High school campaign raises awareness of smokeless tobacco

Picture this: It's biology, math, chemistry or any other class in our local high schools and in front of you sits a new generation of tobacco users - only now thanks to the tobacco industry they are addicted to smokeless tobacco.

"Smokeless tobacco use has the potential to explode thanks to a push by the tobacco industry to offset sales losses as more and more people stop smoking cigarettes," says Terry Chambers, a public health nurse with the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.

"The industry is trying to entice youth to try their 'cool brands' of smokeless tobacco products like chew, spit, dip and plug by making them in flavours such as green apple, cherry, berry and vanilla.

"But what the industry doesn't promote is the fact that these products are definitely not harmless. They contain more than 3,000 chemicals, including at least 28 that cause cancers," she added. "Those who use chew tobacco can also get stained teeth, gum disease and drooling in the very short-term - not a very attractive picture."

Statistics on the use of chew and other smokeless products among our youth is limited. The 2004-2005 Canadian Youth Smoking Survey of Grade 5 to 9 students shows two per cent have used chew tobacco. Among youth 15-19, surveys conducted by Not to Kids, a coalition of 27 public health units, identified the use of chew tobacco grew to 11.6% in 2005 from 1.7% in 2003, among youth who smoke cigarettes.

To counter that alarming increase, Not to Kids is fighting back with a mass media campaign, Lost Jaw! The campaign is designed to increase awareness among teens 13 to 18 of the health hazards of smokeless tobacco, its addictive nature, and the marketing that is underway to hook them early and for life.

The campaign, funded by Health Canada, includes a graphic poster depicting the disfiguring oral cancer risk associated with using smokeless tobacco. An educational insert has also been developed titled, "Who loves a good Chew?" that will be included in free-circulation school magazines.

An important component of the campaign is a new website www.lostjaw.ca to provide youth with the information they need to make healthy informed choices about smokeless tobacco.

The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is a partner in the Not to Kids! Coalition, created to keep kids smoke free. For more information call Your Health Connection at 721- 7520 or 1-877-721-7520. For more information about Not to Kids! visit the website www.ntk.ca.