What's the Difference Between Smokeless Tobacco and Smokeless Cigarettes?

Both terms have the word smokeless in them, but they are not necessarily the same. Users don't need combustion to access the nicotine, but smokeless cigarettes have a cleaner and more refined means to deliver it compared to smokeless tobacco.

What is Smokeless Tobacco?

Unlike traditional cigarettes, which you light up and smoke, smokeless tobacco is chewed and discarded after sucking the essence out of the moist bits. Smokeless tobacco is also known as snuff, dip, pinch, chew or spit tobacco. It doesn't need combustion to deliver the nicotine to the user.

In the United States, the main types of smokeless tobacco are:

Chewing tobacco. This consists of loose tobacco leaves that are sweetened and packaged in pouches. You put a wad of the tobacco between your cheek and gum and hold it there, sometimes for hours at a time. It's also called chew and chaw. Usually you spit out the tobacco juices, but if you're more addicted, you tend to swallow some of the juices.

Plug. This is chewing tobacco that has been pressed into a brick shape, often with the help of syrup, such as molasses, which also sweetens the tobacco. You cut off or bite off a piece of the plug and hold it between your cheek and gum. You spit out the tobacco juices.

Twist. This is flavored chewing tobacco that has been braided and twisted into rope-like strands. You hold it between your cheek and gum and spit out the tobacco juices.

Snuff. This is finely ground or shredded tobacco leaves. It's available in dry or moist forms and is packaged in tins or tea bag-like pouches. A pinch of snuff is placed between the lower lip and gum or cheek and gum. Dry forms of snuff can be sniffed into the nose. Using snuff is also called dipping. You normally spit out the tobacco juices, but as with chewing tobacco, if you're more addicted you tend to swallow at least some of the juices.

Snus. Snus (pronounced snoos) is a newer smokeless, spitless tobacco product that originated in Sweden. It comes in a pouch that you stick between your upper lip and gum. You leave it there for about a half-hour without having to spit, then discard it.

Dissolvable tobacco products. These are pieces of compressed powdered tobacco, similar to small hard candies. They dissolve in your mouth, requiring no spitting of tobacco juices. They're sometimes called tobacco lozenges, but they're not the same as the nicotine lozenges used to help you quit smoking.

It seems the lack of combustion in smokeless tobacco isn't an assurance that it's safer or healthier than smoking. It turns out that some smokeless products contain the highest amounts of nicotine that can be readily absorbed by the body.

In 1986, the U.S. Surgeon General declared that the use of smokeless tobacco is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes. It can cause cancer and a number of noncancerous conditions and can lead to nicotine addiction and dependence. Also, since 1991, the National Cancer Institute has recommended that the public avoid the use of all tobacco products, due to their high levels of nitrosamines.

In a recent study, cancer researchers found that oral tobacco products, including lozenges and moist snuff, are not a good alternative to smoking, since the levels of cancer-causing nitrosamines in smokeless tobacco and lozenges are very high.

Three percent of American adults are smokeless tobacco users. They run the same risks of gum disease, heart disease, and addiction as cigarette users, but an even greater risk of oral cancer. Each year about 30,000 Americans are diagnosed with oral and pharyngeal cancers, and more than 8,000 people die of these diseases. Despite the health risks associated with tobacco use, consumers continue to demand the product. In 2001, the five largest tobacco manufacturers spent $236.7 million on smokeless tobacco advertising and promotion.

What are Smokeless Cigarettes?

It's a good thing that vaping has successfully established itself as a less harmful alternative to smoking in the early part of this new millennium. Dubbed as smokeless cigarettes because they don't depend on combustion to work, the plethora of electronic nicotine delivery systems or ENDS that's been flooding the market are the next best options for smokers who wanted to reduce their nicotine intake and to subsequently quit their smoking habit.

ENDS, including electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), are handheld devices that produce an aerosol from a solution typically containing nicotine, flavoring chemicals, and carrier solvents such as propylene glycol and vegetable glycerin (glycerol) for inhalation by the user. Wide variability exists in ENDS terminology, product design, and engineering. For the purposes of the current policy statement, the term ENDS encompasses devices that are typically battery operated and produce emissions for inhalation. Alternate names for these products include electronic cigarettes, e-cigarettes, e-cigs, electronic cigars, electronic hookah, e-hookah, hookah sticks, personal vaporizers, mechanical mods, vape pens, and vaping devices.

Although commonly referred to as a vapor, the emission from ENDS is most accurately referred to as an aerosol, which is a suspension of fine particles in a gas. Despite variations in terminology, ENDS products generally have several common components that include a flow sensor, aerosol generator, battery, and solution storage area. When a user draws a breath (or "vapes") from the device, a flow sensor detects the change in pressure and activates the aerosol generator. The generator draws the solution from the storage area and heats and/or mechanically disperses the solution, creating an aerosol. This aerosol is inhaled by the user, who then exhales it.

The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) has listed the following ingredients of smokeless tobacco as a warning to consumers:

• Polonium 210 (nuclear waste)


• N-Nitrosamines (cancer-causing)


• Formaldehyde (embalming fluid)


• Nicotine (addictive drug)


• Cadmium (used in batteries and nuclear reactor shields)


• Cyanide (poisonous compound)


• Arsenic (poinsonous metallic element)


• Benzene (used in insecticides and motor fuels)


• Lead (nerve poison)

In comparison, the ingredients of e-liquids and the chemical components of the vapor produced by electronic cigarettes present significantly little to no risk to human health.

While it is true that contaminants may be introduced into e-liquid during the manufacturing process, the concentrations these contaminants are present in are of little concern. Utilizing data from over 9,000 observations of e-liquid contents, a Drexel University study found "no evidence that vaping produces inhalable exposures to these contaminants at a level that would prompt measures to reduce exposure by the standards that are used to ensure safety of workplaces."

In effect, even the worst-case scenario based on the data presented from available research would result to a very low or minimal health risk when compared to standard workplace exposure limits.

State-Specific Maps and Stats on Tobacco and E-Cigarette Use Among American Adults

These maps reveal how some states fare in their respective campaigns against cigarette smoking and in controlling the sale of personal vaporizers and public consumption of e-liquids. These maps are color-coded visual representations of the available statistics on tobacco use in the United States. For instance, one of the maps shows which states have more people dying from related cancers, more stores selling cigarettes to minors, and more people chewing tobacco.

No Statewide Smoking Restrictions in Bars, Restaurants and Workplaces in Five States

As of the first quarter of 2015, only five states - namely Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming - have non-existent statewide laws that may restrict the general sale and use of tobacco products in private-sector worksites, restaurants and bars. This means that every city or county in these areas will have to impose their own ordinances or policies on smoking cigars or cigarettes and using personal vaporizers within their respective localities.



Image provided by author.

Some states don't have specific laws that would stop people from using an electronic cigarette, but this doesn't mean that vapers are welcome to chase their clouds everywhere. Many proprietors of restaurants, bars and gambling facilities in these states put up "No Vaping" and "No Smoking" signs in front. But, quite a few of these business owners are vapers or smokers themselves, and they discreetly allow their customers to bring their e-cigarettes inside these establishments.

High Smoking Rates, Lung Cancer Cases, Tobacco Chewers, and Underage Smokers

The real estate blog, Estately, created the following map as a visual aide for those who are purchasing a home or moving into a rental property in another state. Buyers are now aware that living in Arkansas means they're likely going to encounter groups of people who have very strong prejudices or biases against some marginalized sectors of society, such as non-Caucasian individuals or women and young girls living in poverty.



See what each state has more of per capita. Map created by Estately.

The map tells us that KENTUCKY has the most number of smokers, which is supported by data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index for January-December 2013.

In addition, an online statistics portal mentioned that "some 214.3 million pounds of tobacco were produced in 2014" by the state. The National Agricultural Statistics Service also reported that farmers in the region produced nearly 184 million pounds of tobacco in 2012 - the greatest amount harvested that year in the country.

So, it's not surprising at all that Kentucky also has the highest incidence of lung and bronchial cancers from 2008 to 2012 for all genders. And, more than seventy percent of those diagnosed with advanced lung cancer died within that five-year period. Visit the link to see additional statistical information on age-adjusted cancer incidence and mortality rates in the United States categorized by state, gender and type of cancer.

More people in WYOMING and WEST VIRGINIA have been chewing tobacco than in other states.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed the following state-specific statistics on the prevalence of cigarette and smokeless tobacco use among American adults through its weekly morbidity report:

Smokeless tobacco use has risen to 9.8% in Wyoming) in 2011 and up to 9.4% in West Virginia in 2013. Prevalence of smokeless tobacco use increased in four states: Louisiana (26.7%), Montana (12.7%), South Carolina (22.2%), and West Virginia (25.3%), while numbers declined in two states: Ohio (-16.0%) and Tennessee (-25.0%).

BRIGHT SHADES OF RED: Wyoming and West Virginia have the highest number of smokeless tobaco users. This map was produced by Vocativ.

Wyoming has the greatest percentage of smokeless tobacco users because of the state's great rodeo tradition. Young women in short skirts were often seen selling those tobacco chews to men and women in the audience. After the crackdown by anti-tobacco groups, it's estimated that only about 14 percent of men in the state still use smokeless tobacco. It's also estimated that one in five high school boys are chewing tobacco.

FDA Issued Nearly 10,000 Warnings and Fines to Major Retailers in Three States

LOOK: Retail stores in Missouri, Connecticut and South Carolina were penalized the most for selling or supplying tobacco to minors. Map created by Vocativ.

By the end of 2014, the FDA has issued the highest number of warning letters and fines to pharmacies, convenience stores, and specialty shops in MISSOURI, CONNECTICUT, and SOUTH CAROLINA after state investigators discovered they've been unscrupulously selling cigarettes to kids.

Although the total number of underage smokers each year has been declining since the mid-nineties, more than 15 percent of high school students in the United States still use cigarettes and other tobacco products. Suddenly, mooching a stick or two from an older friend wasn't enough. Buying a pack of smokes without being carded became the norm for these kids.

E-cigarettes Now Sold as Age-Restricted Products in 46 States

As of June 2015: Several tobacco laws that prohibit the sale or supply of tobacco to minors by businesses and individuals have already been implemented in 46 States. This map was created by Transform Tobacco.

E-cigarette use among middle-school and high school kids has tripled in the past year. In response, 46 states have implemented age-restriction laws that prohibit underage smoking, tobacco possession of minors, and the sale or supply of tobacco products to kids. These states consider e-cigarettes as age-restricted products.

Transform Tobacco further said in the report that "FDA inspections of retail establishments have shown a 95% retailer compliance rate when it comes to checking identification prior to sale, leaving kids to gain access to tobacco products through other channels - complicit adults, and adults involved in illicit trade of cigarettes, are the major source of this access."

Are We Buying Fewer Cigarettes and Smoking Less These Days Compared to Those Living It Up in the '70s and '80s?

WATCH THIS: Look at the ever-changing prevalence of cigarette use among American adults shakily change from dark red to bright yellow to intense green as the numbers continue to shift downwards annually from 1970 to 2012 in every state. Map created by Metric Maps.

You may have noticed a sudden spate of decreases in cigarette smoking happening in the early 1990s, and continuing to gather momentum throughout the first and second decades of the second millenium. That likely happened after a heavy tax burden was placed on the shoulders of retailers, and it jacked up the retail prices of the cigarettes. As a result, people had to change their smoking behavior and consume fewer cigarettes in a day.

As the map's ticker goes from 2004 to 2012, you'll see the whole eastern portion of the United States slowly being covered with bright yellow and green spots. This can only mean one thing: whatever smoking cessation methods are being used in combined treatments these days seem to be working.

And so, each smoker now annually consumes fewer than 60 packs of cigarettes per capita of each state. It's also possible that they've already shifted to vaping, which is probably why they're not hooked on tobacco anymore.

By the end of 2012, only Kentucky, West Virginia, and New Hampshire remain in the red, which means that every tobacco user from these areas still chain smokes around 90 to 120 packs of cigarettes sold per capita of their respective states in a year.