Smokeless Tobacco: Gateway Drug?

A Harvard School of Public Health report claims, according to Reuters, “most young people in the United States who use newer smokeless tobacco products are smoking cigarettes.” In fact, the article, published in Pediatrics, contains no specific information on cigarettes.

It is common knowledge that a high proportion of U.S. smokeless tobacco (ST) users – both men and boys – also smoke, as I have previously discussed here and here.  So the main message of this study, that youth ST users are also smokers, is not new.

The study, led by Dr. Gregory Connolly, could be seen as having one purpose – to fuel the campaign against tobacco harm reduction. The journal article and the attendant media coverage are tainted by unscientific bias.

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