It's a little habit that health experts say can cause big problems.
"One of the hardest addictions to kick is tobacco, is the nicotine," certified drug counselor Peg Mohlman said.
This week, national Through With Chew week, is calling attention to just that.
A recent survey said that ten percent of high school males in Nebraska had used smokeless tobacco within thirty days. For males and females combined, that number was six percent.
"It always surprises me how many kids start," Hastings High School counselor Scott Engberg said.
He said HHS takes steps to keep students tobacco free.
Step one is leaving it at the door.
Regardless if they're old enough to purchase is, no student at Hastings High School is allowed to use tobacco on or around the campus.
"Our kids know that if they are caught with it, there are consequences for that," HHS head wrestling coach Brian Laux said.
For Laux's wrestlers, that means extra conditioning and possibly having to sit out competitions. That's in addition to the school punishment.
It's a lesson Engberg hopes students take to heart.
"You hope that that will sink in and make a difference to them to understand just the cost again both to society, to themselves," he said.
Those are consequences that students learn as soon as they hit high school.
It's part of freshman health class, learning, and teaching, the harmful effects of tobacco.
It's also something that Engberg reiterates at home.
"You just hope that you teach your kids what's important and what's stupid and hope that they learn and understand the consequences and the risks of tobacco use," he said.
