Drug info - A Guide to Smokeless Tobacco Products

[mouthwater]

Some information in this guide is temporal (relating to time)—specifically, the stock price of UST is dependent upon date of reading. Studies may become outdated in time, and SWIM (or others) will hopefully add any new research contributing to or contradicting the information below to this thread.

Smokeless Products:

• Gum: Brand names include Nicorette, Commit, and Nicotrol. Primarily used as a stop-smoking aid. Gum typically contains either 2mg or 4mg of nicotine. The most common method to quit smoking using these gums is to chew a piece every one to two hours for six weeks, a piece every two to four hours for the next three weeks, and a piece every four to eight hours for three week. The 2mg gum is targeted towards people who smoke less than 25 cigarettes a day; the 4mg gum is target towards people who smoke more than 25 cigarettes a day. This product can be used regardless if the user intends on quitting smoking or not, but because the gum is more expensive than other forms of tobacco, it typically isn’t used recreationally.

• Patches: Brand names include Nicoderm CQ, Nicotrol, and Habitrol. Primarily used as stop-smoking aid. Patches generally contain 21mg, 14mg, or 7mg of nicotine. Product is applied to the body daily, and like the gum, the user is supposed to lower their daily nicotine intake by switching to a patch with lower nicotine content after a certain number of weeks. This typically means the user wears their starting patch for six weeks and nicotine patches with less nicotine content for two weeks until the user has kicked the habit. Like the gum, because this product is more expensive than other forms of tobacco, it typically isn’t used recreationally.

• Hand Gel: Brand names include Nicogel. A relatively recent product, nicotine hand gel is applied to the users' skin either by wiping their hands with single-use packets or by dispensing 1-2 presses from a pump. This product may be an effective stop-smoking aid, but it is target towards users who want nicotine where they cannot smoke (such as smoke-free bars). Its makers claim the gel contains no carcinogens or cancer-causing agents 1.

• Chew: Brand names include Redman and Levi Garrett. Chewing tobacco is an age-old way of using nicotine and was very popular for baseball players to use in the last century. Chew comes in three forms: twist, plug, and scrap. Twist tobacco is rolled tobacco leaves twisted around each other like a rope; plug tobacco is made by pressing cured tobacco leaves together in a syrup (which the user, like twist, cuts a piece off the plug to use); and scrap (loose-leaf) tobacco, the most common form of chew, where the user grabs a “pinch” of shredded tobacco and puts it in the back of their jaw between their gum and lip. Users occasionally chew on the tobacco to excrete flavor and nicotine (which is absorbed orally) and spit their saliva into a tin or on the ground. Longtime users are known to swallow their spit; for most users, this causes nausea and vomiting. Beginners often feel light headed or drunk when trying this product and sometimes vomit.

• Dip: Brand names include Skoal and Copenhagen. Dip is moist, shredded tobacco leaves intended for oral use. Like loose-leaf chew, the user grabs a pinch of the tobacco and places it between their gum and lip. To get a good pinch, users “pack” their tin using a method sometimes called the dip snap or by hitting the tin against a hard surface. This condenses the tobacco into a corner of the tin making it easier to grab. Some brands offer teabag-looking pouches for users, which contain the tobacco. This is put in the mouth the same way as the shredded leaves are, and are generally used by beginners or for those who don’t want to deal with how messy loose-leaf tobacco can be. Like chew users, dip users spit their saliva out to avoid nausea. Longtime dip users also are known to swallow spit, and beginners also feel intoxicated (or sick) after use. The popularity of dipping tobacco is rising, as evident by the climbing stock price of the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco company (UST) 2. Dipping tobacco has recently, by some, been considered a safer, but not harmless, alternative to smoking 3,4. This judgment is not conclusive, as the severity of the role tobacco-specific nitrosamines play in the causes of cancer are disputed.

• Snus: Popular in Sweden, Snus is used like dipping tobacco however the saliva is not spit out. Snus is dried (as opposed to moist), and is sometimes salted to avoid excessive salivation. Some snus brands also release pouch products. Snus contains lower concentrations of tobacco-specific nitrosamines than moist tobacco and is also regarded as a more safe, but not harmless, alternative to smoking 5.

• Snuff: Snuff is shredded, dry tobacco (sometimes called European snuff) that is typically flavoured. Users sniff the product into their nose for nicotine absorption; however, this product is not intended to get past the nose (and into the sinuses or throat). Snuff use is less common today when compared with the seventeenth and eighteen centuries.

References:
1. Gel Could Help Satisfy Nicotine Cravings (NBC)
2. UST Inc. - Stock chart, Index chart - MSN Money
3. Snus Safer Than Cigarettes (The Oregonian, a response by Professor Brad Rodu)
4. Tobacco Harm Reduction: An Alternative Cessation Strategy for Inveterate Smokers (by Rodu, B. (Tobacco Harm Reduction Research, School of Medicine, University of Louisvilleand Godshall) and Godshall W.T. (Founder and Executive Director of Smokefree))
5. Effect of Smokeless Tobacco (Snus) on Smoking and Public Health in Sweden (by Foulds, J., Ramstrom, L., Burke, M., and Fagerström, K.)

Edit: This "guide" is continued in subsequent posts within the thread.

Reputation Comments on this post:

	Good post!
	good contribution mouthwater, just what we like to see

[Micklemouse]

Cheers for that Mouthwater. One thing, is that your own work, or a copy-paste? If the latter, please credit the original author/compiler If at all possible.

Sources...

[mouthwater]

This is my own work. I originally linked to my sources but Alfa edited them out a few hours ago; I didn't know I shouldn't link to them in this article, sorry!

I've been meaning to write up an article on smokeless tobacco, so I figured I should start with outlining the products. Hopefully in the near future I will detail the controversy of the dangers of tobacco-specific nitrosamines and the growing Western cultural trend of using smokeless tobacco.

I noticed the Tobacco forum wasn't too active, so I thought it would be constructive to write up a guideline pertaining to the use of smokeless tobacco products (because smoking tobacco questions and information seemed to be well covered by the search engine).

Hopefully this forum will hear more about tobacco-specific nitrosamines soon. Cheers!

[Micklemouse]

Great stuff! Feel free to expand at will!

The links may have been removed due to linking to Government sites, other Forums or potentially commercial sites. Only guessing mind. Always check sites for discussion boards or shops, even in ads.

[botas]

i'm interested in a link on wikipedia, stating that nicotine is...

Tobacco contains nicotine, a powerful neurotoxin that is particularly harmful to insects. All means of consuming tobacco result in the absorption of nicotine in varying amounts into the user's bloodstream, and over time the development of tolerance and dependence. Absorption quantity, frequency and speed seem to have a direct relationship with how strong a dependence and tolerance, if any, might be created. A lethal dose of nicotine is contained in as little as one half of a cigar or three cigarettes; however, only a small fraction of the nicotine contained in these products is actually released into the smoke, and most clinically significant cases of nicotine poisoning are the result of concentrated forms of the compound used as insectisides. It is important to note, however, that death can result if a small child ingests an amount as small as a cigarette butt (not including filter). Other active alkaloids in tobacco include harmala alkaloids.

i recently quit smoking, and was interested in dipping for a safer alternative to smoking. but i just came across this article while looking at the health effects of nicotine, and realized it is a neurotoxin. i don't enjoy nicotine enough at all to get mouth cancer or kill neurons... can anyone confirm this or provide further information? a little nicotine every once in a while is nice, but with my higher education still in process, id appreciate keeping my neurons...

[mouthwater]

Well, first off, if you recently quit smoking, reconsider your interest in using any nicotine products again. Smoking is usually a tough habit to kick, and if you succeeded in doing so, you should probably abstain from all nicotine products in the future (or, at the least, use them very sporadically).

The effects of nicotine are very complex. Some studies claim nicotine kills brain cells (and stops new cells from forming) in the hippocampus [1]. The hippocampus is the center of memory. It's well documented that many smokers trying to kick their habit experience short-term cognitive problems.

However, some studies show that nicotine also has neuroprotective properties. Cigarette smokers have lower rates of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease [2].

Nicotine use, like most (if not all) things, has its pros and cons. It triggers the self-reward mechanism in one's brain, is a calming stimulant (calming because it satiates the addiction for the time being, if I recall correctly), and may protect against certain neurodegenerative diseases. It can also lead to addiction (which costs money) and be the cause of some health complications (such as poor lungs, depending on the user's intake method), which may cause cancer and may or may not lead to death.

Nicotine information is infrequently conclusive-- many believe the drug can offer something to society, many believe it is so terrible it should be entirely demonized. I'm trying to offer both sides of the debate. I do not know how neurotoxic nicotine is, or how it will affect you. An individual's body chemistry, frequency of use, family history, medical history, method of intake, and other variables all must be considered before anyone can offer good information about how harmful nicotine use may be for a particular person.

In my opinion, people shouldn't use nicotine for it's neuroprotective properties-- it seems to risky. Botas, like I stated earlier, reconsider your reconsideration to use nicotine. Switching to smokeless tobacco products may just be a way for you to justify your use (demonstrating an inability to quit), or you may really have considered the pros and cons of nicotine use and made an educated decision about it. Don't relapse unless you've given it plenty of thought.

[1]. Nicotine stops new brain cells forming (New Scientist)
[2]. Study Supports New Theory For Nicotine's Protective Effect Against Neurodegenerative Disorders (University Of South Florida Health Sciences Center)

[botas]

wow. mouthwater, you couldnt have given me a better answer than what i was looking for if you had a gun to your head. i dont think im going to continue my habit due to the uncertainty on the issue. thanks alot!

[mouthwater]

Originally Posted by botas

wow. mouthwater, you couldnt have given me a better answer than what i was looking for if you had a gun to your head. i dont think im going to continue my habit due to the uncertainty on the issue. thanks alot!

Glad I could help!

[baron samedi]

SWIM has been interested in snus for a while, after reading that it is more popular in Sweden than smoking and, allegedly, 100 times less harmful.
The tobacco has supposedly been pasteurised so as to make it less carcinogenic.
Unfortunately, it still appears to be illegal to sell, where SWIM lives, presumably so as not to encourage new tobacco addicts.
It seems harm reduction is still taboo for some.

[darkglobe]

Fan-fucking-tastic, mouthwater!!

Brilliant advice. I don't like throwing accusations about but I swear I've read something very similar before...

Nevermind, I didn't know half of those existed! Atm I'm using nicotine gum for quitting smoking, but chewing tobacco sounds fun....

Thanks!

~Dark

[mouthwater]

The following is personal research and should be read as such. This means the reader, if interested, should read the citations provided and the commentary accompanying them at the bottom of this post.

Regarding rumours that fiberglass/plexiglass/glass/sand/et cetera is added into tins of chewing tobacco:

pH of tobacco is mostly responsible for oral absorption.[1][2] While cigarettes are more scrutinized to inspection, before sale, than chewing tobacco,[3] it's unrealistic to believe manufacturers would be allowed to put such additives in their product (especially w/o proper warning labels). "Nicotine from the alkaline smoke of cigars is absorbed through the buccal mucosa..."[4] -- "buccal" refers to the mouth, and "mucosa" refers to the lining of cheeks and lips. While this statement refers to smoke, they specify "alkaline" smoke (that with a pH greater than 7). I think it's a safe assumption that this reference supports my defense that oral tobacco doesn't contain fiberglass (or other detritus additives), because, since moist tobacco sold has specific pH levels,[1] they are [likely] absorbed through the buccal mucosa as well, so there would be no need for fiberglass in the first place.

Also, some people chew tobacco that doesn't come from companies, as mentioned in the first post. Twist, plug, and scrap chewing tobacco are sometimes used by those who harvest the tobacco crop. I think it's a safe assumption that they wouldn't chew these forms of tobacco if it didn't work.

Tobacco distributors, and users, take a lot of heat these days, no?

[1]. Determination of Nicotine, pH, and Moisture Content of Six U.S. Commercial Moist Snuff Products -- Florida, January-February 1999. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In regards to the second time this citation is used, the report states pH levels of various smokeless tobacco products, which range from pH levels of just over 5 to just over 8. The higher the pH, the more efficiently nicotine is absorbed.
[2]. Review of the evidence that pH is a determinant of nicotine dosage from oral use of smokeless tobacco. SL, Tomar and JE, Henningfield. Office on Smoking and Health, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
[3]. European Union policy on smokeless tobacco: a statement in favour of evidence based regulation for public health. Tob Control. 2003 Dec;12(4):360-7. From the abstract: "We believe that the partial ban applied to some forms of smokeless tobacco in the EU should be replaced by regulation of the toxicity of all smokeless tobacco. We hold this view for public health reasons: smokeless tobacco is substantially less harmful than smoking and evidence from Sweden suggests it is used as a substitute for smoking and for smoking cessation." Because they state that the EU should regulate toxicity of all smokeless tobacco, I gather that many institutions don't thoroughly inspect chewing tobacco before it is released onto the market, and I assume that these institutions don't simply allow smokeless tobacco onto the market without at least some kind of inspection. Because cigarettes are more widely used, I think it's a safe assumption that they are scrutinized to inspection more than smokeless tobacco.
[4]. Mouth versus deep airways absorption of nicotine in cigarette smokers. Gori GB, Benowitz NL, Lynch CJ. Pharmacol Biochem Behav. 1986 Dec;25(6):1181-4.

[tayo]

More on SNUS...

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/sho...highlight=snus

[Smurph]

I think it may be interesting to add something about e-cigarettes (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-cigarette) to this list.

[tayo]

Originally Posted by Smurph

I think it may be interesting to add something about e-cigarettes (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-cigarette) to this list.

that's weird man...

it even lights up at the end for effect...

[dutch-marshal]

about the E-cigarettes

The device takes the form of a tiny rod which is slightly longer than a normal cigarette. The mouthpiece of the device contains a replaceable cartridge filled with liquid. The main substances contained in the liquid are nicotine and propylene glycol.

The Food and Drug Administration has determined that propylene glycol in or on cat food has not been shown by adequate scientific data to be safe for use. Use of propylene glycol in or on cat food causes the feed to be adulterated and in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. 21CFR589.1001
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has determined propylene glycol to be "generally recognized as safe" for use in food, cosmetics, and medicines. Like ethylene glycol, propylene glycol affects the body's chemistry by increasing the amount of acid. Propylene glycol is metabolized into lactic acid, which occurs naturally as muscles are exercised, while ethylene glycol is metabolized into oxalic acid, which is toxic.

wiki copy past info

so that isn't even safe to smoke :P?
or am i understanding it wrong?

[Smurph]

Originally Posted by dutch-marshal

about the E-cigarettes

wiki copy past info

so that isn't even safe to smoke :P?
or am i understanding it wrong?

It would indeed have been wiser to leave out the propylene glycol. But how can you, as an e-cig producer, convince a tobacco-addict to consider an alternative if it doesn't even smoke? Many e-cig users seem to like the smoke alot, and some will even choose a model which produces a lot of smoke.

However, I expect that in the future cartridges will become available which do not include propylene glycol (for health reasons).

Also note that, although the prop glyc should have been left out, there is little doubt that this device is much less hazardous to the consumer than normal smoking.

Btw, propylene glycol is also used in disco mist machines.

[dutch-marshal]

lol when u said that :P i defenitly would not try that :P
but smoking sigs is also a wast of my money and body..

i'm try'ing snus!

ordering now

[tayo]

Why can't it be water mixed with nictotine?... that wouldn't chnage the PH level of the body.

[Smurph]

Originally Posted by tayo

Why can't it be water mixed with nictotine?... that wouldn't chnage the PH level of the body.

I thinks its mainly done for the smoke effect.

Although, water would require more energy to evaporate (so, the battery won't last as long).

But even better: make it pure nicotine (if necessary with a little bit of taste stuff added) -- and vaporize less of the stuff. Makes the cig smaller, makes the battery last longer.

[tayo]

Keeps going, and going, and going, and going.... *Pink Rabbit Beats Drum*

[yamman13]

Snuff is actually extremely common where swim lives, you can buy it in all supermarkets and kiosks, and is used mainly by teenagers.

[baron samedi]

Does SWIY have personal experience with snuff? SWIM is interested, but knows nobody who has tried it. Does SWIY live in Europe, out of interest? SWIM didn't know snuff was still popular in some places.

[yamman13]

Originally Posted by baron samedi

Does SWIY have personal experience with snuff? SWIM is interested, but knows nobody who has tried it. Does SWIY live in Europe, out of interest? SWIM didn't know snuff was still popular in some places.

Yup swim does live in europe, in switzerland. Its quite surreal but snuff is popular mainly because it can give a nicotine rush even to heavy smokers, well thats the reason swim thinks anyway.
Swim does have personal experience, and thinks its much better than smoking tobbaco. It is a lot cheaper, easier to carry around, and more fun. swim puts it on his hand, one or two pinches, then snorts it in both nostrils. In switzerland swim has found its popular to hit someones head after theyve just snorted snuff; it improves the persons rush aparently.

[bananaweed]

Well, I'm the snus user. And the main thing you should know about this sh*t - it is very addictive. I was trying to get rid of this bad habit many times. And I'm still using this sh*t. Snus dont give me some euphoria, or drunkness or energy like it was when i just started to use it. All my snus was over last friday and I tried to stop using this stuff till saturday, but today i bought two boxes of snus again! what a hell. I have the psychological and physiological addiction to snus. when i'm planning to stop use it? i think when this two boxes will bу empty. but the true is i'll go to tobacco-shop again.

[yamman13]

Originally Posted by bananaweed

Well, I'm the snus user. And the main thing you should know about this sh*t - it is very addictive. I was trying to get rid of this bad habit many times. And I'm still using this sh*t. Snus dont give me some euphoria, or drunkness or energy like it was when i just started to use it. All my snus was over last friday and I tried to stop using this stuff till saturday, but today i bought two boxes of snus again! what a hell. I have the psychological and physiological addiction to snus. when i'm planning to stop use it? i think when this two boxes will bу empty. but the true is i'll go to tobacco-shop again.

Swim never had that problem; if anything, swim finds Its a lot less addictive than ciggs.