Spitting Tobacco

• Addiction to spitting tobacco products–including chewing tobacco and moist snuff (or so-called “smokeless tobacco” to imply a non-burning product and less smoking)–by high school and college students remains a significant problem, especially in southern and western states. Nonetheless, the United States Smokeless Tobacco Company (UST), makers of Skoal and Copenhagen, has succeeded in promoting its products as a safe alternative to cigarettes.
• In 2008, Altria, parent company of Philip Morris, USA, makers of the number one cigarette brand Marlboro, acquired UST. One result was the introduction of an oral tobacco product called Marlboro snus.
• The death from salivary gland cancer of beloved National Baseball Hall of Fame player Tony Gwynn (1960-2014), a longtime user of smokeless tobacco, sparked greater educational efforts in the US to curb spitting tobacco use among teenagers, especially athletes. In 2016 Major League Baseball banned tobacco companies from giving free samples of smokeless tobacco to players in stadium locker rooms but only prohibited the use of smokeless tobacco by rookies.