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Be Through with Chew
DPH Encourages Kentuckians to Give up Smokeless Tobacco
In an effort to draw attention to the hazards of smokeless tobacco use, the Kentucky Department for Public Health’s (DPH) Tobacco Prevention and Cessation program is encouraging Kentuckians to be “Through with Chew” by participating in the Great American Spit Out Thursday, Feb. 22.
“Through with Chew,” a public awareness campaign set for Feb. 18–24, is aimed at decreasing spit tobacco use and increasing knowledge of its negative health effects. Like its counterpart, the Great American Smoke Out, users of spit tobacco are encouraged to quit for the day.
“When it comes to tobacco use, smokeless doesn’t mean harmless,” said William Hacker, M.D., Health and Family Services acting undersecretary for health and public health commissioner.
Like cigars and cigarettes, smokeless tobacco products contain a variety of toxins associated with cancer. At least 28 cancer-causing chemicals have been identified in smokeless tobacco products. Smokeless tobacco can cause oral cancer, especially in the cheeks, gums and throat. Users are up to 50 times more likely to get oral cancer than non-users. Only one-half of the number of people diagnosed with oral cancer are still living five years after diagnosis.
Signs or symptoms of oral cancer:
- A mouth sore that fails to heal or that bleeds easily
- A white or red patch in the mouth that will not go away
- A lump, thickening or soreness in the mouth, throat or tongue
For the rest of this article please visit www.kentucky.gov.
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