Few questions (from US, and talking about Camel Snus)

[jdman321]

Long story short, I'm going to join the U.S. Navy soon and you can't smoke in the 9 weeks of boot camp. I'm trying to ween myself from cigarettes without giving up nicotine altogether and trying to avoid the expensive nicotine gum.

I have never tried chewing tobacco or snus before. I finally bought a tin of Camel's Robust Snus. It smells and tastes great, but after a minute or so on my gums it starts to burn. Then when the juices get flowing mixing with my saliva it starts to taste nasty. Is that something I have to get used to? Like when I first smoked a cigarette it tasted horrible but now it's great.

Will the burning eventually go away? It says you may get mouth cancer. But the chances of that aren't that great correct? I know it's not 'safe' but are the chances of me getting mouth cancer with this a lot less than the chances of getting lung cancer with cigarettes?

Also, what's the best place to put this in your mouth? I've tried lower right gum, but the best buzz so far I got was upper, a couple teeth to the right of the front two.

And last question; I'm going to take a long test today from about 6-10pm but no smoke breaks are allowed and obviously no tobacco. Can I keep it in my mouth the entire 3-4 hours with no adverse effects?

[snusjus]

From what I've heard from others, nicotine will be the last thing on your mind in boot camp. Basically, your body goes into fight-or-flight mode, with survival being your top priority. Anyways, snus, whether it be American or Swedish, will not cause mouth cancer. The nasty flavor you're talking about is exclusive to American brands. I would recommend ordering some Swedish snus via internet -- the flavor is far superior.

[snusgetter]

If time is short and you have to settle for American snus, then try to find Skoal Snus ... not great but a vast improvement over Camel and Marlboro.

You don't say where you're from but a local or regional tobacconist might at least have some General Swedish snus to get you started.

[jdman321]

We might have some here in Virginia at a local smokers shop. If we have it here, that would be the only place around that would carry it.

On the tin it says that it can cause mouth cancer. But I know for a fact it's less harmful than cigarettes, I just want to know how harmful it is to your gums/mouth. And what about that burning sensation on the gums after a minute or so of being lodged in between my lip and teeth?

[lxskllr]

The tin is lying. That's government mandated nonsense. Snus WILL NOT cause mouth cancer. You may get gum recession, but that varies by individual. The burning is probably the nicotine. I couldn't leave Camel Robust in long enough to know though. I thought it tasted like crap, and was the worst of the already poor quality lineup :^D

[snusgetter]

We might have some here in Virginia at a local smokers shop. If we have it here, that would be the only place around that would carry it.

On the tin it says that it can cause mouth cancer. But I know for a fact it's less harmful than cigarettes, I just want to know how harmful it is to your gums/mouth. And what about that burning sensation on the gums after a minute or so of being lodged in between my lip and teeth?

I'm surprised you haven't realized by now that all these overblown warning stickers are nothing but a crock o' political crap. These dire warnings have been discussed ad nauseum throughout a number of SnusOn posts.

Same with the initial burn sensations. They either go away in time or at least become more tolerable. Caused by the salt, nicotine and sometimes the flavors in the snus.



Damn, it almost seems like I got up on the wrong side of the bed... sorry! lol

[lxskllr]

Btw, if you can't find any General, you might want to try some of the other Camels. They're way too sweet, but they're smaller(excepting wintergreen, whatever they call it). Snus gives you a lot of nicotine, and you can feel sick very quickly during heavy physical exertion. Just take it easy. You don't want to be puking on yourself on a long run :^D

[jdman321]

Will I be fine if I leave it in my mouth for 4 hours? I have a test today and can't take a break.

4 hours at the MOST. Probably more like 2-3.

Also, where's the best place to put this in my mouth if I'm trying to be discreet and for the best buzz? Or does this vary from person to person.

[lxskllr]

You can leave it in your mouth as long as you like. The longer you leave it in, the less money you spend :^D

You can put it anywhere you like. See what works best for you.

[internope]

If your mouth is not accustomed to nicotine I think that you will find that any kind of mouth tobacco or nicotine gum/lozenges will irritate your mouth and throat to begin with. With snus, if you keep it in your upper lip you get less saliva and less raspy nicotine taste..

If you are only looking for nicotine replacement you might want to consider the patch. Although the manufactures warn against it, many people purchase the strongest 20mg patches and cut them into halves and quarters as they ween themselves off. I have never run into problems cutting patches, but your mileage may vary.

[jdman321]

No patches for me. I want to avoid gum/patches/pills. I was planning on lowering the amount of nicotine in each Snus pouch every week or so until I go to boot camp. I'm not officially in the Navy yet but I'd rather quit smoking now than be forced to in Boot Camp.

Technically, I quit smoking already but want to ween myself off the nicotine altogether. And so far I think I can manage to do that with a lot easier with the Snus than with smoking.

[tom502]

We could smoke when I was in the Navy boot camp. Seems they take away more and more of our rights, yet people want to join them.