Chewing tobacco and snuff, which are believed to be lesser harmful than smoking cigarettes, are now found to be very harmful as well, according to a new study.

Raw tobacco and snuff do not produce smoke that can be inhaled but one pinch of such substances is enough for exposing the user to a bunch of harmful chemicals. It was found that the harmful effects of a pinch are equivalent to smoke from five cigarettes.

The study confirmed some already known facts about nitrosamines and nicotine. It was found that smokeless tobacco increases the risk of cancer and also leads to nicotine addiction.

Irina Stepanov, Ph. D., who led the research team and is a chemist with Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, said "Our finding places snuff on the same list of major sources of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) as smoking cigarettes".

Smokeless tobacco use has doubled since the 1980's. The current study told that the smokeless tobacco becomes even more harmful because of the procedure followed to convert tobacco to a smokeless produce.