Dipping tobacco

[1][2] Dipping tobacco poses a lower health risk than traditional combusted products,[3] however, it is not a healthy alternative to cigarette smoking.

[6] Dipping tobacco is packaged in "tins" or "cans", although they are not typically completely metal anymore.

Unlike snus, which is most often placed between the upper lip and gum, moist tobacco users or "dippers" tend to use the lower.

[citation needed] The dip rests on the inside lining of the mouth for a period depending upon the user's preference—often 20–40 minutes.

[citation needed] Nicotine and other alkaloids found in tobacco are absorbed in saliva sublabially by the inferior or superior labial arteries.

This is typically spat onto the ground or in a container, because swallowing the saliva-tobacco mixture can cause irritation to the esophagus and induce nausea and vomiting.

Smokeless tobacco is popular in many industrial areas where there is a safety risk in having an open flame, such as oil rigs or refineries.

Dipping tobacco's Scandinavian roots impart a noticeable legacy on modern American brands such as Copenhagen and Skoal (referring to the interlinguistic term skål, which in Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Faroese and Swedish roughly translates to "cheers", implying a toast).

A user of dipping tobacco will produce an excess amount of saliva which will be disposed of using a "spitter."

This is important because a dry mouth or one full of food could lead to a less enjoyable experience for the user.

[22][23] These carcinogenic compounds occurring in dipping tobacco vary widely, and depend upon the kind of product and how it was manufactured.

[25][26] In 2010 more than 200 000 people out of 300 000 000 smokeless tobacco users suffered from non-fatal Acute Myocardial Infarction.

[27] Use of dipping tobacco also seems to greatly raise the risk of non-fatal ischaemic heart disease among users in Asia, although not in Europe.

[25][28] Nicotine in dipping tobacco products that are used during pregnancy can affect how a baby's brain develops before birth.

[34] In the United States, the federal government taxes dipping tobacco at $0.5033 per pound ($1.11/kg), equivalent to 3.15¢ per one-ounce (28 g) package.

Sales tax is also applied to the full retail price of dipping tobacco in most jurisdictions.