Alongside smoking cigarettes, tobacco misuse has many other deadly faces. Two of the most prevalent forms of tobacco misuse are smokeless tobacco and environmental tobacco smoke.

WHAT IS SMOKELESS TOBACCO?

Smokeless tobacco is chewing tobacco or snuff. Chewing tobacco is leaf tobacco chewed by placing a wad -called a “quid” or a “chaw” –between the cheek and teeth and sucking on it and then spitting it out. Snuff is finely ground tobacco. It is “dipped” by placing a pinch between the lower lips and teeth.
If you think that chewing tobacco and snuff are better for you than smoking, you are wrong: they aren’t! They are just as bad, as addictive, as unhealthy and contain hundreds of poisons (as well as sweeteners and salts) that can seriously hurt you and even kill you. Those who dip or chew get an even quicker buzz from nicotine than cigarette smokers do. The blood level of nicotine is just as high or higher in smokeless tobacco users as in smokers. Smokeless tobacco users become just as addicted as smokers.
Not only that, but it makes you spit everywhere, which many people find unpleasant. It is also highly unsanitary, especially around children.
According to the FNITCS, smokeless tobacco, which is associated with significant health risks, is a problem not only for adult First Nations and Inuit people, but also for older children and youth. More and more kids, at very young ages, are trying and using smokeless tobacco, and this is very dangerous as it leads to addiction at a very early age.
Some of the health effects of smokeless tobacco include mouth cancer, throat cancer, heart disease and stroke, gum disease, stomach ulcers, and problems with the urinary bladder.
And, as if that weren’t enough, other side effects include bad breath, black hairy tongue, stained teeth, tooth loss, difficulty tasting things (leads to increased sugar and salt consumption), excess saliva, and a need to spit.
Remember: tobacco is not safe in any form.

ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE

Smoking kills. It is a fact. Whether you smoke cigarettes, cigars, or non-sacred pipes, smoking is a serious health hazard. We have looked at a couple of the ways that smoking causes damage to you. Now let’s examine another side of the coin: causing damage to others’ health by your smoking.
The way that you hurt others by smoking is just by smoking near them. How?
Environmental tobacco smoke is a combination of smoke that comes from the burning end of a cigarette, pipe or cigar (also known as side-stream smoke) and the exhaled smoke from a smoker’s lungs (also known as second-hand smoke).

Second-hand smoke is the opposite of mainstream smoke, which is smoke directly inhaled by the smoker. The term for a person who gets exposed to environmental tobacco smoke is a passive smoker. Passive smokers are those who are not smoking but are in sufficiently close proximity to someone who is smoking that they necessarily breathe in the side-stream smoke and the second-hand smoke.

Fact: At least two-thirds of the smoke from each cigarette goes into the environment, even when smokers are inhaling.

The home, workplace and public gathering spaces are locations where people who are not smoking are exposed to this environmental smoke. In the home, children are especially vulnerable to exposure to adult smoke.

WHY IS ENVIRONMENTAL TOBACCO SMOKE (ETS) DANGEROUS?

Actually, ETS contains over 4,000 chemicals, many of which cause cancer. Strangely enough, ETS is more dangerous than mainstream smoke. There is over three times the amount of tar, and over six times the amount of nicotine in ETS than in smoke that is inhaled directly into the lungs by a smoker.
An estimated 4,000 people are killed annually in Canada by ETS.
ETS causes short-term health problems and discomfort, including nasal discomfort, eye irritation, headaches, nausea and dizziness, and allergic reactions. Long-term health problems also result directly from the inhalation of ETS, including various cancers.
Spouses of smokers have a 34 per cent higher risk of getting lung cancer than those whose partners are non-smokers. If you smoke around your children, they are twice as likely to suffer from respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Non-smoking pregnant mothers who are near smokers also place their babies at high risk.
Aboriginal communities are often over-crowded, and because so many people in the community smoke, ETS is a serious health consideration that needs to be addressed.

WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS?

The one most important step is that we must start to maintain smoke-free homes, as well as smoke-free public spaces, from schools and workplaces to restaurants and bars. Let people know that you mind if they smoke. Do what you can to create as many smoke-free zones as possible. These are some of the ways to lead to a healthier community.