• 1/19/2005
  • Cheyenne, Wyoming
  • Curtis B. Wackerle
  • Casper Star-Tribune (www.casperstartribune.net)

After years of swallowing chew spit so she could hide her addiction from her fellow nurses, Kevin Dager decided that she no longer wanted to be one of the 5 percent of Wyoming women who chew tobacco.

”I quit when I was tired of the deceit in my life,” Dager said Wednesday at a news conference to rally support for Wyoming’s statewide campaign to end smokeless tobacco addiction. Wyoming has more chewing tobacco users per capita than any other state besides West Virginia, speakers said.

One of five adult males uses snuff here, putting a significant portion of the population at risk of mouth cancer and other nasty oral afflictions. The reason chew is so prevalent in Wyoming is a mixture of cowboy culture and marketing, said Niki Sue Mueller, program coordinator for Wyoming’s Through With Chew Week, which takes place Feb. 13-19.

”How long has this been Marlboro Country?” she said.

People live in Wyoming because they love the wide-open country and Wild West lifestyle that encourages people to do as they please, Mueller said. Unfortunately, a bond was formed between that lifestyle and tobacco use with the Marlboro Man campaign, Mueller said. And it continues today with chew, which is heavily marketed to the rodeo, rancher and outdoorsman set, Mueller said. Wyoming’s chewing tobacco problem is not unique in the region. Montana and South Dakota have comparable rates of addiction.

The Wyoming Department of Health launched the campaign as a coordinated statewide response. In every county, dentists have volunteered to see patients free of charge, as long as they are intent on quitting chew.

This is a good thing, because a stern warning from a dentist is one of the most compelling reasons for people to quit, Mayo Clinic Medical School assistant professor Jon Ebbert said. People are often shocked to find out how much their mouth has changed as a result of chewing tobacco, he said.

During last year’s campaign, 80 dentists volunteered their services, Department of Health tobacco cessation specialist Sylvia Bagdonas said. This year, she expects up to 120 dentists to participate.

”Dentists are very concerned,” she said after the news conference. ”It is frustrating to see people who aren’t quitting.”