Smokeless tobacco warning for parents

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Alarming statistics are causing the Palm Beach County health department to warn parents about smokeless tobacco.

According to the health department twenty percent of Palm Beach County high school students and seven percent of middle schoolers use tobacco.

The reason the health department is so concerned with these smokeless products is that they're flavored, and they're sold in ordinary convenience stores.

The products come in cherry, apple, peach, honey and strawberry.

A 2004 study showed that minors who aren't old enough to buy the products legally still use snuff, chew and flavored cigars seven times more than adults.

The health department says teens mistakenly think of them as being safer than cigarettes.

"They were made specifically with the youth in mind. Kids who are under the age of 18, these were made for them because kids like candy. The average kid eats 25 pounds of candy a year. This was created with the youth in mind," said Palm Beach County health education consultant Janice Davis.