'allo, brand new, never 'snused' before!

[MercyPoetic]

Hi there! So as I'm sure you've gathered in my subject line, I've never used snus before. I'm sort of doing some research on this - I actually quit smoking when I started using ecigs (yeah, I'm a vaper) but my boyfriend who is trying to quit still get cravings every now and again. The ecig forum I'm on has a lot of folks who suggest using snus, so I thought I'd do some looking around and ask some questions

I'm gathering that snus is EXTREMELY different from dipping (which is just plain nasty, IMO), but what makes it so much better?
Why is Swedish snus the way to go, over something like Camel?
What's the difference between light and dark? The bag colour?
What are the health effects?

I've read the wikipedia article, but I really like talking to actual people who use it to get a better understanding... Thanks in advance!!

[spirit72]

Re: 'allo, brand new, never 'snused' before!

I'm gathering that snus is EXTREMELY different from dipping (which is just plain nasty, IMO), but what makes it so much better?
Why is Swedish snus the way to go, over something like Camel?
What's the difference between light and dark? The bag colour?
What are the health effects?

1)Snus is made differently--unfermented, steam cured/pasteurized, no added sugar. Also, in Sweden it is regulated as a food product. So what you see on the list of ingredients on the can is what's in the can. No more, no less.

2)You'll find that in the long run, Swedish snus is cheaper than Camel, you get more snus for your money, and Swedish snus is simply an older and better product. Camel isn't bad---I started with it--but it is RJR's take on snus, tailored for what they see as American tastes.

3)I'm assuming that by 'light and dark' you mean 'original' vs. 'white' portions. Original portions are sprayed or dipped in tobacco juice as part of the manufacturing process. White portions aren't. So original portions will get going faster, and generally have a bolder flavor, while white portions are drier and don't drip as much. The flavor of white portions is a little more nuanced, but lasts longer, and the nicotine delivery seems to be similar. I prefer white portions, personally, but I also use lös.

4)As far as health effects go, you should read the 'Snus and Health' forum here. Basically, as far as the Swedish government is concerned, there is no significant risk of mouth cancer. There is a slightly higher risk of pancreatic cancer over non-tobacco users, but less than smokers. But we are talking about roughly 4 cases in 100,000 people. So again, very small, especially when compared with smoking.

[RobsanX]

Welcome to the forums!

Snus is different from dipping because the majority of snus sold is wrapped nicely in a pouch (portion), and not loose tobacco (although there is the loose kind too). It is also made differently from American "dip" so you do not have to spit out the juice.

Swedish snus is more natural than the the Camel brand snus. Camel is very sweet with artificial sweeteners, but Swedish snus is more salty than sweet. Many people use Camel, and it's really a matter of preference, but most people here use Swedish much more than Camel. Another thing about Swedish is that you can get different brands that have different nicotine content, so you can tailor which snus you use based on how bad your cravings are.

By light and dark, I think you mean white and original portions. Original portions are moister and produce more juice right away. White portions are drier, and don't produce as much juice, but they last longer.

Health effects vary. Some people get gum irritation, some don't. Studies have shown no increase in the risk of oral cancer. There is an increase in the risk of pancreatic cancer, but even with the increase in risk it is still very rare.

My explanations barely touch on the questions you asked, but stick around, and you will learn a lot more!

[sagedil]

First of all, welcome to Snuson MercyPoetic, you came to the right place.

My girlfriend came to snus too from e-ciggs (darn, I love saying that :lol: ). I will mention this post to her when she gets home from work in a few hours and make sure she comes here too to help answer any questions about making that transition.

Looks like folks addressed much of what you asked, but I can at least add this part.

Real Swedish snus is like 1000% better than what camel makes. Much better nicotine delivery, just tastes much better, not nearly as sweet. In the past 2 years, almost everyone who first started snusing with Camel left it after they tried Swedish snus, just SO much better.

The biggest difference between snus and American dip is you don't have to spit using snus. Although some juice can come from snus, you can swallow that with no ill effects. Swallowing using dip will make 95% of the folks who do it very sick. I never used dip, but my understanding is it also contains sugar, can be very bad on your teeth. But mostly, Swedish snus just tastes very different. More muted in flavor.

Swedish snus has been studied in Sweden for over 30 years. There is NO reported incidence of any type of mouth cancer using it, and obviously, no risks to your lungs as well.

Honestly, you just need to try it, see what you think. All the online vendors offer try out boxed, I usually recommend the Top 10 box from northerner.com. But all of them offer something similar. So try it and see what you think.

If you haven't yet, let me just advise that you need to be prepared for a transition period that will last a few weeks. When you first try Swedish snus, all you will taste is the salt. Takes your body between a week to two to acclimate to the salt. So just be patient, don't draw conclusions just from your first use. After a few weeks, you will begin to taste what snus really tastes like.

And at least in my experience helping Debra make the transition from vapeing, sterks were a huge piece in helping her make that jump. A regular portion contains about 8 mg of nicotine, about half of which will be released from the snus, and about half of that absorbed by your body. A sterk usually contains between 11 -13 mg of nicotine, and an extra sterk can contain as much as 17 mg of nicotine. Debra needed that extra nicotine to not feel any "need" for nicotine. In many ways, she found letting go of that was almost harder than making the transition from just cigarettes, so the sterks were a big help.

Most importantly, just stick around and keep asking any questions you have. truly, what we are here for.

[Mordred]

Re: 'allo, brand new, never 'snused' before!

Hi there! So as I'm sure you've gathered in my subject line, I've never used snus before. I'm sort of doing some research on this - I actually quit smoking when I started using ecigs (yeah, I'm a vaper) but my boyfriend who is trying to quit still get cravings every now and again. The ecig forum I'm on has a lot of folks who suggest using snus, so I thought I'd do some looking around and ask some questions

I'm gathering that snus is EXTREMELY different from dipping (which is just plain nasty, IMO), but what makes it so much better?
Why is Swedish snus the way to go, over something like Camel?
What's the difference between light and dark? The bag colour?
What are the health effects?

I've read the wikipedia article, but I really like talking to actual people who use it to get a better understanding... Thanks in advance!!

Welcome. Don't trust the wiki entirely on this subject. It used to be accurate, but there's been some people fiddling with it with dubious agendas.

I too quit using e-cigs and moved on to Snus. To me, the e-cig was ok, but Snus actually gave me everything real cigarettes used to give me (minus the smoke). It's hard to describe, but I always felt there was something missing from e-cigs and I believe it's the MAOIs contained in tobacco (monoamine oxydase inhibitors). So I DO believe it may well be the way to go for your BF too. Add to that the fact that snus is a zero-maintenance product, whereas e-cigs can be annoying as hell with additional batteries, dead atomizers, leaking cartridges... I vape at home to relax, but 99% of the time, I use snus.

As for the differences between dip and snus, the other posters have pretty much explained it. More specifically though, Snus has lower concentrations of TSNAs (tobacco-specific nitrosamines), which many believe to be a prominent carcinogen. This is because of the gothiatek process (similar to pasteurizing), which kills off the micro-organisms responsible for increasing the TSNA count in dip.

Aside from that, the no-spit discreet nature of snus makes the transition much easier. You can use snus, especially mini-portions, pretty much all day long without anyone noticing, whereas dip will often brand you as a hillbilly (this is, of course, unfair to dippers, but true nonetheless).

I suggest you get a sampler box/pack from a place like northerner, buysnus or other online retailer. Some even offer free packs to try.

[justintempler]

Re: 'allo, brand new, never 'snused' before!

Why is Swedish snus the way to go, over something like Camel?

Because Camel is not designed to keep you from smoking.

Camel is designed to be used with cigarettes. You use Camel to hold you over in situations where you are not allowed to smoke so you can survive long enough until you can light up your favorite smoke.

Camel is designed to turn you into a consumer of two nicotine products instead of just one.

Swedish snus actually delivers sufficient levels of nicotine to completely replace the nicotine cravings from cigarettes.

[deeanne59]

Welcome to SnusOn MercyPoetic.....I'm Sagedils girlfriend . I, too, used e-cigs to quit smoking cigarettes....but found that they were not addressing my nicotine needs. The absorption rate for an e-cig is a lot lower than that of snus. A member of the e-cig forum I was on recommended snus, so I started with Camel Mellow. For me, that was a mistake....it made me sick immediately. It was way too sweet for me.

My friend on the e-cig forum suggested that I come here and learn what I could about Swedish snus. I lurked for a while to learn what I could...then eventually posted my problem. As Sage said, he recommended that I start with extra strong Swedish snus (called extra sterk) to help me over the hump during the transition period. Once I did that, it didn't take long before I became a happy snuser :lol: . Now I alternate between extra sterks and sterks (strong) or regular portions....and I am fine.

It will take you a while to get used to the salt, but once you do...the flavor really comes through. I have been snusing since October without a problem. Feel free to ask any question that you have....everyone here will be glad to help you with your transition to snus.

[Christi]

Nothing to add, just wanted to say welcome.

Everyone here will make you feel at home, no matter what questions you ask.

I switched from Camel to Swedish and I have to tell you it did take me a couple of weeks to get used to the salt. But now I can say, I love the flavor of Swedish Snus. I have yet to try something I just hate.

Good luck!

[Veganpunk]

Welcome to SnusOn. Seems like everyone has answered everything. Just be patient with the salt. In two weeks time you won't notice it. I never thought I would quit cigs. completely. I started snus in June 09 and continued to smoke with it. Everyone here said the snus would win out, and by October, it did. The power of snus is amazing!

[LaZeR]

Welcome & as mentioned, be careful with the wikipedia articles. Whilst they can give you a general sense sometimes of a subject, they are prone to be biased. Recommend you get your information from various sources and then weight the pro/s & con/s yourself.

Any controversial subject is going to bring you differing opinions and a whole lot of 'facts' to work through. With that said, my research has found Swedish snus to be on the lower end of harmful tobaccos and yes fairly much different than 'dip', 'chew', 'American smokeless tobacco'. The only thing they really share in my opinion is being an oral tobacco.

[RobsanX]

Swedish snus has been studied in Sweden for over 30 years. There is NO reported incidence of any type of mouth cancer using it, and obviously, no risks to your lungs as well.

That's not entirely accurate. There is no increased risk. Some people who use snus will get oral cancer, but not in a greater percentage than the overall population.

[tom502]

I snus and now I started dipping.
They are very different, though both are enjoyable.
The plus of snus is, it's very easy, no mess, and not needing to spit. Now, the loose snus has a little mess risk. But portions no. You just stick one in the top lip, in the front part of the mouth. Loose snus also, which is like a clay(playdough) consistency, and molded by hand or a small tool.

Dipping involves the need to spit the extra salaiva, some might not, but I wouldn't recommend it. It also can be had in pouches, and traditionally go in the bottom lip, though I have seen some use the upper. The spit can, and mess of the cut dip, I personally have not wanted to go out and about with a dip in, but I enjoy it at home messing about, or on the computer.

Snus is also less expensive. And yes, dip is often more sweetened, though I prefer the natural.

[MercyPoetic]

Wow! Thanks for all of the great replies, I really appreciate it

The snus isn't for me - I've quit smoking entirely with ecigs, so I'm thinking my addiction was more so the habit of the motion of smoking than the nicotine itself. To be honest, I told the boyfriend that I was researching this and he sort of freaked out - I can't seem to convince him that snus is different from dipping, so he's already grossed out by the thought. :roll: I'm going to try to get him on here though to at least look around.

Thanks again for the great welcome and all of the answers!

[gear.h34d.2012]

Hai guy! Welcom to da foorem!





No, but seriously.


Welcome to SnusOn!

[sagedil]

Unfortunately, converting someone else to snus doesn't ever work it seems. Many posts here on that topic. Unfortunately, it seems the only way someone will ever move to snus is if THEY want to. Most everyone else will just look at you like you are crazy and keep using things that both will kill them and cost twice as much. Reason just doesn't apply.