Snuff use may be gateway to cigaret...( nicotine use Tomar says. Co...),Health

Compared with smokers who had never used snuff, those who used it daily generally smoked fewer cigarettes per day than smokers who had never used snuff, and they were more likely to have tried to quit smoking. The findings suggest that some smokers who would like to quit are using snuff as an alternative method of nicotine administration.

Comparing smokers' use of snuff to the rise in popularity of low-tar cigarettes, Tomar said that "smokers who might otherwise have quit may have chosen instead to switch to products that they perceived as less harmful." He noted that, as with low-tar cigarettes, "supplementation of smoking with snuff may have reduced smokers' success in quitting smoking while probably not appreciably reducing their risk for smoking-associated disease."

The author points out that this study is limited because it is based on self-reported data and tobacco users tend to underreport their consumption. In addition, the NHIS did not report tobacco users' reasons for choosing different types of tobacco products.

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Contact: Connie Daughtry
cdaughtry@dental.ufl.edu
352-392-4431
Center for the Advancement of Health
24-Sep-2002