Does chewing tobacco contain fiberglass?

[Crafter_Man]

There appears to be a widely-believed and long-standing rumor that manufacturers of smokeless tobacco (a.k.a. "chewing tobacco", "dip", "snuff", "chew") put fiberglass in their products. According to this rumor, the purpose of the fiberglass is to make thousands of tiny cuts in the skin on the lips and inside of the mouth. The cuts allow the nicotine to come in direct contact with blood vessels, thereby greatly increasing the rate & quantity of nicotine delivery.

I did some google searches. A number of sites claim this is a fact. But I remain skeptical.

Anyone know anything about this?

[yBeayf]

No. The rush of nicotine one gets from oral snuff comes from the fact that ammonia compounds are added to the stuff to raise its PH and facilitate absorption of nicotine, rather than the presence of fiberglass.

[Mister Rik]

I've only heard this specifically about Kodiak chewing tobacco. There is something about Kodiak that makes it sting your gums, and the sensation is much like that experienced when you get fiberglass "splinters" elsewhere in your skin. I've never experienced it with any other brand.

[Shagnasty]

Originally Posted by Phase42

I've only heard this specifically about Kodiak chewing tobacco. There is something about Kodiak that makes it sting your gums, and the sensation is much like that experienced when you get fiberglass "splinters" elsewhere in your skin. I've never experienced it with any other brand.

Everyone in high school said that about Copenhagen. The insinuation was that even though most of the guys dipped, only the real badasses used Copenhagen. The slightly different versions from place to place reek of urban legend.

[Mangetout]

Sounds like a pretty standard variant of a common type of urban Legend, like these:

Does lip balm contain ground glass, thus necessitating its continued use?
Do tampon manufacturers use asbestos in their products to promote bleeding?
Do menthol cigarettes contain fiberglass?

I would say that, in the absence of any proper supporting evidence, the claim that glass fibre is added to chewing tobacco can be classified as 'obviously false' - remember, the burden of proof is upon the person claiming it is in there.

[Huerta88]

You know, tobacco is pretty acrid stuff with some pretty strong organic chemical constituents, and the mouth is a mucous membrane, so I don't know that we need to posit special reasons that chew or dip would irritate the cheek/gum or that nicotine could easily make its way into the bloodstream.

Copenhagen just has more concentrated nicotine, AFAICT -- it'll certainly make the inexperienced user (or even someone who's gotten used to Skoal Bandits or the like) woozy, but that's like saying Gauloises will throw a Capri Menthol Lites smoker into a tailspin.

[spingears]

Originally Posted by Crafter_Man

There appears to be a widely-believed and long-standing rumor that manufacturers of smokeless tobacco (a.k.a. "chewing tobacco", "dip", "snuff", "chew") put fiberglass in their products. According to this rumor, the purpose of the fiberglass is to make thousands of tiny cuts in the skin on the lips and inside of the mouth. The cuts allow the nicotine to come in direct contact with blood vessels, thereby greatly increasing the rate & quantity of nicotine delivery.
I did some google searches. A number of sites claim this is a fact. But I remain skeptical.
Anyone know anything about this?

Sounds like BS to me.
Not only a dangerous adulteration but deliberate as well.
It it were true it would fuel a major class action law suit!

Where did you find such claims of fact?
BBS's, discussion groups, or what?

Don't believe every thing you read on the internet.

[pilot141]

Originally Posted by spingears

Sounds like BS to me.
Not only a dangerous adulteration but deliberate as well.
It it were true it would fuel a major class action law suit!

Where did you find such claims of fact?
BBS's, discussion groups, or what?

Don't believe every thing you read on the internet.

I think that Crafter_Man had heard this rumor in real life and was trying to confirm it via the internet. After a fruitless search he came to GQ. This is exactly how things should work, no?

I heard the same info in high school (Copenhagen was the brand in question). If you relied on your experience then you might believe it was true, because as Huerta88 says: stepping up from Skoal to Copenhagen is a BIG step. But as an indestructable 16-year-old the only acceptable excuse for you getting knocked on your ass during baseball practice is some fiberglass in the chew!!!

The Copenhagen thing might have something to do with the finer cut of the chew, thus producing more wacky tobaccy surface area per "pinch" stuffed into your mouth. Anyone could chew Kodiak or Skoal while playing baseball - only the badass hardcore guys could get away with chewing Copenhagen and still play.

This info has been filtered through over 15 years of memory, so it may not be accurate today....

[Crafter_Man]

Originally Posted by spingears

Where did you find such claims of fact?
BBS's, discussion groups, or what?

A number of web sites claim it as fact. Do some google searches and you'll see what I mean.

[Terminus Est]

This is quite similar to the claims about menthol cigarettes and fiberglass:
http://www.snopes.com/business/alliance/menthol.asp

[Enola Straight]

Tobacco dosen't contain fiberglass...

IT CONTAINS URANIUM!

http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:...s&ct=clnk&cd=1