Tobacco.org

Spokesman warns against dangers of smokeless tobacco  

Rick Bender is a living testament to the destruction tobacco, including smokeless tobacco, can do. Bender, who lost part of his jaw due to oral cancer, spoke to Portales youth Saturday at the Teens Take Control Summit at the Portales Recreation Center.

Bender, 46, has testified before Congress in support of laws banning tobacco use for those under age 18. He started using chew tobacco at age 12, and by age 26, he found himself in a doctor's office with a dime size mouth sore which turned out to be an aggressive form of oral cancer which required part of his mouth, jaw and tongue to be removed. . . .

With this is mind, Bender is focusing much of his awareness campaign these days on Clean Air Acts, laws which prohibit smoking in public places, which many cities are adopting. While he supports such acts, he said, "This is a problem. They should not only be smoke-free ordinances, but tobacco-free."

To illustrate his point, Bender showed advertisements by the Camel tobacco company which is test marketing a new flavored tobacco product called, "Smus." He showed an advertisement in which a man says, "I love tobacco. I don't smoke .... Take a pinch instead of a puff!" . . .

Terri Teti, coordinator of the Roosevelt County Health Council and a Teen Summit organizer, told of an incident last year in which a group of youth were wearing tobacco product T-shirts at the Curry County Fair in Clovis and told how tobacco product advertisements are no longer allowed in the parade.

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