Ashley Cole ignores doctors’ warnings as he uses tobacco snus outside LA coffee shop while with Italian model girlfriend

ASHLEY COLE has been spotted using the controversial tobacco product snus.

The LA Galaxy star was downing a protein shake outside health shop Earth Bar in Los Angeles with long-term girlfriend Sharon Canu before heading off for a workout session.

The former England defender was seen rubbing the product into his gums while Canu, an Italian model, puffed on a cigarette.

Cole, 37, is one of a number of footballers who have turned to the snus as an alternative to smoking cigarettes.

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy was pictured using the product at Euro 2016 that experts reckon is NOT healthier than smoking, but can be even more deadly.

Snus is a form of smokeless tobacco popular in Scandinavia.

A variant of dry snuff, it is placed under the upper lip for extensive periods.

Each one contains as much nicotine as three cigarettes and is absorbed through the gums into the bloodstream.

Tobacco expert Prof Stanton Glantz has a stark warning for footballer using the product.

He said: “They are bathing their mouths in cancer-causing toxins. They should not be putting poison in their mouths.”

However, some sports scientists say nicotine can improve performance.

But ex-Manchester United star and SunSport columnist Danny Higginbotham who used the pouches for 15 years as a player rejects claims that snus is a performance-enhancer.

He said: “It just relaxes you.  I was never told it would benefit me in terms of performance.”

Cole moved to the MLS franchise in 2016 after an unhappy two-year stint n Italy with Roma.

The left-back was named skipper at the start of the season and despite the arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Galaxy failed to make the MLS end of season play-offs.