STUDY: YOUNG CHEWERS AT RISK

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 6, 1993                   TAG: 9301060091
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO   
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHICAGO                                LENGTH: Short
STUDY: YOUNG CHEWERS AT RISK
One in four teen-age consumers of chewing tobacco started using it between ages 5 and 8, greatly increasing their risk of developing cancer, according to researchers.
Another 25 percent of those surveyed began using it between ages 9 and 12, said a report in the January issue of Pediatrics.
The authors called for nationwide, grade-school education about the dangers of smokeless tobacco.
The study cited previous researchers who said smokeless-tobacco users are four times more likely than non-users to develop mouth or throat cancer.
The Smokeless Tobacco Council, a trade group based in Washington, D.C., says smokeless tobacco hasn't be proven to cause human disease.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB