A smokeless-tobacco company executive was once quoted as saying, "Cherry Skoal is for somebody who likes the taste of candy – if you know what I’m saying …"
Skoal is a brand of smokeless tobacco or chew – and the tobacco industry states it does not market to kids. Guelph’s SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) and Wellington County’s Detox supported National Through With Chew Week (Feb. 18 to 22) with visits to MPPs Liz Sandals and Ted Arnott. They presented over 600 signed postcards advocating a ban on the sale of smokeless tobacco.
Another 400 signed postcards were sent to MPP John Wilkinson from students at Wellington Heights Secondary School in Mount Forest, and Norwell District Secondary School in Palmerston.
"Tobacco companies use candy flavours such as cherry, peach, berry, and mint in their chew products which appeal to a youth market," said SWAT peer leader Alyssa Heathfield. "We want to stop the sale of chew-and-spit tobacco industry products before more youth become addicted."
Many think using smokeless tobacco is safer than smoking. The groups stated a lack of smoke does not mean it is safe. A person who uses 8 to 10 chews a day receives the same amount of nicotine as a heavy smoker who smokes 30 to 40 cigarettes a day. Smokeless tobacco is made from a mixture of tobacco, nicotine, sweeteners, abrasives, salts, and chemicals. It contains over 3,000 chemicals including about 28 known cancer causing substances.
Detox’s Amber Snowe added, "The long-term effects include cancers of the mouth. You are also more likely to develop cavities, tooth loss, and gum disease."
Heathfield said, "Youth are the next generation of smokers … What better way to addict youth to nicotine than to introduce it in an appealing form."
For more information, visit www.wdghu.org.
