Use of smokeless tobacco by young adult females

Abstract

In contrast to the well documented use of smokeless tobacco (ST) by men, far less is known about ST use by women. In part this is due to the small overall prevalence of ST use among women (0.6%). This paper is a descriptive report of the use of ST by young adult women in the upper midwest. Twenty women, identified as smokeless tobacco users, completed a tobacco questionnaire and brief interview. The majority (80%) were introduced to ST by friends and 60% had tried cigarettes before using ST. Almost all used ST daily, averaging 3.6 dips per day. The number of dips per day was significantly correlated with salivary cotinine (r = .60). Subjects listed relaxation and pleasure most frequently as reasons for using ST. Twenty-five percent reported using ST to quit smoking and a similar percentage reported using ST to curb their appetite. With the introduction of new flavored snuff products, ST may become more appealing to the tastes of diverse groups including women. The potential acceptance of ST among women should be the focus of further research.