Chewing tobacco is a trend that's picking up popularity lately, especially with young hockey players. Central Plains Cancer Services Educator Karen Faurschou says all the same toxins and chemicals found in cigarettes are in chewing tobacco. 

"There are 7,000 known poisons in cigarettes. And then out of those, many of them are going to cause cancer, but in chewing tobacco, there's also these little sharp fibres called asbestos," says Faurschou. "When you're sucking on that chewing tobacco, you've got it between your teeth and gums. Those little asbestos fibres are cutting your gums. You don't feel it, it's painless, but they're making little slits in your gums."

She notes these tiny rips cause the body to absorb all of those 7,000 poison toxins."

"That includes the nicotine, which makes you addicted, including the tar, and including the ones that are known to cause cancer. You can develop mouth cancer, and part of the jawbone must be removed, and radiation treatment must occur. "

She says some patients have had parts of their tongues removed, disabling them from speaking, eating and chewing. Faurschou explains you can picture someone in a few years having to be fed through a stomach tube, while the other hockey players are enjoying pizza after a game.

"Back in the day, the professional ball players chewed tobacco. Today, if they're caught with chewing tobacco, they're fined heavily. But now we're hearing it's hockey players."

The Mayo Clinic has some information on mouth cancer caused by chewing tobacco