Tobacco-specific nitrosamines and Snus

[Stakx2002]

Do lower levels of TSNAs in snus make it a safer alternative to smoking? There is a lot of info out there but a lot seems to be from the snus makers themselves.
Of course the anti tobacco groups are completely against it.
I'm looking for some unbiased information on the subject.

Has anyone reviewed any studies they believe to be accurate?

 

[nuke]

Probably has something to do with already having so much information available with regards to chewing tobacco/smokeless tobacco. I'd guess the risks are all the same. Chewing tobacco is safer than smoking, but that's a relative thing.

 

[Stakx2002]

From what I understand traditional American smokeless tobacco is fermented resulting in much higher levels of TSNAs than snus. They are really two different products. Research on one doesn't really apply to the other.

 

[nuke]

It's still associated with some carcinogenicity and cardiovascular issues, just not as much as smoking.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20209500
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20065943
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19504754
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19023828
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18412245

The last two are particularly damning,

Remarkably high levels of chloride and some polyaromatic hydrocarbons were observed in the traditional moist snuff. Crotonaldehyde levels were about five times higher in Taboka and Marlboro Snus than in traditional products.

A statistically significant increase in the incidence of the combined category of oral and pharyngeal cancer among daily users of snus (incidence rate ratio 3.1, 95% confidence interval 1.5-6.6) was found. Overall mortality was also slightly increased (hazard ratio 1.10, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.21). Although the combined previous literature on snus and oral cancer weigh toward no association, this population-based prospective study provided suggestive evidence of snus-related risks that cannot be lightly ignored.

 

[sackynut]

i cant find the article at the moment (ill find it though!) but i read somewhere that the MAIN (not only) carcinogenic property of tobacco was the presence of hydrogen peroxide.

ill look for the paper and post it....

 

[mimac]

I've just started using snus to reduce the number of cigarettes I smoke. I managed to reduce my consumption from cca. 1.5-2 packs/day to about 5-10 cigarettes per day. I'll let you know when I get some health related problems

I just googled about snus and found this:

http://www.swedishmatch.com/en/Snus.../Research-on-snus/Snus-and-pancreatic-cancer/

http://www.estoc.org/key-topics/the-swedish-experience

 

[atara]

Remember, N-nitrosonornicotine is not only found in tobacco but also produced by the reaction of nornicotine with nitrites in saliva and mucus. It's pretty hard to avoid.