SLT
Smokeless tobacco, usual abbreviated as SLT
Definition.
Smokeless tobacco is a tobacco product that is used by means other than smoking. In other words, this type of tobacco is not burned, its consumption does not involve combustion.
The consumption SLT involves chewing, sniffing, or placing the product between gum and the cheek or lip. They are produced in various forms, such as snuff, snus, chewing tobacco and Dissolvables (lozenges, sticks, strips, orbs)
A significant proportion of SLT s are considered safer than combustion cigarettes because they eliminate over 4000 various compounds, most of which are hazardous carcinogens.
SLTs can be a great answer to the public healthcare if well integrated in the public health system.
It is important to note that because of the ban of such saffer alternatives in some countries gives rise to a "black market" where illicit and unregulated SLTs are sold.
Types of smokeless tobacco
Snus
Snus, a product that originated in Sweden, is moist snuff that comes packaged in small pouches and is often flavored. This product does not produce excess saliva like other forms of smokeless tobacco, making it spit-less.
Separate from American snus, Swedish Snus are produced pursuant to a voluntary standard designed to reduce contaminants and nitrosamine levels (the “Gothiatek” standard). The FDA reviewed some of these 9 Swedish Snus products and permitted their sale in the U.S. and authorized them as modified risk tobacco products.
“Using General Snus instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.” By allowing them to be sold, FDA concluded that the manufacturer demonstrated that the products will benefit the health of the population as a whole.
Chewing tobacco (“chew”)
Chewing tobacco is available in loose leaves, plugs, or twists of tobacco, and is placed between the cheek and gum or teeth. Examples of chewing tobacco include Red Man and Levi Garrett.
Snuff
Snuff is finely ground tobacco packaged in cans or pouches, which can be sold dry (powdered form that is sniffed) or moist (placed between the lower lip or cheek and gum) and is sometimes used in teabag-like pouches. Popular brands of moist snuff are Copenhagen and Skoal.
Dissolvable tobacco
Dissolvable tobacco is another spit-less, frequently flavored tobacco product that is finely milled and dissolves orally. Ariva and Stonewall are some of the dissolvable products on the market.
Pituri Bush – a bush medicine and native hallucinogenic
Aboriginal people have used plants both as a bushfood and bush medicine for centuries. Scientists have shown considerable interest in this particular bush and their reports from the 19th century said that they had observed Aboriginal men chewing pituri to give wisdom, feel brave in the face of warfare and allowed them to walk hundreds of kilometres in the desert without thinking about the need for food or water. This bush also has hallucinogenic properties.
The Pituri bush, used by the Aborigines as a bush medicine, grows to around 2.5mtrs. and is classified as a clonal shrub ie not propagated by seed.
Table of available SLT products and where available details of ingredients
| Product Name | Region | Mode of use
A=Applied gums C = Chewed D = Dentifrice DI = Dissolves G = Gargled H = Held in mouth IN = Ingredient N = Nasal use S = Sucked |
Form | Ingredients/additives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gundi (kadapan) | India | C, IN | Tobacco (coarsely powdered) | Coriander seeds, other spices, and aromatic, resinous oils |
| Hogesoppu (leaf tobacco) | India | C, IN | Unprocessed tobacco bundled in long strands | None |
| Kaddipudi | India | C, IN | Powdered sticks of raw tobacco stalks and petioles | Sometimes molasses and water |
| Kiwam (qiwam, kimam) | Pakistan, Nepal, India, Bangladesh | C, H, IN | Tobacco (boiled) | Spices (cardamom, saffron, and/or aniseed), additives such as musk, and may contain silver flecks |
| Loose leaf | United States | C, H, S | Tobacco leaves (air-cured) | Sugar and/or licorice and other sweeteners |
| Mishri (masheri, misri) | India | A, D, S | Tobacco (toasted, powdered) | None |
| Moist snuff (low pH) | South Africa, United States, Canada, Mexico | H, S | Tobacco (fermented, air or fire-cured) | Flavorings (spices, essential oils, extracts), sweeteners, inorganic salts, humectants, preservatives |
| Neffa | Algeria, Libya, Tunisia | N | Tobacco (dry) | None |
| Tobacco chewing gum | Gam, Japan | C | Tobacco (finely ground) | Chewing gum base, xylitol |
| Pattiwalla without lime | India | C, IN | Tobacco (sundried, flaked) | None |
| Plug | United States | C, H, S | Tobacco leaves | Licorice, sweeteners |
| Red toothpowder (lal dant manjan) | India | A, D | Tobacco (powdered) | Herbs, flavorings. Additional plant-related ingredients such as ginger, pepper, and camphor, among others, may be used. |
| Snus (low pH) | South Africa, United States, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland | H | Tobacco (heat-treated, pasteurized) | Sodium carbonate, moisturizers, salt (sodium chloride), sweeteners, flavorings, water |
| Tapkeer (bajjar, dry snuff) | India | A, H, N | Tobacco (fermented, fire-cured) | Flavorings may be added. |
| Tobacco leaf | India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan | C, IN | Tobacco leaves (dry) | None |
| Tumbaco | Congo | N | Tobacco (dry) | None |
| Twist | United States | C, H | Tobacco (dark and air-cured leaf) | Tobacco leaf extracts and sometimes sweetener or flavorings |
| Watery tobacco | Myanmar | G | Tobacco | Water |
| Zarda | Yemen, India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan | C, IN | Tobacco | Slaked lime or other alkaline agents, spices, vegetable dyes, and sometimes areca nut and/or silver flecks |
| Chimó | Venezuela, Columbia | H, S | Tobacco leaf | Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), brown sugar, ashes from the Mamón tree (Meliccoca bijuga), and vanilla and anisette flavoring. Ingredients vary by region. |
| Creamy snuff | India | A | Tobacco | Clove oil, glycerin, spearmint, menthol, camphor, water |
| Dissolvables | United States | DI, H, S | Ground tobacco pressed into tablets, strips, or sticks | Binders, humectants, sweeteners, colorings, preservatives, alkaline agents, flavorings |
| Dry snuff | South Africa, Nigeria, Canada, United States, Germany | H, N, S | Tobacco (fermented, firecured | Flavoring, alkaline agents |
| Ghana traditional snuff (tawa) | Ghana | H, N | Tobacco leaves (dry) | Saltpeter (potassium nitrate), ashes |
| Gudakhu/ Gudakha | India | A, H | Tobacco (powdered) | Molasses, red soil, slaked lime |
| Gul | India, Bangladesh | A, D | Pyrolysed tobacco leaves | Sugar or molasses, alkaline modifiers, and other unknown ingredients |
| Iqmik | United States (Alaska) | C | Tobacco | Tree fungus ash (also known as punk, araq, or buluq ash) or other ash derived from burning driftwood or willow bushes |
| Khaini | India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan | S, H, C | Tobacco | Slaked lime paste and sometimes areca nut |
| Maras | Turkey | A | Sun-dried tobacco | Ashes from oak, walnut, or grapevine |
| Moist snuff (high pH) | South Africa, United States, Canada, Mexico | H, S | Tobacco (fermented, air or fire-cured) | Flavorings (spices, essential oils, extracts), sweeteners, inorganic salts, humectants, preservatives |
| Nass (naswar) | South Africa, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Turkmenistan | C, H, S | Tobacco | Nass: ash, cotton or sesame oil, water, and sometimes lime or gum Naswar: slaked lime, ash, indigo (or other coloring agent), oil, water, and sometimes flavorings such as cardamom and menthol |
| Nasway (nasvay) | Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan | H, S | Tobacco leaves (sun and heat-dried) | Tobacco leaves, slaked lime, water, and sometimes ash from tree bark, butter or oil, flavorings, or coloring agents |
| Nigerian traditional snuff (taaba) | Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Chad, Uganda | H, N, S | Tobacco (dry, fermented) | Natron (a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and sodium chloride) |
| Pituri | Australia | H, N, S | Duboisia hopwodii | mixed with ash of a certain Acacia |
| Shammah | Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen | H, S | Tobacco | Slaked lime, ash, black pepper, oil, flavorings, and bombosa (sodium carbonate) |
| Snus (high pH) | South Africa AMR: United States, Canada, Brazil, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Iceland | H | Tobacco (heat-treated, pasteurized) | Sodium carbonate, moisturizers, salt (sodium chloride), sweeteners, flavorings, water |
| Tobacco water (tuiber) | India | G, H | Tobacco smoke | Water, alkaline agents |
| Toombak | Sudan | H, N, S | Tobacco (fermented, sun-dried) | Atrun (sodium bicarbonate) |
| Traditional South African snuff (snuif) | South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland | Tobacco leaf (sun-dried) | Ash from local plants (e.g., amaranthus, aloe vera leaves) | |
| Betel quid (paan) | Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, Maldives, Lao Democratic People’s Republic, Palau, Cambodia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Federal States of Micronesia | C, H | Tobacco. Other smokeless tobacco products may be used such as kiwam and zarda. | Areca nut, slaked lime, betel leaf, and often catechu. Other ingredients vary regionally: cardamom, saffron, cloves, aniseed, turmeric, mustard, sweeteners |
| Dohra | India | C | Tobacco | Areca nut, slaked lime or other alkaline agents, and other ingredients such as catechu, peppermint, cardamom |
| Gutka | Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka | C, H | Tobacco | Areca nut, slaked lime or other alkaline agents, catechu, sweeteners, and flavorings |
| Kharra | India | C | Tobacco | Areca nut, lime, and catechu |
| Mainpuri (kapoori) | India | C, H, IN | Tobacco | Slaked lime or other alkaline agents, areca nut, camphor, and other spices |
| Mawa SE | India | C | Tobacco | Slaked lime, areca nut |
| Tombol (bitter tombol) | Middle East | C, H | Tobacco | Areca nut (fofal), slaked lime, noura, betel leaf (tombol leaf), catechu, and flavorings such as clove oil, cardamom, or herbal medicine |
| Tombol (sweet tombol) | Yemen | C, H | Tobacco | Areca nut (fofal), slaked lime, noura, betel leaf (tombol leaf), catechu, and sweeteners such as coconut |
| Caffeinated moist snuff | United States | H | Tobacco (fermented, air or fire-cured | Caffeine, flavorings (spices, essential oils, extracts), sweeteners, inorganic salts, humectants, preservatives, ginseng, B and C vitamins |
| Rapé and NuNu | Brazil | N | Tobacco leaf (dried) | One or more ingredients: tonka bean, clove, cinnamon powder, camphor, Peruvian cocoa, cassava, ashes from select trees |
| Tombol with khat | Yemen | C, IN | Tobacco | Areca nut (fofal), slaked lime, noura, betel leaf (tombol leaf), catechu, and khat |
References
- https://truthinitiative.org/research-resources/traditional-tobacco-products/smokeless-tobacco-facts-stats-and-regulations
- https://cancercontrol.cancer.gov/brp/tcrb/smokeless-tobacco
- https://www.outbackchef.com.au/pituri-bush-bush-medicine-native-hallucinogenic/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9685874/