Members of the U.S. military who've deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan and seen combat there are more likely to take up chewing tobacco than those who haven't, according to a new study.
The ongoing Millennium Cohort Study found deployed service members who fought in combat were two-thirds to three-quarters more likely to start chewing tobacco than troops who weren't deployed.
Lead researcherDr. Eric D.A. Hermes told Reuters he believed stress played a role in the increase of smokeless tobacco use among deployed troops, along with post-traumatic stress disorder:
According to the Department of Defense, almost 20 percent of 18 to 24-year-old male U.S. troops use chewing tobacco. The National Cancer Institute reports the use of chewing tobacco is linked to several different types of cancer - including oral cancer, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
