Please make recomendations for a snus newb

[ItsHectic]

Hi guys, I have just started to learn about snus today because I need to quit smoking but find NRT does not do enough for me and its hard to get bupropion in Australia.

Before I start looking I want to know what strength I should be looking at, I smoke about 30 12mg cigarettes a day and have been smoking for 17 years.

I dont like mint, and I dont want my girlfriend to be repulsed by any tobacco flavour. (she wont date smokers)

I want to try a lot so I can settle on one brand like I did with smoking and vodka. I am not the type to brand hop and would rather a prefered product over constant variety. So I will most likely order all recomendations that get thrown at me so I know what I like best.

BTW I smoke Benson and Hedges, and I drink Grey Goose, so value not an issue.

[alopezg1]

In Australia you can get all the products from swedish match that we can't get in the EU , so thats good ... although i have heard that customs can be a bit of bitch over there. I had no problems
in New Zealand , and apparently they can also be very nosy . If your girlfriend won't date smokers then you've done quite well so far ! snus doesn't taste like tobacco tobacco . Most people i have
shown my snus to think it smells like tea, which is much more palatable than burnt (cigarette) tobacco imo. Ettan , Grov and roda Lacket are my favourite and all are very well made products . I don't dislike
bergamot but i can't tolerate to much of it - if you are unsure of what bergamot tastes like try some earl grey tea- A lot of snus is flavoured with Bergamot but i prefer a more earthy mellow flavour. I also like los (loose) snus
as i think it is much better value for money and just better in every way , less salty than portions better flavour imo. There are many people on this site who have a great deal more experience than me and they can
probably help better than me but those are just my prefferences. Oh and byt he way if you are switching from cigarettes you want to order some extra strong stuff to go with your vodka

[Stark]

I'm not the most experienced user, since I started with snus last october. Furthermore, living in EU I just had the opportunity to try few Swedish Match products, that generally have a very good quality. Anyway snus is so sujective that it's impossible to say which brand is the best; I don't love General (the most famous brand) but I like Offroad (one of the cheapest).
You say that you want to find the good brand and settle on it; no one prevents you from doing that, but normally snusers, even the more experienced, have different brands in their rotation. There are so many flavors that it's a pity to use only one. Furthermore, I find that some flavored snus (liquirice, cola, elderflower) are really good to be used sometimes, but after some portions I really feel like I want to change the taste.
If you are smoking a lot you can start with strong or extra strong portions; anyway don' underestimate the nicotine kick given even by regular portions.
For your girlfriend, don't worry. Snus doesn't taste like sigarettes at all. The only think that my girlfriend notices it's that when I'm using snus I'm "salty".

[Snusdog]

Good advice from the posts above

Try a variety......but be careful about settling on one particular brand too quickly.....your taste will change.....not having smoke in your mouth and nose all the time will both mend the lungs as well as the taste buds)......therefore you don't want to end up with rolls of snus that you no longer like as much as you once did

Like you I tend to find a brand and stick with it..........but snus has been different for me in that regards.......thus instead of finding the one brand......I have kind of expanded that idea out a bit and have instead set a regular rotation.

Anyway, try a variety.......throw in some things that you would not expect to like.........and in the end don't throw anything away......if you don't like it at first.....stick in the freezer and revisit it in a few months

Oh......and before I forget......Welcome to the forum

Keep us posted on what you try and find you like/dislike

[natesnus]

Hi ItsHectic. I'm new but am Aussie so thought I'd throw this out there. We have limited opportunities here to try smokeless tobacco however we have the opportunity to import it. I have vaped (e-cigs, 3rd gen) for about 8 months and it satisfies the whole hand to mouth, blowing out a smoke like vapour plus a nic hit etc. It really does work but something is missing. I was lucky enough to have someone send me some Snus as a bit of a sample and that's it. I found my happy place. A mix of vaping and snus and I'm good to go. Try everything is all I can say. In a slight sense they are all similar but not similar like cigs. You also won't want just one type. You will mix it up. If you want to start small, grab a can of;
http://www.snuscentral.com/jakobsson...nus-p-417.html
http://www.snuscentral.com/odens-ext...nus-p-397.html
http://www.snuscentral.com/thunder-f...nus-p-180.html
http://www.snuscentral.com/islay-whi...son-p-454.html
http://www.snuscentral.com/catchdry-...snus-p-33.html
I think this is probably a decent selection that will give you a sample of what snus is like. Keeping in mind that most of these are strong snus so you may occasionally get that OD feeling but that's part of the fun.

[Burnsey]

Welcome ItrsHectic

All good advice above......

[Syrasnus]

Something made by skruf, something general produced, some Nick and Johnny (original edge or white heat), Ettan, something in the Goteborgs family (Rape' if portions, prima Fint if Los), and anything else that looks appealing.

Warning: The more types of snus you try, the less likely you will be able to stick with just one snus.

[squeezyjohn]

Welcome ItsHectic! It's a great thing to attempt - snus really is a great way to quit smoking as long as you understand the processes going on - and SnusOn is the best place to get advice on that sort of thing - there's a search function and loads of great helpful posts in the archive.

I am a massive advocate of the Swedish Match brands which I don't think you can beat for quality (if money is no issue ;-) General, Ettan, Roda Lacket and Goteborgs Rapé are a great foursome of different flavours OTHER BRANDS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE! 30 B&H a day makes me think that you'd probably stand a better chance of success using strong snus ... General Extra Stark is the strongest that Swedish Match do and is absolutely delicious (to me). However you should probably give the regular strength stuff a chance first as it might do the trick for you on its own and there's no point in ramping up your nicotine intake if it is not necessary to get you off the smokes.

I'm in the UK - but in my long time here on the forum I have seen quite a few posts which suggest that Australia can be a hard place to get snus past customs (there was some ramping up of tobacco control a few years ago wasn't there?). The rules might now have changed as I haven't seen any posts like that in a couple of years though. If in doubt - frequent smaller orders are far more likely not to get picked up by customs.

Anyway - best of luck with it all!

[Frosted]

If you're worried about your girlfriend and tobacco flavour I wouldn't. The great thing about snus is that once it's out of your mouth the residues dissipate rapidly. That's a big reason why I like it - it's very 'clean'.

It's very difficult to recommend as they're all tobacco, but I'd always recommend Odens. The reason why is I'm a major fan and secondly, if you've been a B&H smoker you'll like a good tobacco flavour (B&H was my favourite cigarette).....You'll also need the strength initially so I'd go for a very very strong snus to get you off the habit. NRT is rubbish - it doesn't even come close to taking away any craving.

Swedish Match products are very good too but they're hard to get. I'd stay away from V2 personally unless it's all you can get - that's Offroad and Thunder.

Good luck - you're definately doing the right thing.

[ItsHectic]

Thanks guys for the help and the welcoming.

I have made a long list and going to be ordering tonight, I will post again with what I have ordered. And I will be sure to make notes and post short reviews of them all in a seperate thread. I will probably settle on 2-3 products by the sounds of it.

I have heard of people in Australia getting their snus past customs okay. If mine gets held up I can easily get a permit (doctors prescription, allows for 1.5kg) especially being a heavy smoker who has failed at Combination NRT.

[squeezyjohn]

I have heard of people in Australia getting their snus past customs okay. If mine gets held up I can easily get a permit (doctors prescription, allows for 1.5kg) especially being a heavy smoker who has failed at Combination NRT.

That sounds like a very enlightened set of rules! Oh to be back in Adelaide again :-(

[ItsHectic]

Some recomendations were mint. I have decided to try wintergreen and some other flavours such as whiskey and spices.
They did not have a couple recomendations, and a couple I wanted to order were sold out.
I look forward to the Cola flavours, I love Cola.

[Stark]

If you are a heavy smoker, I don't suggest the minis: they will probably give you too few nicotine...
For the loose, maybe it could be a bit complicated to use for beginners, but a lot of experienced snusers find it much better than portions, so if you want to give it a try, why not!

[Snusdog]

Some recomendations were mint. I have decided to try wintergreen and some other flavours such as whiskey and spices.
They did not have a couple recomendations, and a couple I wanted to order were sold out.
I look forward to the Cola flavours, I love Cola.

That looks like a really good first order........it will be like Christmas in May when it gets to you

[ItsHectic]

I learnt the rules in Australia.
Anything over 50g and we pay $500 per KG tax. (BnH are $1 each cigarette).
We are allowed to import 1.5kg every so often, I think 2-3 months without a permit.

Im gonna have a lot of fun trying them all out.