Newly Diagnosed.....chewing Tobacco

[kymom]

Hi, well my husband was just diagnosed with celiac last week! Our world has been turned upside down as you all know! I am a nervous wreck not to mention his feelings of anger.....he is a tobacco chewer. Recently he has been using Grizzly smokeless. Does anyone know if any of it is safe? Please help me.....I know I will be depending on your responses to very many questions. We have found that in our area it is not well known and we feel like we are on our own with this.... Thanks in advance. kymom

[svs'n'dvs]

Hi, well my husband was just diagnosed with celiac last week! Our world has been turned upside down as you all know! I am a nervous wreck not to mention his feelings of anger.....he is a tobacco chewer. Recently he has been using Grizzly smokeless. Does anyone know if any of it is safe? Please help me.....I know I will be depending on your responses to very many questions. We have found that in our area it is not well known and we feel like we are on our own with this.... Thanks in advance. kymom

The best advice I have for your husband is to "STOP CHEWING TOBACCO!!!!" The increased risk of mouth cancer, tongue cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, etc., due to chewing tobacco is well documented.

I realize that the addiction is quite strong due to the nature of chewing tobacco and the addicting additives, but if he is going to follow the celiac diet to maintain his health, it makes sense that he would quit chewing tobacco to maintain his health.

The only other way to find out if his "brand" is gluten free is to call the manufacturer. My gut guess is that it is not...

Good luck to you and your husband in your life changing journey!

[Gemini]

The best advice I have for your husband is to "STOP CHEWING TOBACCO!!!!" The increased risk of mouth cancer, tongue cancer, esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, etc., due to chewing tobacco is well documented.

I realize that the addiction is quite strong due to the nature of chewing tobacco and the addicting additives, but if he is going to follow the celiac diet to maintain his health, it makes sense that he would quit chewing tobacco to maintain his health.

The only other way to find out if his "brand" is gluten free is to call the manufacturer. My gut guess is that it is not...

Good luck to you and your husband in your life changing journey!

Why is it there is always someone who likes to lecture people on tobacco use? I am sure that everyone who smokes and uses chewing tobacco knows it is not healthy for them but they need to come to their own decision about quitting. Any guy that has been diagnosed with Celiac and is going through the anger phase of things is not going to quit this habit overnight. And everyone who smokes and uses chewing snuff does not get cancer either. It's an increased risk, not a foregone conclusion.

As for it's gluten-free status, if it is a flavored tobacco, it may not be gluten-free. If it is plain tobacco, it probably is but he needs to call the tobacco manufacturer to verify.

They may not even know themselves, due to the nature of their product. Can you list the ingredients here?

[msmini14]

Why is it there is always someone who likes to lecture people on tobacco use? I am sure that everyone who smokes and uses chewing tobacco knows it is not healthy for them but they need to come to their own decision about quitting. Any guy that has been diagnosed with Celiac and is going through the anger phase of things is not going to quit this habit overnight. And everyone who smokes and uses chewing snuff does not get cancer either. It's an increased risk, not a foregone conclusion.

As for it's gluten-free status, if it is a flavored tobacco, it may not be gluten-free. If it is plain tobacco, it probably is but he needs to call the tobacco manufacturer to verify.

They may not even know themselves, due to the nature of their product. Can you list the ingredients here?

Thanks Gemini, I was thinking the same thing when I read svs response. These two people need support on a loss not a lecture about chewing. I recently stopped smoking and it took me years to come to terms with it.

Like Gemini said, best thing to do is call the company. This is a very supportive site and people here are very helpful, dont ever hesitiate to ask questions. Welcome to the boards =)

[MisoSushi]

I use something called "snus" which is tobacco that goes in the upper lip but im sure you could use in the lower lip. I order it online, it comes from sweden, and they are very good about their ingredient listing and only using all natural ingredients. They use no preservatives which means you have to keep it refrigerated, but also means less ingredients that would trigger celiacs. I use it daily with no problem.

[RonSchon]

Added thanks to Gemini.

The woman was asking a question and noticeably concerned, not looking for a lecture.

I have the same question, and nobody has ever posted back that they have contacted the manufacturer so I will make that a "todo" item.

[Lfrost]

Added thanks to Gemini.

The woman was asking a question and noticeably concerned, not looking for a lecture.

I have the same question, and nobody has ever posted back that they have contacted the manufacturer so I will make that a "todo" item.

Hey ronschon, here is a link to someone who posted on this before, it looks like they contacted the company, but it didn't help much:

[ravenwoodglass]

Added thanks to Gemini.

The woman was asking a question and noticeably concerned, not looking for a lecture.

I have the same question, and nobody has ever posted back that they have contacted the manufacturer so I will make that a "todo" item.

I don't know if they make chewing tobacco but after diagnosis I switched to a totally additive free tobacco made by a company called Natural American Spirit. Their cigs and tobacco are just tobacco nothing else.

Incidentally I went from being a pack a day smoker to someone who now smokes the equivalent of a pack a week with no effort whatsoever. 3 drags off a cig and I don't need another for at least 3 hours whereas when smoking regular cigs I would crave another within minutes. Seems I was more addicted to the additives than the tobacco. The one drawback is that the cigs do go out quickly if you are not drawing on them since they don't have all the additives to keep them burning.

You may want to check and see if they make chewing tobacco. The company is located in Santa Fe NM. I have no affilitation with them.

[bartfull]

I'm not sure if you will get much info from the tobacco companies. They are famous for not wanting to tell people (even the government) what kind of additives they put in cigarettes. I'm not sure about chew though. Maybe because it goes in the mouth where there is a chance of actually ingesting some, the rules would be different.

I understand why svs'ndvs posted the "lecture" though. I was tempted to do the same. As a smoker who knows this habit is killing me, I'd like to lecture everyone about not STARTING, because I know how hard it is to quit. And I also am surrounded by people who chew, and yes, quite a few people I know have gotten oral cancer. And it is so GROSS when someone who chews comes into my shop spitting that ugly brown "juice" into a cup or used soda bottle.

But on the other hand, I realize that giving up gluten will be hard enough without trying to give up tobacco at the same time. If it turns out the chew is gluten-free, it will be at least SOMETHING enjoyable from the days BEFORE gluten-free that he can take comfort in. (That was just ONE of my excuses to continue smoking.)

One bad habbit at a time. Fix the gluten problem and worry about the chew later. I'll be giving up the cigarettes too...later.

[RonSchon]

My problem has been mostly taken care of. I used the product for about 30 years before finally quitting. Now, a very small bit, I use the chewing tobacco pouches made by UST - skoal xtra pouches.

To quantify the change, probably less than 10% a day than what I used for so many years.

I have only been gluten-free for 4 days, so it will take time before I know if it will have to be 100% gone.

[kareng]

Added thanks to Gemini.

The woman was asking a question and noticeably concerned, not looking for a lecture.

I have the same question, and nobody has ever posted back that they have contacted the manufacturer so I will make that a "todo" item.

Just a note that the " lecture" was 3 years ago.

[Jerusalem Kodesh]

The manufacturers of  Marlboro Snus advises that people with wheat protein allergies avoid their products. Camel Snus is produced basically the same way but with different natural and artificial flavorings and humectants. Their moist dips and loose leaf chewing tobacco are also dangerous to consume for the same reasons. Smoking is just as harmful, as the hot smoke, containing tar, is full of the same contaminants; which coat your throat as they pass into your lungs (that you eventually swallow). It is not only the flavoring additives that have the "potential" to contaminate the celiac patient, it is the humectant that is used in their products that may also contaminate the celiac patient. Best solution - stop using tobacco; alternate solutions - wheat protein/gluten free nicotine infused gum, tablets, or nicotine nasal sprays.    

[Alias]

I set up an account just to give some answers to those who may be looking.

Fully loaded chew - This is like a dip and not long cut loose leaf chew. I emailed and they said it was gluten free and told that they had a worker with them who has celiac and uses it with no problems. It is herbs with nicotine added to it, not tobacco leaves, but mimics it. You can get full strength nicotine, half, or no nicotine.

Tough Guy chew - This is a dip and not long cut loose leaf chew. I emailed them and they said all the dips were gluten free.

Alec Bradley cigars- I emailed them and they said the glue they use in the cigar is gluten free.  

This is what they are saying, maybe proceed with caution to make sure, but this may be some valid options for people to try.  

[Sluggish]

I emailed Grizzly and this is the reply that I received.