Is that a wad of gum or dip in your lip?

I grew up in a small town of approximately 900 people. We had the only grocery store, post office, school, weekly paper, and gas station in the county, so we were considered the “big” town in the area. The grocery store stocked only the basic essentials such as milk, bread, and eggs. However, there was an approximately 10 ft space on one wall reserved for tobacco (both smokeless and cigarette) products.

It has always been a mystery to me as to why anyone would use tobacco products as they are expensive and scientifically proven to have negative health effects. Scientific data clearly states that smokeless tobacco can lead to nicotine addiction; cause cancer of the mouth, esophagus, and pancreas; cause diseases within the mouth such as tooth loss and gum decay; increase risk for early delivery and stillbirth in expecting mothers; cause nicotine poisoning in children; and increase risk of heart disease (https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/smokeless/health_effects/index.htm). Despite the obvious and seemingly well known effects of tobacco products, 3.4% of American adults aged 18 years or older routinely use smokeless tobacco (https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/smokeless/use_us/index.htm)  and 15.1% smoke cigarettes (https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/adult_data/cig_smoking/index.htm). The answer to my question of why would anyone start using tobacco becomes clear when we look at candy options available as I was growing up.

 

“Big League Chew” and “Kings Candy” are bubble gum brands designed to mimic smokeless and cigarette, respectively. The products are targeted at elementary school aged children and up. “Big League Chew” developers said they were inspired by major league baseball players, who are commonly known to use chewing tobacco. “Big League Chew” and other candy products designed to mimic tobacco and other drugs are a morally corrupt way to encourage kids to think that tobacco and or drug products are safe and “cool”. My favorite baseball player does it, why can’t I? They made a candy like it, what could be so bad?

These candies indicate the push back that pop culture has had against the raw data about tobacco usage. The geek with the glasses says it is a bad thing, but my all-American baseball hero uses it. If you were a kid, who would you want to believe/use as a role model. We always hear about peer pressure in regards to substance (drugs, alcohol, tobacco, etc.) abuse in kids, but rarely do we consider the pressure from the media and even our candy choices. This pressure or propaganda from media and other pop culture sources creates a separation in the mind of the knowledge that tobacco is an unhealthy choice and makes tobacco seem harmless. It may even cause people to believe scientists are exaggerating. The bottom line is that pop culture and the media have huge sway with public opinion regarding what people think is right or wrong. In order to make an informed choice, we cannot just rely on what a Facebook post says or what our favorite athlete is advocating/using.