Abrasives in snuff?

The purpose of this study was to determine and calculate the inorganic contents of four brands of snuff. Visual inspection of wet snuff showed fairly large, yellow crystal-like particles. Scanning electron microscopy and X-ray dispersive (EDX) analyses were used to study both wet snuff and ashes of snuff, whereas light emission spectrography was used to determine elements in the ashes. The crystal-like particles did not dissolve in distilled water or in ethanol heated to 60 degrees C. EDX analyses showed that most elements remained in the particles after washing. The total weight percentage of inorganic material in snuff was calculated after burning dried snuff until constant weight was obtained. The ashes of snuff did not contain any crystal-like particles but consisted of a small-grained amorphous mass. The following elements were detected: Ag, Al, Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Pb, Si, Sr, Ti, Va, and Zr. Other elements such as rare earths were not searched for. The weight percentage of inorganic elements ranged between 12.35 +/- 0.69 and 20.95 +/- 0.81. Provided snuff is used in the same manner as chewing tobacco, and some people admit to doing so, there is a risk that its relatively high contents of inorganic material and heavily soluble salts may be conducive to excessive abrasion of teeth and restorations.