Health Effects of Smokeless Tobacco Products

Three independent non-food Scientific Committees provide the Commission with the scientific advice it needs when preparing policy and proposals relating to consumer safety, public health and the environment. The Committees also draw the Commission's attention to the new or emerging problems which may pose an actual or potential threat. SCENIHR Questions concerning emerging or newly-identified risks and on broad, complex or multidisciplinary issues requiring a comprehensive assessment of risks to consumer safety or public health and related issues not covered by other Community risk-assessment bodies. In particular, the Committee addresses questions related to potential risks associated with interaction of risk factors, synergic effects, cumulative effects, antimicrobial resistance, new technologies such as nanotechnologies, medical devices, tissue engineering, blood products, fertility reduction, cancer of endocrine organs, physical hazards such as noise and electromagnetic fields and methodologies for assessing new risks. The opinions of the Scientific Committees present the views of the independent scientists who are members of the committees. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. The opinions are published by the European Commission in their original language only. Health Effects of Smokeless Tobacco Products 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Members of the working group are acknowledged for their valuable contribution to this opinion. The members of the working group are: SCENIHR members: ABSTRACT The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) has been asked to evaluate the health effects of smokeless tobacco products (STP) with particular attention to tobacco for oral use, moist snuff, which is called " snus " in Sweden. In addition to tobacco for oral use, STP include chewing tobacco, dry snuff and nasal snuff. The EC Tobacco Products Directive (2001/37/EC) defines tobacco for oral use as " …all products for oral use, except those intended to be smoked or chewed, made wholly or partly of tobacco, in powder or in particulate form or in any combination of those forms ". Synonyms for " tobacco for oral use " are moist snuff (snus) and oral tobacco. Marketing of oral tobacco is banned in all EU-countries except Sweden while other STP are allowed in EU. Adverse health effects of smokeless tobacco products All STP contain nicotine, a potent addictive substance. They also contain carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines, albeit at differing levels. STP are carcinogenic to humans and the pancreas has been identified as a main target organ. All STP cause localised oral lesions and a high …