Oral smokeless tobacco (snus) is addictive and increases the risk of developing metabolic syndrome, which in turn can increase the risk of heart and circulatory disease and diabetes. This fact is demonstrated by the world’s most extensive long-term study on snus use. Margareta Norberg, a doctor in the Epidemiology and Public Health Studies Department at Umeå University and one of the researchers involved in the study, states: “Our results are a warning that show it is important to continue vigilance on the adverse health effects of snus.” The study is due to be published in the December 2006 issue of the Scandinavian Journal of Public Health.

Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/17132590?dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000,f1000m,isrctn