September 15, 1999

Contact: Bonnie Widerburg, (971) 673-1282

Smokeless tobacco users may actually catch a break, if they are willing to give up their bad habit. A new study shows that most pre-cancerous changes in the mouth from snuff and chewing tobacco use vanish within weeks after quitting.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Dental Association, illustrates the importance of giving up smokeless tobacco products before such lesions become cancerous, said lead author Lt. Col. Gary Chad Martin, a dentist who studied basic military trainees at Lackland AFB.

"Oregon has a very significant problem with smokeless tobacco use. Far too many adults and young people use this harmful product," Dave Fleming, M.D., State Epidemiologist said. "In Oregon, 21% of 11th grade boys and 7.2% of adult men use smokeless tobacco regularly. These users are at much greater risk of oral cancer than those who don't use smokeless tobacco."

Other studies conclude the risk of getting oral cancer is as much as four times greater for smokeless tobacco users than nonusers. The latest study demonstrates that such products, especially snuff, can cause pre-cancerous lesions in the mouth lining – known as leukoplakias.

A leukoplakia is a white, leathery patch that forms as a result of holding tobacco in one place inside the mouth. The tobacco juice irritates the mouth's lining.

Snuff and chewing tobacco cause not only cancer but several noncancerous oral conditions, and can lead to nicotine addiction.

Oregon's Tobacco Prevention and Education Program is a comprehensive effort to reduce the use of tobacco and exposure to secondhand smoke. It includes programs in local communities, schools, businesses, media and special populations. The program is funded by a tobacco tax increase approved by voters in 1996. Ten percent of the new revenue is allocated to tobacco use prevention and reduction. The Oregon Tobacco Quit Line, a toll-free telephone call, is a cessation counseling service available to Oregonians. To quit tobacco for good, call: 1-877-270-STOP (English), 1-877-2NO FUME (Spanish), or 1-877-777-6534 (TTY).