Smokeless Tobacco Products

Smokeless tobacco is tobacco that is not burned. In the United States, smokeless tobacco has traditionally been available in the form of chewing tobacco and snuff. Chewing tobacco is placed between the cheek and gums while snuff can be sniffed through the nose if dried or placed between the cheek and gums if moist. Moist snuff is often referred to as dip.

A new generation of smokeless tobacco products is widely available in a number of flavors and forms, including snus (a small pouch of moist snuff) and dissolvable products-such as lozenges, orbs, sticks, and strips. Because these products do not require spitting, they can be used discreetly, making them more attractive to young people.

Additionally, betel quid, a smokeless tobacco product common in India and Asia, is a combination of betel leaf, areca nut, and slaked lime. In many countries, tobacco is added, and the product is known as gutka, ghutka, or gutkha. Other ingredients and flavorings may be added according to local preferences and customs.

No tobacco product is safe. Smokeless tobacco is not a safe alternative to smoking cigarettes. Learn more about the health effects of smokeless tobacco.

Learn more about:

• Smokeless tobacco and cancer in this National Cancer Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, fact sheet
• Keeping youth and young adults from using smokeless tobacco products in the Surgeon General's 2012 report
• The risks of smokeless tobacco in this U.S. Food and Drug Administration consumer update