DR. WALLACE: I'm a 15-year-old boy, and I live with my mom and her mom (my grandmother). I love my mom, but there are times I wonder about my grandmother. She is a very nosy old lady who has nothing better to do than make my life miserable. She's suspicious of everything about me. She thinks that I do drugs (which I don't) and hang around with gang members (none of my friends are in a gang or even go near gangs).

She tells my mom every little thing I do that she doesn't approve of, and she seems to spend her whole life trying hard to get me into trouble. Yesterday, she accused me of chewing tobacco just because my tongue was black. It just so happened that I had been eating licorice candy. She even told me she wanted to call the police on me because I was not old enough to legally use tobacco products! I told her to go ahead and call the police because I would have her arrested for mentally abusing a teenager. She then blew up and threw a book at me, which hit me on the leg. I told her that I would add physical abuse to the charges when the police came. She then started crying and went to her room.

She hasn't talked to me since, and I like it that way, but now I'm starting to feel sorry for her. Please help me because I don't know what to do next about this situation. — Grandson in Granny's Crosshairs, via email

GRANDSON: I understand why you have hard feelings regarding your grandmother, but you cannot allow yourself to be miserable because of her old-school evaluation of your behavior. As long as your mother is satisfied with your behavior, ignore your grandmother's accusations. Ask your mother to encourage her mother to say things that are positive about you and to eliminate the negative talk.

You can help by saying nice things to your grandmother and being kind to her. I know this seems counterintuitive, but trust me; it's better to be nice and try to keep the peace than to lock horns with her every day. When you and your grandmother respect each other, mutual peace and camaraderie will slowly be born. Please show my answer to your mother. Contact me again a month or two from now to let me know how things are progressing.

LISTEN TO YOUR WIFE ON THIS ONE

DR. WALLACE: I'm 19, married and the father of a 2-year-old son. I don't smoke, but I do use snuff (chewing or dipping tobacco) — only when I'm at work, never at home.

Snuff seems harmless to me because it's just a powdery chewing tobacco. You don't smoke it at all; there is absolutely no inhaling involved. I believe that young people involved with vaping are at a greater risk than I am. Snuff just rests on the gums under your teeth. It is never swallowed. All the juice it creates in my mouth is spit out. I sort of like the tingle it gives.

My wife thinks that snuff is very unhealthy and wants me to stop using it. I promised her that I would dump the snuff if you tell me it's truly dangerous to my health. A lot of the guys in my crew at work use snuff. That's how I got started. They all look healthy to me. — Snuff User, via email

SNUFF USER: Listen to your wife (and to me!) on this one. According to the Academy of General Dentistry, smokeless tobacco (snuff) is just as addictive as cigarettes and is one of the leading causes of both gum disease and cancer.

Cancer caused by smokeless tobacco shows up on the gums, tongue and throats of the users.

Keep your promise and eliminate snuff from your life. I believe it is very, very dangerous to your health and should be eliminated from your life immediately. Snuff used to be a favorite of major league baseball players, but it absolutely is not anymore. Sadly, Hall of Fame baseball legend Tony Gwynn lost his life at the very young age of 54, and he attributed his cancer to his use of snuff starting in rookie baseball back in 1981.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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