New figures show that fewer Arizona teens are using tobacco. While the overall use of tobacco is down, the use of smokeless tobacco is still a concern.

Victor DeNoble was once a researcher for a major tobacco company. He says it is just as addictive as a cigarette.

"Once nicotine is in your blood, your brain doesn’t care if you smoked a cigarette, cigar or put a spit tobacco in your mouth, but the spit tobacco is broken down to chemicals in your mouth, that we know cause cancer. We’ve just discovered a new chemical that causes mouth cancer," DeNoble said.

The Department of Health Services says its now working with young people to determine the best way reach teens about the dangers of all tobacco uses. They believe that’s one of the reasons for the drop in teen usage of tobacco.

DHS Is sponsoring a statewide conference for 200 high schoolers Saturday so they can take the anti-tobacco message back to their schools in the fall.