Will snus ever get too big in the US?

[jdman321]

And by too big I mean like what happened in NY with cigarettes. I doubt it, but if it does happen it will be a slow, painful process over the years as it's popularity grows here.

[Jwalker]

For tax purposes snus is dip. Dip in New York is already expensive, snus is the same a can is like 6-7 dollars locally in New York I think. I think it will get bigger once General, Thunder, and then more brands become available locally which is starting to happen right now it's a pretty slow process though.

[Langdell]

If by too big you mean a whole lot of people using it, my short answer is I don't know but I really hope so. Better for it to be too big than too small. Too small would mean it might become unavailable--either just because it isn't worth it to sell it here or because it is an easy target for the anti-tobacco hysterics to legislate away.

I agree that having more Swedish snus available in more brick and mortar stores (and not just cigar stores) is key to helping it take off here. To order online, you have to already know about snus and be seeking it out. At a store, you might see it and try it on an impulse. And I think many people just prefer to buy locally anyway. I'm that way--I've been snusing for 4 years now, and, on the one hand, I like variety, but on the other hand, I snus mostly General mainly because I can buy it locally and don't have to hassle with online ordering to get it. (I do love General and would probably take a lot of it anyway. But I'd also love to have some other brands (and not more mint, and especially not wintergreen!) available locally.

[Darwin]

Slow, very slow. And snus is already being swept up in the anti-tobacco zealots putrid jihad against anything with the leaf in it. It is grotesquely ironic that the same political crowd that is so intent on maintaining a woman's "right to choose" terminating a pregnancy is equally if not more determined to abridge our freedom to choose using tobacco. Of course they have the unthinking media on their side and virtually all politicians including those of conservative bent who might be inclined to preserve this particular freedom but judge that defending it just doesn't merit having any serious political capital expended on it. Sisyphus pushing that rock up a hill had an easier time of it than what waits in store for the likes of us. Land of the regulated, home of the nanny state.

[Roo]

It is grotesquely ironic that the same political crowd that is so intent on maintaining a woman's "right to choose" terminating a pregnancy is equally if not more determined to abridge our freedom to choose using tobacco.

Woah, cowboy. I love ya Darwin but listen up. Plenty of reasonable people appreciate the right and the necessity to curb grotesque population expansion and the inability to provide for unwanted children by way of termination of unwanted pregnancies. Don't lump a guy like me in with the tobacco Nazis because I appreciate a woman's right to terminate unwanted babies. I'm all for it. Of course, your comment was political in nature, and that is just the sort of sentiment that surfaces with big government control issues such as those affecting the casual US tobacco user, so I'm okay to chalk it up to wrong thread, wrong timing if you're okay with it. If not, I'll hear you out.

[Darwin]

Didn't mean to step on toes Roo. I support that particular women's right as well but there is in a great many other cases a lamentable Progressive tendency to regulate our consumptive behaviors for "our own good" or in the service of the tired old shibboleth that it's "for the children". Not that conservatives are immune to this tendency it just manifests itself in different areas. In terms of diet, our pursuits, and what we choose to otherwise consume the default Progressive attitude that any and all behaviors that might in some way be harmful to us absolutely must perforce be regulated and the "freedom to choose" those behaviors is deemed as either inconsequential or a direct assault on the public weal. The headlong and accelerating nanny-state micromanagement of our lifestyles has gone rather too far and it is--saddening. The tobacco Nazis are merely one arm of this regulatory Shiva and this sanctimonious goddess of the n-state appears to grow several new ones with each sunrise.

[Roo]

Nice reply Darwin. Yeah I was getting back on to delete my post and say I took your point after thinking it over. My toes are unscathed friend.

[snusjus]

Timing is everything -- snus will increase in popularity as awareness about the product increases . With that said, it will never gain a foothold over cigarettes. In Norway, for example, snus has been available for decades, as it never joined the European Union and borders Sweden. Ironically, cigarettes are still the tobacco product of choice, although snus is gaining popularity. In my sole opinion, the popularity of snus heavily depends on how it transcends cultural customs.

Another issue is smoking bans and the overall disdain of cigarette smoking. Remember, sales of snus skyrocketed in Sweden when harsh cigarette bans were implemented. Hopefully, smoking restrictions will aid in the popularity of snus. Another important issue is safety -- most Americans believe snus is just as harmful as cigarettes.

Whether snus will eclipse cigarette sales is very debatable, but patience and time will show that snus may become a viable alternative to cigarettes in America.

[angrylollipop]

I don't think snus will ever be big in the u.s.

the target market is smokers.. but smokers in the U.S. generally believe one or a combo of three things about snus.

#1. It's just chewing tobacco (which carries social stigma, cultural bias, bad breath, and mouth cancer)
#2. It'll cause mouth cancer and make my teeth fallout
#3. They tried camel snus and think it's a crappy product that can't replace the nicotine they get from cigarettes.

#3a. people around me seem to think snus is just used "to quit smoking" (since it worked well for me) and unless they want to quit, there is no reason to use it.

However, If these two things happened I think snus would take off like wild fire.
#1. you can buy it at every gas station and remains about half the price of a pack of cigarettes
#2. cigarettes go above the $10 mark.

When i was driving through upstate new york last winter I noticed cigarettes (the cheap ones) were well above $10 a pack. I also noticed a large increase in people purchasing Camel snus at $5 a tin as an alternative to cigarettes.

I offered a few of them some swedish snus but as I only had general long portion at the time, most didn't like the taste.