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Smokeless Tobacco Brush-Off Causes Concern For Leading Snuff Cessation Expert

Smokeless Tobacco Brush-Off Causes Concern For Leading Snuff Cessation Expert

96-05-10 19:04:47 EDT

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 1996--The tragic news that 38-year-old Los Angeles Dodger outfielder Brett Butler has been diagnosed with throat cancer has re-ignited the debate as to the dangers of smokeless tobacco. Although Butler's doctor, Dr. Robert Gadlage, has said he does not believe smokeless tobacco played any role in the development of the cancer, (Butler has not used dip for 15 years), a leading snuff cessation expert says Major League Baseball players need to use this incident as a wake-up call.

Dr. R. Thomas Glass, chairman and professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology at the University of Oklahoma College of Dentistry and College of Medicine, says cancers such as Butler's squamous cell carcinoma are often caused by the use of smokeless tobacco. "You can't completely rule out that Butler's three-year smokeless tobacco habit as the cause of his tumor," Dr. Glass said. "Even if his last dip was 15 years ago, he was still exposed to the cancer-causing agents. In fact, a number of my cancer patients stopped using dip in their early 20s and had not touched the stuff for 10 to 15 years."

Just as alarming, Dr. Glass says some of his most serious cancer cases are people who dipped or chewed tobacco for only six months. "Unfortunately, there is no magic number that tells us when we will develop a lesion or cancer," said Dr. Glass. "Some people are simply more prone to disease than others. That means even a brief period of experimentation can have tragic results. We should hope this can be turned into a learning experience for athletes and others who dip. sometimes it takes an incident of this magnitude to teach people they are not invincible."

Dr. Glass has been involved in the treatment of throat and oral cancer for almost 35 years. He developed the nation's first-known snuff cessation program at the University of Oklahoma 12 years ago. "We simply gave people a way to gain control of their habit," he said. "You can't tell someone who is an alcoholic that drinking is bad without giving them the tools and support to stop. Our program is the same way -- people know dipping is bad, they just don't know how to stop. And stopping cold- turkey usually results in failure, with most people reverting back to the same bad habit -- often even increasing their usage of tobacco."

Dr. Glass recently teamed up with Smokey Mountain Chew, the Dallas- based manufacturer of an all-herbal, non-nicotine, non-tobacco snuff substitute, to make his 12-week cessation program available in a "Quit Snuff Kit." The kit is a modified version of Dr. Glass' successful program and is ideal for people who want to wean themselves off tobacco. It is available by calling 1-800-SMC-CHEW. Smokey Mountain Chew also sells single cans of its product at such retail outlets as Wal-Mart, 7-Eleven and Krogers.

Several high-profile professional athletes have used, or are using, Smokey Mountain Chew to help curb their addictions to smokeless tobacco, including such people as former Dallas Cowboy and Hall of Famer Randy White, current Texas Rangers player Rusty Greer and Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros.

According to the American Cancer Society, smokeless tobacco addiction is a serious problem that affects nearly 10 million people -- and one million adolescents -- every year, and the number is on the rise. "Another fact that raises a lot of concern is the continuing increase in the number of snuff-related cancers," said Dr. Glass. "My best advice is if you don't dip, don't start. If you do dip, stop. Anyone who thinks it can't happen to them needs to remember the name Brett Butler." CONTACT:
Dr. R. Thomas Glass, 405/271-4333 (work) 405/771-4028 (home) or
Phil Bidwell, Smokey Mountain Chew, 214/931-7501 (work), or
Marlo Kane, Larkin, Meeder & Schweidel, 214/979-5065 (work)

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