USE OF SMOKELESS TOBACCO BY YOUNG-ADULT FEMALES

In contrast to the well documented use of smokeless tobacco (ST) by me n, far less is known about ST use by women. In part this is due to the small overall prevalence of ST use among women (0.6%). This paper is a descriptive report of the use of ST by young adult women in the uppe r midwest. Twenty women, identified as smokeless tobacco users, comple ted a tobacco questionnaire and brief interview. The majority (80%) we re introduced to ST by friends and 60% had tried cigarettes before usi ng ST. Almost all used ST daily, averaging 3.6 dips per day. The numbe r of dips per day was significantly correlated with salivary cotinine (r =.60). Subjects listed relaxation and pleasure most frequently as r easons for using ST. Twenty-five percent reported using ST to quit smo king and a similar percentage reported using ST to curb their appetite . With the introduction of new flavored snuff products, ST may become more appealing to the tastes of diverse groups including women. The po tential acceptance of ST among women should be the focus of further re search.