Do You Chew? A Dangerous Habit for Athletes

When certain products come in flavours such as apple, berry, citrus or peach, it’s hard to not think of fruit juices or even ice cream. In the world of promoting smokeless tobacco products (chew, dip, snus etc), adding fruit flavours is just another step in marketing products to be more appealing to youth. Alongside these youth friendly flavourings, are a hazardous collection of over 3000 chemicals, 28 of which have been shown to cause cancer.

Most youth view these products as “gross”, unhealthy and see them as “damaging” to their mouths, but there are some that are still experimenting. Most people do not know that 30 minutes of chew is the same as smoking 3 to 4 cigarettes, and addiction can happen very quickly.

Historically, chew, dip and snus have been paired with sports for some reason; tobacco industry marketing practices perhaps? Luckily, most under-18 sporting leagues in Ontario have very clear tobacco free policies. Yet, some coaches are still telling young athletes it will help to give them a “competitive edge” and many players are “chewing and dipping” despite the risk of heart disease, cancer and other cardiovascular diseases. Just listen to former athletes who wish they never started using these products. Maybe we can learn something from them.

Article written by Jeff Moco. Jess is the Youth Engagement Coordinator at the Chatham-Kent Public Health Unit.

Online quit support: www.mylastdip.com

The following video is of former MLB player Tony Gwynn who discovered he had cancer from using chewing tobacco: