Smokeless Tobacco Use Increases Among Teenage Boys

Smokeless tobacco use by adolescent males in the United States increased over a recent five-year period, HealthDay News reported March 5.

According to a new report from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, smokeless tobacco use among males ages 12-17 increased from 3.4 percent to 4.4 percent between 2002 and 2007. By comparison, overall use of smokeless tobacco among all Americans ages 12 and older remained flat at roughly 3 to 3.3 percent during the same time period.

The report showed that among current smokeless-tobacco users, 85.8 percent also smoked cigarettes at some point in their lives. Among those who had used both smokeless tobacco and cigarettes, 31.8 percent first used smokeless tobacco, while 65.5 percent started smoking cigarettes first.

Men were more likely than women to be current smokeless-tobacco users, and 88.1 percent of daily smokers who started using smokeless tobacco were still smoking six months later — arguing against the notion that smokeless tobacco could help smokers quit cigarette use.