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Smokeless tobacco is a type of tobacco that is not smoked or burned. Usually users put smokeless tobacco in their mouth for 15-20 minutes but occasionally users also put it overnight. It‟s usually used as chewing tobacco or moist snuff or inhaled through the nose as dry snuff. It has been widely used in the South-east Asian countries, and it‟s popular among both men and women. Due to the high nicotine content in smokeless tobacco it constitutes carcinogenic components which can cause cancers of the mouth, larynxes, and esophagus. It can also cause various health issues such as gum disease, heart disease, and other health issues. The use of smokeless tobacco by women of reproductive age groups get adversely affected as it affects their reproductive system and also causes pregnancy complication like miscarriage, abortion, preterm delivery and stillbirth. The continuous use of smokeless tobacco by women users during their pregnancy and lactating period is not solely influenced by individual decision or preference. But it has been affected by varied ranges of contextual factors i.e. education, rural or urban residence, positive tobacco advertisements, price of smokeless tobacco products and myths associated with smokeless tobacco consumption. The continuous smokeless tobacco consumption during pregnancy and lactating period also puts the life of the fetus or infant in danger and likely to cause childhood cancers.
Keywords: Smokeless, Tobacco, Prevalence, Cancer, Myths, Determinants
