Does smokeless tobacco act as a “gateway”, causing people to start smoking?
There is no real evidence that anyone who otherwise would not have smoked starts because of ST use. But to the extent that people do switch, the best thing we could do is make sure they have the facts. This is a case where the anti-tobacco literature actually encourages some people to smoke. Some anti-smokeless-tobacco advocates have realized that they have no legitimate scientific basis for arguing that there are major health impacts associated with smokeless tobacco use. But instead of seeing that as a reason to devote their attention to more dangerous exposures, they just decided to search for other arguments. One such is the “gateway” hypothesis, that using ST leads people to later start smoking. True or not, this claim is irrelevant to harm reduction, which is aimed at people who already smoke. It makes sense that many people who like to use one tobacco product will like to use another, in particular because they like nicotine. Many people do use one product and then switch to ano
