Today is Great American Spit Out

Emphasizing the fact that spit tobacco is an unsafe alternative to smoking, health and wellness groups are encouraging spit-tobacco users to get help quitting during today’s Great American Spit Out.

The tobacco industry has begun promoting new products, including things like spitless orbs, strips, sticks and snus, in addition to long-used products such as chewing tobacco, dip and snuff, according to a news release from Grand Forks Public Health.

Smokeless tobacco use increases the risk of lip, tongue, cheek and mouth cancers and can cause other cancers, heart disease and strokes, high blood pressure, tooth decay and gum disease, according to health officials.

In North Dakota, spit tobacco is used by 5 percent of adults and 12 percent of students in grades nine through 12. Boys in grades nine through 12 use spit tobacco at a rate of nearly 20 percent, and 9 percent of adult males are spit-tobacco users.

The Great American Spit Out is held this year during Through with Chew Week, which began on Sunday. Through with Chew Week was started in 1989 by the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Inc. in an effort to decrease spit-tobacco use and to raise awareness about the dangers of using spit tobacco.

For help with quitting spit tobacco or other smokeless tobacco products, call the North Dakota Tobacco Quitline at (800) 784-8669, or visit www.nd.quitnet.com.

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