New guy with a lot of questions

[simon]

Hi guys,
New snusser here. Been trying to get off smokes for a long time now, patches are useless, gum, mints, all useless. The ecig helped awhile, but not as convenient or socially acceptable as I would like, especially in small town Indiana.
They were giving away tins of Camel snus with a pack of cigs here, and thought what the hell, I'll give it a try, used to dip back in high school, I gave it a shot, and hey, it works, doesn't taste too bad, tastes like Skoal wintergreen I guess, haven't tried the mellow yet, but I've got 5 cans in the fridge and 3 on my desk of both flavors.
Anyway, my question is, what the hell is that pouch made of, it tore the hell out of my gums, and I mean it, it's tender like bruised, is that pouch made of fiberglass or plastic or what? Skoal bandits never did that, whats the Camel pouch made of? I think it's something synthetic, it has to be why it tore me up so bad..

Anyway, waiting on my 5 cans from Getsnus.com to get here, it shipped today two states over, should be here maybe by Saturday. Can't wait to try the "real" stuff..
For my first order, I got the General vs. Offroad package
General mint and a General wintergreen
Offroad mint and Offroad wintergreen
Also have my free sample can coming as well picked General mini mint.
Yeah I'm a mint nut.. I smoke menthol's too, but if I find a good snus that doesnt tear me up, these smokes are gone.
11 bucks total out the door, not bad to give it a test run..

My uncle (inlaw) died a few years ago from stomach cancer, he chewed redman and levi for maybe 15-20 or so years, so I'm a little freaked out about it, was not a pretty sight, is the snus really any lower in carcinogens than chew? Especially since it's swallowed? I know not risk free but is it much much less than what he chewed? He was only 63

Sorry for all the questions, I'm new, and nobody around here even knows what it is, except maybe the Camel at the gas station, people around here think they invented it.

Oh.. One last question.. Any known tobacco shops in Indiana that sell REAL snus in stock? Just in case they stop shipping.

Thanks guys..

[lxskllr]

Welcome to Snuson simon!!

The pouches are made from the same material as tea bags. They can be a little abrasive, especially at first. That's a big reason I prefer lös snus, but portions are the biggest sellers generally.

Snus has some of the lowest TSNAs of any tobacco product. There's a study that links it to a doubled risk of pancreatic cancer, but it's a fairly rare disease in the first place, so a doubled risk isn't that big of a deal. Also, the study in question wasn't setup in the best way, so I wouldn't call it definitive at this point.

As far as your uncle goes... I don't know if that can be pinned on tobacco exclusively. Maybe it can, but you have to look at all the variables. Alcohol consumption for one thing is known to cause stomach cancer, and when combined with cigarettes the risk gets increased. I don't know if that applies to chew since chew isn't burned.

[shikitohno]

Enjoy snusing, simon. As for some of your questions, I don't really like portions too much (don't dislike them either, just only use them occasionally), but I'd recommend getting some lös snus. First, they're usually about the same price as portion snus, but with twice as much actual snus. Now, I tried dip briefly after I quit smoking and starting getting my nicotine cravings. Stuff tore up my mouth. It was abrasive and uncomfortable, but I liked the nicotine. Lös feels like velvet in your mouth sometimes, and in my opinion is much easier on your gums then portion bags. Not necessarily better for you (can't say as I don't know), but more comfortable.

Now, from what I've gathered on this board, because snus is air-cured rather than fire-cured, it has much lower levels of tobacco specific nitrosamines than dip, which are one of the carcinogens in all tobacco products. Also, there's no real cases where oral cancer has been specifically pinned on snus, except one man who had been snusing for 70 years and got a small cancerous growth in his mouth (according to sagedil, who'll show up eventually, I'm sure). I also doubles your risk of developing pancreatic cancer, from 4:100 000 to 8:100 000. Aside from that, a lot of the negative health impacts are up in the air, but current medical literature on the topic regards it as on of the safest forms of tobacco you can take.

On a personal note though, you may wish to be extra keen on oral hygiene, as snus can turn your teeth school bus yellow if you use frequently enough/don't take care of your teeth enough. I know I had to step up my brushing, and start flossing and using mouthwash.

Health concerns aside, I'd recommend picking up some lös, at least to try it. It's certainly not for everyone, but for many of us on this board, there's nothing quite as satisfying as waking up, making some coffee, and popping in a pris of our favourite morning snus. I'd recommend Skruf Stark lös, Göteborgs Rapé,and Gotlandsnus Anis. I'm sure you'll soon get someone in here who says Röda Lacket, since it's so easy to bake. In my experience, stuff was excellent to learn to bake, but until you get over the salt shock, it´s useless for flavour. Later on, stronger snus like Odens ES or Generals ES might be more satisfying for you.

I'd suggest buying a more diverse sample pack though, as I've seen a lot of mint fans disappointed in mint snus. Northerner has a sample box, and buysnus has some too. I'd go for the mixed samplers, so you get some portion, and some lös, and can figure out which you prefer at a fairly low price. Remember, once you find a snus you like, order a little more of it, and keep trying other stuff too.

[TBD]

Welcome Simon!

Camel pouches are just paper, but they can be irritating. Partly because your gum sis not used to it and partly because they are dry as heck. Moisten them by putting the pouch on your tongue for a few seconds then place the portion in your lip or dip the portion in water for a second. At first I had to do that with white portions and Camel.

Check http://www.generalsnus.com/ for a retailer near you. More retailers coming soon. At least a couple of little birdies told me so. (and yes I know those birdies can be lying bastards. )

[chainsnuser]

Swedish snus is about as dangerous as coffee after all the statistics that I have read. Virtually all the dangers of tobacco-use appear to be from inhaling smoke. There is some discussion regarding TSNA's, but I'm really nor sure if there are even reliable measurement-methods for that type of carcinogenic substances (?) and I'm even not sure, if TSNA's (or NA's in general) are not just another trick by more or less clueless, self-proclaimed "health-experts", to make money.

If quitting nicotine-use is no option, there really is no reason to think twice about Swedish snus. Smoked tobacco is with no doubt worse in every regard, including the oral health and including every type of cancer, not only lung-cancer(!).

Cheers!

[CoderGuy]

Welcome Simon. Our stories are very similar. I was a 2 pack a day smoker for 26 years. Got off cigs by way of e-cigs but had as much trouble finding places to vape as smoke (I didn't want to "educate" everyone I came in contact with). I just started snusing a few weeks ago and for the convenience and nicotine, I love it. However, it is also irritating my inner lip (the gums seem to be fine, the inner lip is what is bothering me). Also I too was concerned about health effects (ironic after smoking for years I know) but after reading the studies I am convinced it is definitely "harm reduction".

It's amazing how stats can be blown out of proportion; all I read when I started was about the doubled risk of pancreatic cancer, then when I checked and got the stats it was as shikitohno said; 8:100000 vs 4:100000. What they don't tell you is the stats for smokers is 13:100000. So switching to snus actually cuts your risk of pancreatic cancer. Also, smoking is the leading cause of esophageal and lung cancer as well as many other diseases.

CoderGuy

[tom502]

If you like menthols, I'd suggest Catch Eucalyptus.

I am not conviced that snus is harmful at all.

Personally, I have not had any gum/lip irritation at all.

I hate Camel faux candy snus. I'd recommed Tourney Snus Wintergreen and Spearmint over Camel(US made). They are available at Speedway and Super America stores.

[zmanzero]

welcome simon, here's a link if you want to read a little about snus and health - http://www.northerner.com/articles/Snus%20Articles-369/ - there's other stuff out there about snus and health too. hey, i was a chain smoker for 35 years and snus sure filled the ticket to quitting, amazingly so. hey, welcome again.

[Old Frothingslosh]

Welcome Simon. Nice to have you here. You may like Thunder Frosted or Thunder Wintergreen. It has some extra kick because it's a strong snus, but it sure helps keep the monkey off your back. Good luck to you.

[Ainkor]

Welcome to the boards!

Don't be afraid to ask any question you think of with the exception of person pics from Premium Parrots, only because he probably would send you some

[simon]

Thanks for the welcome guys.. And girls too..
Got to get off these cigs, doc told me had to quit, said my breathing sounds bad and wheezing. So here I sit.
My order of General and Offroad should be here today. USPS tracking sucks...

[zmanzero]

simon, my doc said my lungs sounded musical! hey, i didn't quit because of her, i just didn't have a choice in the matter.

post when you get your order and tell us what ya think of swedish snus. it sure took the cig craving away for me.

[justintempler]

My lung capacity has gone to shit after 38 years of smoking. Last week I finally noticed an improvement after 8 1/2 months after quiting smoking. It's still nowhere near what it was when I started smoking but I have started to regain some lung capacity after years of decline. 8)