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Thursday, March 1, 2007

'Through With Chew' Gets the Word Out

By Matt Gomez
Mountain View Telegraph
    Cory Craig, a sophomore at Moriarty High School, reclined in a chair at the Civic Center on Feb. 22 as an Albuquerque dentist examined his mouth.
    Behind Cory, images of swollen gums, decaying teeth and open mouth sores lined the wall.
    The graphic pictures were used to demonstrate the potentially lethal effects of spit tobacco.
    Cory's mouth turned up free from any signs of danger from tobacco— after all, he's never used any kind of tobacco before, he said.
    The oral exam and photos were part of a "Through with Chew" event sponsored by Talking Talons Youth Leadership of Tijeras.
    Talking Talons representatives spent part of last week campaigning against the dangers of smokeless tobacco. As part of the effort, Talking Talons staff spent time in front of Moriarty Foods on Feb. 20 and 21 and set up booths and offered free oral exams Feb. 22 and 23 at the Moriarty Civic Center.
    The "Through With Chew" week was part of a nationwide campaign against smokeless tobacco.
    Informational signs and brochures all pointed to the fact that because smokeless tobacco is smoke-free, it's often assumed to be safer than cigarettes.
    That just isn't the case, explained Dr. Gaylina Reachi of ABQDentists.
    After demonstrating an oral exam on Cory in front of a group of Moriarty High students, Reachi shared a few anecdotes from her experience as a dentist.
    In one case, Reachi said, a 21-year-old patient had half of his neck, mandible and tongue removed after using chewing tobacco for just four years.
    Chewing tobacco, for some people, will never lead to any serious side-effects, Reachi explained. However, tobacco use affects everyone differently, she said. In the case of the 21-year-old patient, it only took four years for serious complications to arise from the use of chewing tobacco.
    Reachi said she doesn't see too many cases of oral cancer in her Albuquerque office— only about five patients a year are sent for biopsies— but smokeless tobacco is still a very harmful substance.
    "Spit tobacco contains many of the same chemicals as cigarettes, such as polonium (contained in nuclear waste), formaldehyde (embalming fluid), arsenic (rat poison) and cadmium (found in batteries)," a brochure from Talking Talons explains.
    The brochure goes on to say that chewing tobacco contains about four times as much nicotine— a highly addictive drug— as cigarettes, making it very difficult to quit.
    "Also, its high sugar content causes tooth decay and loss," the brochure says. "It causes yellow teeth, gum loss and gingivitis. It is also linked to tongue, lip, cheek and gum cancer."
    Free "Quit Spit" kits were offered by Talking Talons at the civic center. The kits contained tasty and harmless alternatives to spit tobacco, including sugar-free gum, sunflower seeds and beef jerky, and also included a brochure on oral self-exams to check for signs of oral cancer and other conditions resulting from spit tobacco use.
    Visit www.stopsmokeless.com for more information on quitting tobacco or to learn more about the dangers of smokeless tobacco. If you or someone you know is ready to quit smoking or using smokeless tobacco, call New Mexico's free tobacco help line at (800) QUIT-NOW.