I like to occasionally use chewing tobacco before my workouts for a nice extra kick. Do you know anyone else who does this?

First off, I hate chewing tobacco. It smells nasty and I hated when one of my roommates back in college would leave the half filled mountain dew 20 oz. bottle filled with spit on the table I would be eating on. It was nasty! Just thinking of the smell makes me gag.

I have heard of this before, and any use of a known carcinogen is pretty freakin stupid in my book. Why would you knowingly do something like this to yourself? Have you ever seen someone who has this or any kind of cancer? I doubt you have or you wouldnt be putting yourself at that kind of risk. There are much better and safer ways to get a boost before you lift. With that being said, Ill attempt to answer your question. Tobacco usually contains 10-20mg of nicotine per gram. It is a stimulant that reaches your brain in less than 10 seconds. So, you probably like the increase in alertness and energy when you put in a “dip” before your workout. The problem is nicotine is the most addictive drug (greater than crack and heroin). In addition, it causes oral leukoplakic (cancer forming) lesions where you keep the tobacco in your mouth. The greatest cause of mouth cancer in men, especially young men, is chewing tobacco.

So, if you want a quick boost and you have discipline you might think you can continue your occasional usage of chewing tobacco without any problems. Yet having known a lot of people who have chewed, I doubt there are many people out there who have that type of discipline. There are many other products out there that can give me that same feeling without the side effects. Try popping a serving of 1-Db pre workout! I doubt you’ll ever get that kind of boost from your chew and it wont melt your face off either!