Guys from Texas who are using snus (cause they like it).
He has like half a year of snus there and several brands even i havent heard of.
He puts the snus in place with his tongue like a real Swede. ;)
I MUST try “Oden” snus for obvious reasons.
Or as a Brittish guy explained: “The mud version of cigarettes”.
Snus (
/ˈsnuːs/; Swedish pronunciation: [snʉːs]), or Swedish snuff, is a moist powder tobacco product originated from a variant of drysnuff in the early 19th century in Sweden, consumed by placing it under the lip for extended periods of time. The precursor of snus, the dry form of snuff inhaled through the nose, was introduced in Europe much earlier. Snus is a form of snuff that is used in a manner similar to American dipping tobacco, but typically does not result in the need for spitting. Snus is also unique in that it is steam-pasteurized rather than fire-cured, is not fermented and contains no added sugar. The sale of snus is illegal in the European Union, but due to exemptions, it is still manufactured and consumed primarily in Norway and Sweden. Its popularity is growing in the United States as an alternative to smoking and traditional “chewing” tobacco. In Sweden, snus is often used to quit smoking, which has led to a significant decrease in the prevalence of smoking among men. In fact, Sweden has the lowest male smoking rate in the European Union. Females in Sweden, who are less likely to use snus, have similar smoking rates to neighbouring countries.
Previously, Swedish snus was only available by mail order within the United States; however, an increasing number of tobacco retailers have begun to stock popular Swedish snus products. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Philip Morris USA, and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company now produce similar products called Camel Snus, Marlboro Snus, and Skoal Snus, respectively. While it’s packaged in much the same way (moist tobacco in a small pouch), production methods vary considerably from traditional Scandinavian methods. Additionally, differences in the way American snus is formulated may also diminish some of the possible benefits. Swedish Match, the leading manufacturer of Swedish snus, is currently test-marketing snus in Canada, Russia and several regions throughout the United States.
Some forms of tobacco consumed in the mouth may be categorized as:
There is some debate among public health researchers over the use of “safer” tobacco or nicotine delivery systems, generally dividing along two lines of thought. A minority (primarily in the European Union and Canada) believes in “harm reduction,” where the belief is generally that, while it should remain a goal to reduce addiction to nicotine in the population as a whole, the reduction of harm to the health of those who choose to use nicotine should override the need to reduce overall nicotine addiction. For example, some research available today shows that snus use reduces or eliminates the risk of cancers associated with the use of other tobacco products such as “chewing tobacco” (the type primarily used in the United States and Canada, created in a process similar to cigarette tobacco) and cigarettes. It is hypothesized that the widespread use of snus by Swedish men (estimated at 30% of Swedish male ex-smokers), displacing tobacco smoking and other varieties of snuff, is responsible for the incidence of tobacco-related mortality in men being significantly lower in Sweden than any other European country; in contrast, since women traditionally are less likely to use snus, their rate of tobacco-related deaths in Sweden can be compared to that of other European countries.
Snus may be less harmful than other tobacco products; according to Kenneth Warner, director of the University of Michigan Tobacco Research Network,
“The Swedish government has studied this stuff to death, and to date, there is no compelling evidence that it has any adverse health consequences. … Whatever they eventually find out, it is dramatically less dangerous than smoking.”Opponents of snus sales maintain that, nevertheless, even the low nitrosamine levels in snus cannot be completely risk free, but snus proponents point out that inasmuch as snus is used as a substitute for smoking or a means to quit smoking, the net overall effect is positive, similar to the effect of nicotine patches.
In addition, this eliminates any exposure to second-hand smoke, further reducing possible harm to other non-tobacco users. This is seen by public health advocates who believe in “harm reduction” as a reason for recommending snus as well as other nicotine replacement therapies rather than continued use of cancer-causing nicotine delivery systems.
