Spitting Mad Over Chewing Tobacco
Ever sit next to a co-worker with an annoying habit? How would you like to be Lisa Marie Bast, whose work cubicle is next to someone who chews tobacco at his desk? Writes Bast, who works for a south Orange County contracting company: “He does nothing but spit tobacco juice in a cup all day long; I’m listening to this spitting/gagging sound all day.”
Yuck.
I’m with her. I’d rather someone blow smoke in my face than spit tobacco juice in front of me.
But it’s a habit that more than a few people enjoy. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates there are 5 million chewers and dippers in this country. To clarify: You “dip” if you use finely compacted snuff. Most “dippers” stick it between the lip and gums. You “chew” if you choose the looser tobacco sold in a pouch. You pack it in your jaw like a hamster storing food.
Though mostly a rural habit, it’s growing in urban popularity. For example, many computer programmers who can’t smoke in the workplace are switching to chew or dip, says Ross Payson, tobacco expert for the state’s Dental Health Foundation.
“Because the nicotine stimulates the blood, they believe it helps them work long hours over their computers,” Payson said.
Bast says she’s asked her spitter colleague to go outside with it. But that’s not feasible when you have to work. The best solution, seems to me, would be for her company to ban smokeless tobacco.
But, it turns out, hardly anyone does. Only a few cities, I’ve been told, include chewing tobacco in their anti-smoking ordinances. The reason: It doesn’t produce any secondhand smoke that affects other people. To my surprise, I discovered from my own personnel office that I could sit at my desk and chew or dip tobacco if I wanted to; there’s no company policy against it.
Some who dip or chew tobacco do try to quit, says Cathy Lambert, a regional director for Smokenders, a national chain that holds smoking cessation classes. “It’s every bit as addictive as smoking,” Lambert said. “The nicotine goes straight into the bloodstream.”
It’s just as dangerous too. The Orange County Health Care Agency has issued a bulletin warning that 8,000 people die each year from smokeless tobacco. And one can of the stuff has three times the cancer-causing chemicals of a pack of cigarettes. Payson adds that it’s a cruel cancer too, which can lead to tongue loss or facial disfiguration.
Not to mention, of course, that it leads to fewer kisses.
A co-worker of mine recently quit a 20-year snuff habit. When I asked if it had ever been a problem for him in the workplace, he responded: “It wasn’t usually a problem, unless you got stuck someplace unexpectedly, like a very long elevator ride.”
You’ll find plenty of chew/dip defenders on the Internet. Dipper Jonathon Surratt from Carroll County, Va., has his own Web site on the subject. Most of his e-mail responses have come from college students who love the stuff.
But if you want help to kick the chewing/dip habit, you can call this state Health Department hotline: (800) 844-CHEW. A resource person there will set you up with a one-on-one counselor, free of charge.
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Readers may reach Hicks by calling (714) 564-1049 or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com