Nicotine level in smokeless tobacco
05/20/99
Furthermore,
tobacco users who dip or chew 8 to 10 times a day may be receiving the nicotine equivalent of 30 to 40
cigarettes a day. "These findings underscore the need for intensive efforts to prevent children and adolescents from using any
tobacco product -- including smokeless
tobacco -- and to educate young users about the risks associated with smokeless tobacco,'' according to the report. The federal agency conducted tests on six different brands of smokeless
tobacco purchased in Florida. They found that the average free nicotine levels ranged from 0.01 milligrams per gram of Hawken Wintergreen to 6.23 milligrams per gram of Copenhagen Snuff. The average value for free nicotine ranged from 0.23% for Hawken Wintergreen to 68.14% for Kodiak Wintergreen. The pH, which strongly effects the absorption of free nicotine -- the form most easily absorbed by the mouth -- varied from 5.24 in Hawken Wintergreen to 8.35 in Kodiak Wintergreen.