Koop Says Snuff Use Hikes Cancer Risk Fiftyfold
The surgeon general on Tuesday declared snuff and chewing tobacco to be “a significant health risk” that can lead to addiction and cancer.
Surgeon General C. Everett Koop said that longtime snuff dippers may face nearly a 50 times greater risk of cancer of the cheek or gum. He said scientific evidence has established that snuff and chewing tobacco are not safe alternatives to smoking.
“My message is the same as it is with smoking: If you chew, quit. And if you don’t, don’t start,” Koop told a news conference.
‘Not a Sign of Virility’
“But I would go further with young people and say that it is not a sign of a macho personality. It is not a sign of virility,” Koop added. “The white outline of a circular snuff can showing through your jeans pocket does not mean that you can lick the world.”
The report by Koop’s advisory committee, described as analogous to the landmark 1964 surgeon general’s report on smoking and health, concludes that “the oral use of smokeless tobacco represents a significant health risk. It is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes. It can cause cancer and a number of non-cancerous oral conditions and can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence.”
Although the number of direct studies is not large and some have limitations, the report said, “the pattern of increased oral cancer risk . . . is generally consistent across studies.”
Michael J. Kerrigan, president of the Smokeless Tobacco Council, said that further research is needed.
“There has not been any new scientific advances since the 1982 surgeon general’s report” on smoking, which dealt in passing with smokeless tobacco, Kerrigan said. That report concluded only that long-term use of snuff “appears to be a factor” in oral cancer.
Scientific evidence is strongest against snuff, the latest report said.
Gum Cancer Risk High
“The excess risk of cancer of the cheek and gum may reach nearly fiftyfold among longtime snuff users,” the report said, citing a North Carolina study.
It said that use of chewing tobacco “may also increase the risk of oral cancer, but the evidence is not as strong . . . .”
Both products contain potent cancer-causing agents, the report said. Snuff and chewing tobacco can lead to formation of oral leukoplakia, white patches on the gum that sometimes become cancerous, it said. And gum disease “is a commonly reported outcome” of use.
President Reagan signed legislation last month requiring health warning labels on and banning broadcast advertising of the products.
