Doctor shows horrifying impact on gums from using snus and chewing tobacco
The damage snus and chewing tobacco can do to your teeth and gums is dramatic and unpleasant.
While some people get their tobacco fix from smoking, others prefer to directly chew it or stick small pouches called snus into their gums and satisfy their cravings that way.
This 'smokeless tobacco' might avoid some of the carcinogenic chemicals associated with cigarette smoking but it's still definitely harmful to your health.
Dr Joseph Nemeth warned that all tobacco was 'very dangerous to the tissues of the mouth' as he showed a series of images of the damage done to people's gums from indulging their tastes for chewing tobacco or snus.
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He said there were patients who had 'white lesions almost like burns' from keeping pouches like snus in place for too long as the addictive nicotine in the pouches starts to irritate the mouth-tissue around it and result in leukoplakia.
According to the NHS, you can get leukoplakia on your gums, tongue or the inside of your cheeks and they appear as white patches that can't be scrubbed away.
There's a small chance these white patches can lead to mouth cancer in time, and Dr Nemeth said they 'can be precancerous'.
He then showed an 'extreme case' which belongs both in the realms of medical science and nightmares, warning that while this was an extreme example he had seen similar cases like it that 'looked very angry and definitely precancerous' from chewing tobacco.
The doctor added that the gum damage could become severe enough that it becomes 'caustic' and makes the gum tissue recede which opens up the whole tooth to being damaged.
"My advice is do not use smokeless tobacco, it can only be harmful, there's nothing good about it at all," was his advice to people considering packing their gums with snus or chewing tobacco.
"Maybe you get a nicotine high from it but I don't know that it's worth the danger the tissues in your mouth, particularly the cheek and particularly the gum tissue.
"With the chance that can cause precancerous lesions and increase your risk of mouth cancer, oral cancer, which can actually be fatal."
He noted that 'certain things are more dangerous than others' and smoking was still most dangerous of all but wanted to stress there was no good and healthy way of consuming tobacco products.
It tallies with the findings of other doctors who've warned that there is no healthy option when it comes to tobacco and nicotine.
While using them to get away from smoking, the most harmful form of tobacco and nicotine consumption, was a shift from the most unhealthy form to a less harmful one it was still doing damage.
Even non-tobacco products like nicotine pouches and vapes caused problems for people who use them, as the addictive nicotine is still very bad for you.
Several people have been hospitalised over vaping while nicotine pouches can cause the white lesions that Dr Nemeth warned about as nicotine pressed against the skin for lengthy periods if time is a cause for that.
The NHS recommends if you want to get rid of the mouth lesions you don't smoke, chew tobacco or consume it in other ways and keep away from those products.
If the marks in the mouth are precancerous then they'll need to be removed with surgery before you develop mouth cancer.
Joe Harker