statewide ban taking effect in July. But one Republican lawmak ... Jump to full article >>