How bad is chewing tobacco compared to smoking?

I have a question, if you all don't mind. My 20 year old son tried smoking for awhile as a teen but didn't like the way it made him feel when he tried exercising, etc. Some bright person told him that chewing tobacco wasn't as bad for him and a good way to get off cigarettes.
Now he's been using the chewing tobacco (or snuff or dip or whatever you call it) off and on for the last couple of years. He told me he quit and I think he did for awhile but then I found a can in his room. He admitted that he still uses but claims it's not as bad as cigarettes. I reminded him about mouth cancer, tongue and throat cancer but he still insists that he's heard it's not as bad as cigarettes and that those cancers are rare.
I'm still not happy about it. It's upsetting to me because we've spent thousands of dollars on his teeth with braces, etc. and I feel he's going to ruin his teeth if nothing else. It's also upsetting to me because he already knows how I feel about his dad smoking and how we've got that in our family. He still thinks it's no big deal.

What can you all tell me about the dangers of chewing tobacco?
Thank you,
A worried mom

[kathyjo]

Go to whyquit.com and look under the "Motivation" column and you will see some young ones who also chewed. It's horrible, but perhaps it will help to motivate him to stop altogether.
Good luck

[Greenwellmill]

Take it from someone who used snuff for almost 20 years.  I stopped over 5 years ago.  In my opinion it is much worse than smoking and maybe even more addictive.  If he has just started make him stop.  The minute he puts it in his mouth it starts to eat away his gums( I sure some Einstein has already told him to switch the place where he puts it in his mouth-IT DOESNT WORK THAT WAY) and soon he will start to experience tonsil infections at a growing frequency.  With the infections comes the prize of the worst breath known to man.  Now let’s talk about where all that nicotine goes.  I’m sure he thinks he spits it all out.  It goes right through your gums and the rest you swallow.  When I stopped I enjoyed one week worth of night sweats.  I ended up purchasing a new bed because everything turned yellow.  He is already hiding it from you and lying about it too you.  It sounds to me like it has already become dangerous.

[April2]

I want to thank you all for responding to my post. I showed my son this thread and then took him to the whyquit site and read a couple of things from people who chewed and there was one picture that was terrible. My son didn't say much except to say again that it's rare to get cancer from chewing tobacco. Who knows, maybe something did touch him though. I don't know what else to do. I pray he will take this seriously real soon.
Thanks again guys for caring enough to respond back to me. God bless you all. I wish you all well.
April