The dangers of using Skoal dip, or snuff, include precancerous mouth lesions, cancer, nicotine addiction, tooth decay, and gum and heart diseases, according to Mayo Clinic. The product is a smokeless tobacco, which contains the addictive drug nicotine and up to 30 ingredients that cause cancer. While evidence shows that dipping snuff may not be as dangerous as smoking cigarettes, using any form of tobacco is harmful. As of 2015, Skoal contains 100 percent United States-grown tobacco, according to Altria.Continue Reading
Skoal snuff is available in long-cut and fine-cut forms, notes Altria. People dip snuff by placing pinches of it between their lower lips or cheeks and their gums, explains Mayo Clinic. Snuff users are susceptible to oral cancers, such as cancers of the cheek, gums, throat and lip. Dipping snuff also increases the risk of pancreatic cancer and esophageal cancer in its users.
The sugar and irritants in smokeless tobacco can cause the gums to recede from the teeth in the area where snuff users place their tobacco in their mouths, notes Mayo Clinic. Long-term snuff users can develop gum disease that results in tooth loss. Snuff dippers can also develop leukoplakia, which are small, white precancerous patches on the areas of skin where the tobacco rests.Learn more about Health