Oral mucosal findings associated with chewing tobacco in Sweden--a clinical and histological study.

Twenty men of mean age 51,9 years who used Swedish chewing tobacco as their only tobacco habit were examined for clinical and histological changes. On average they had been chewing tobacco for 10,7 hours daily for 11,3 years. The most common clinical finding was a leukoedema-like change of the buccal mucosa at the site where the quid was held after chewing. Ten subjects showed changes similar to mild snuff-induced ones. Histological findings corresponded well with the clinical ones. It appears that oral mucosal changes associated with chewing tobacco in Sweden are discrete.