Wellness - Cancer Risk and Prevention
Tobacco Education

Smokeless Tobacco Education Program
The truth about baseball’s bad habit

• It’s not as uncommon as you might think.  One out of ten 12- to 17- year-olds nationwide uses spit tobacco.  Santa Barbara County is no exception.
• Smokeless is not harmless.  Where cigarette smokers must be concerned about cancers of the lungs, spit tobacco users face mouth, throat and stomach cancers.  It is not uncommon for these cancers to develop within 5 years of using.
• It doesn’t take long to get hooked.  Because there is more nicotine from smokeless tobacco than from cigarettes, users of spit tobacco become addicted within weeks of first trying chew.

Think twice before putting just a pinch between your cheeks and gums…

The Cancer Center recognizes the dangers of smokeless tobacco and is committed to educating the youth of our community about the hazards of chew.  Each year we offered a variety of programs free-of-charge to local schools, community colleges and several baseball organizations including the Foresters.  Doug Harvey, a former major league umpire treated at the Cancer Center for oral cancer due to smokeless tobacco usage, is the program’s featured spokesperson.

For more information about smokeless tobacco and other cancer prevention programs, contact the Cancer Center of Santa Barbara at (805) 569-2243.