Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

"Through with Chew" week to raise tobacco awareness

This week, Feb. 18-24, marks Through with Chew, a week in which people who use smokeless tobacco are urged to kick their habit.

Whether it is snuff, dip or chew, it all has the same health effects. According to the America Cancer Society (ACS), the use of smokeless tobacco contributes to more than 30,000 cases of oral cancer diagnosed each year.

To raise local awareness of the problem, Coordinated School Health coordinator Lisa Turner gave away Quit Kits to help spit tobacco users put down their habit. The kits include LifeSaver candies and suckers  healthier alternatives to tobacco  to give users something else to fill the space tobacco does.

She also set up tables with information about smokeless tobacco, and placed an article about tobacco in the Gurdon High School newsletter, which goes out to all GHS parents.

Were using this as an awareness tool, Turner said, because as smoking rates have fallen smokeless tobacco rates have risen.

Smokeless tobacco is often seen as a less dangerous substitute for cigarettes, according to the ACS, but the increased heart rate, blood pressure and blood levels of nicotine found in chewers are similar to those of cigarette smokers.

Most people believe its safer, but its not true.