INTRODUCTION

There are two forms of smokeless tobacco, chewing and snuff. The American Cancer Society reports that over 12 million people use some form of smokeless tobacco. Over the last decade the largest increase has been among the 8-17 year old group. Currently 54.3% of smokeless tobacco users use only snuff, while 22% use only chewing tobacco. There appears to be a strong trend, however, toward the increase in the use of snuff.

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PHYSICAL EFFECTS

• Smokeless tobacco can cause bleeding gums and sores of the mouth that never heal.
  
• It can make you dizzy, give you hiccups, even make you throw up.
  
• It gives you bad breath.
  
• It stains your teeth a yellowish-brown color.
  
• Gum and tooth disease
  
• Leukoplakia,which is a white leathery patch that forms where you hold the tobacco in your mouth.
  
• Heart disease
  
• Eventually you might end up with mouth cancer because of the chemicals in spit tobacco, such as:

Polonium 210 ( nuclear waste)

N-Nitrosamines ( cancer-causing)

Formaldehyde ( embalming fluid)

Nicotine ( addictive drug)

Cadmium ( used in car batteries)

Cyanide

Arsenic

Benzene

Lead ( nerve poison)

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FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ADOLESCENT USE OF TOBACCO

-Economic conditions

-Presence of gangs

-Easy availability of illegal drugs and alcohol

-Peer pressure

-Local lifestyle trends and fashions

-General attitudes toward authority

-Environment

-Role models

-Population characteristics

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EARLY WARNING SIGNS

See a doctor if you experience any of these:

• a sore that bleeds easily and doesn't heal
  
• a lump or thickening anywhere in your mouth or neck
  
• soreness or swelling that doesn't go away
  
• a red or white patch that doesn't go away
  
• trouble chewing, swallowing, or moving your tongue or jaw

Click below to get information about how alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs affect you!

PACE Alternative School is located at:
9220 W. Howard Ave.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53228
(414)541-7941