§ Sir Dudley SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what medical evidence he has on the safety of(a) snuff and (b) chewing tobacco.
§ Mrs. CurrieMedical evidence on the carcinogenicity of snuff and chewing tobacco was summarised in the monograph of the International Agency on Research into Cancer (Vol. 37). It concluded that there is sufficient evidence that oral use of snuffs of the types commonly used in North America and western Europe is carcinogenic to humans; that there is limited evidence that chewing tobacco of the types used in these areas is carcinogenic to humans and that there is inadequate evidence that nasal snuff is carcinogenic to humans. These forms of tobacco usage avoid certain effects specifically associated with the combustion of tobacco. However, the nicotine present in tobacco has addictive properties; nicotine may be related to some of the other non-carcinogenic adverse effects on health which can arise in people who smoke tobacco.