Scientists ID cancer-causing agent in smokeless tobacco
The culprit is a nitrosamine compound called (S)-NNN found in chewing tobacco and snuff. Although such compounds are found in many foods, including beer and bacon, the researchers point out that levels are much higher in smokeless tobacco products, and are therefore more harmful in this form.
“This is the first example of a strong oral-cavity carcinogen that’s in smokeless tobacco,” study author Stephen Hecht, from the University of Minnesota, said in a news release. “Our results are very important in regard to the growing use of smokeless tobacco in the world, especially among younger people who think it is a safer form of tobacco than cigarettes. We now have the identity of the only known strong oral carcinogen in these products.”
In the study, laboratory rats were given two types of low-dose NNN for 17 months – that timeframe was equated to human consuming a half-tin of smokeless tobacco on a daily basis for 30 years.
One type of NNN known as (S)-NNN was found to prompt the onset of oral and oesophageal tumours.
In theory, (S)-NNN can be removed from smokeless tobacco products, with some particular products already featuring reduced levels of the compound, according to the release.
“Smokeless tobacco is a known cause of oral cancer. Obviously, we need to decrease the levels of this material in all smokeless tobacco products or eliminate it altogether,” Hecht said.
The researcher was recently present at the American Chemical Society annual meeting, in Philadelphia, United States.
Source: HealthDay News
Author
Free to Share
Related
Malnutrition in South Africa: how one community wants resources to be spent
Health-e News
July 18, 2023
Read More » 
Cholera: vaccines can stop the spread, but the biggest deterrent is clean water
Health-e News
June 29, 2023
Read More »