Smokeless tobacco users exposed to higher amount of nicotine; more likely to get cancer than cigarette smokers

Just recently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the sale of eight new smokeless tobacco products, which are thought to be a less-toxic option for tobacco users.

It turns out, those who use smokeless tobacco are exposed to almost the same or even higher levels of nicotine and NNK, a cancer-causing chemical in tobacco products, as compared to cigarette smokers, according to a new study from the US government, Reuters reported.

The study include 23,684 participants in national health surveys between 1999 and 2012. The researchers looked for markers used to measure the addictive stimulant nicotine and cancer-causing NNK using the data from blood and urine samples of these participants.

They results of the analysis showed that the level of cotinine, which is a marker for nicotine exposure, was about 180 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) for those who are into smokeless tobacco and just 0.043 ng/ml for those who do not smoke. Meanwhile, those people who use both smokeless tobacco and cigarettes register the highest level at 184 ng/ml.

While the study, definitely, shows that smokeless tobacco are exposed to high levels of nicotine and cancer-causing agents, the researchers from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that there is still a need for more research on the toxic components of smokeless tobacco products and the health of people who use them. They also noted that there were still few studies looking at those levels in people across the U.S.

"It's not uncommon for people to use smokeless tobacco as an alternative to cigarettes in an attempt to wean themselves off smoking," said Dr. Frank Leone, who is director of the University of Pennsylvania's Comprehensive Smoking Treatment Program in Philadelphia. "There are much safer ways to substitute sources of nicotine." He also mentioned that patches, gum and inhalers are all types of alternative nicotine sources.

"There really is no safe form of tobacco," he told Reuters Health. "Even types of tobacco that may be theoretically safer because of their mode of delivery really depend on user specific details." These specific user details may include how much and how long people use tobacco products, according to a Medical Daily report.

Smokeless tobacco includes chewing tobacco, snuff, dip, snus and dissolvable tobacco. According to the researchers, there are about 7 percent of U.S. adult males who used smokeless tobacco between 2012 and 2013.