Health Tips for December 3

Health Tip: Smokeless Tobacco Can Cause Its Own Problems

Using a smokeless tobacco product doesn't absolve you of possible risks, the American Academy of Family Physicians says.

Smokeless tobacco still contains addictive nicotine, which can affect your thinking and behavior, the academy says. In fact, smokeless tobacco puts more nicotine in your blood than cigarettes.

In addition, the academy warns, smokeless tobacco can:

• Damage your teeth, including staining them and wearing them down.
• Cause receding gums.
• Produce sores in the mouth.
• Lead to cancer of the mouth.
• Raise your risk of heart attack.
• Raise cholesterol and blood pressure.

Health Tip: If You Smoke While Pregnant

If you smoke while pregnant, you're exposing the baby to a host of dangerous chemicals, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says. And the nicotine in tobacco causes less oxygen and nutrients to reach the baby.

The ACOG says these problems are more likely to affect pregnant women who smoke:

• Ectopic pregnancy, where the fertilized egg begins to develop outside the uterus.
• Vaginal bleeding.
• Abnormalities in how the placenta attaches to the uterus.
• A stillbirth.
• A low-birthweight infant, born weighing less than 5.5 pounds.