New Snuser

[Snusophile]

Hello to all!

Just recently I finally made up my mind to quit my 16 year smoking habit and switch to snus. This month Camel snus finally made it's way to Chicago and after months of anticipation I picked up a can of Original and a can of Spice. In the past, I used American snuff periodically and never enjoyed it, so I usually just left it alone. I always wanted to try snus, but never wanted to have to balance smoking and snusing at the same time, so I forgot about it until I heard about the introduction of Camel snus. I enjoyed the flavors Camel snus provided, but I knew the real Swedish thing would be much better. Hence, today I ordered my first supply of Swedish snus from Northerner. I bought 1 can of Roda Lacket White portion, 1 Can of skruf original portion, and 1 can of Wise Citrus/Menthol portions. Although I regret ordering the Wise because I've heard they have a lack of flavor. So, this is it. I'm ready to quit cigarettes. I've been snusing all day and have had no cravings for a cigarette at all.
I'm very glad I found this forum as well, it's answered many questions I've had, however I have one question for all of you SnusOn members.

What do I try next? Any suggestions? As a smoker I never cared for cigarettes that skimped on flavor, and I always smoked the strongest I could get my hands on. I want to try General next, as that seems to be a staple among snus brands, and Goteborgs Rape`. Whats your take?

EDIT: BTW Friday 5/23 is my cigarette quit date!

[Asquar]

When I quit smoking, it was Nick and Johnny strong portions and Skruf Strong loose that got me through the initial discomfort. I recommend either or both of those if you always crave the strongest cigarettes.

Also, General Onyx portions have a very powerful tangy flavor as well as a great nicotine hit, but everyone's different, and there are so many excellent varieties of snus to choose from. Happy snusing!

[Snusophile]

Thanks for the reply, I can't wait for my snus to arrive. N&J is definitely going to be my next choice when I re-order. I just don't want to get knocked on my ass or anything.

[lxskllr]

Honestly I'd recommend the the try out packs from the Northerner or Buysnus. You get a great price, and you can try out many different kinds at a time. It's hard to give recommendations to a new snusare because everybody's tastes are different.

http://www.swedish-snus.com/en/usd/s...us_mix_portion

http://www.buysnus.com/snusbrand/The_Mix_-_portion.aspx

And for some lös

http://www.buysnus.com/snusbrand/The_Mix_-_loose.aspx

My favorite is the Northerner 24 tin box. It has just about every different style available excluding lös, so after you go through that, you should have a good idea of what you want in a snus.

[Xobeloot]

Welcome to Snuson!

As far as the wise goes, I have never tried any of it myself, but from what I've read, only the original is bland. The Citrus/Menthol should be quite nice.

[bondzai]

I like Ettan and I also like Roda Lacket and Goteborgs Rape ... one and two.... those are my favs so far.....

[bondzai]

I wouldn't buy the super mega pack... takes too long to go through. I have about twenty cans in my fridge and a half dozen loose in my freezer.... too much snus! I have been dipping Skoal Edge, Grizzly and Timberwolf Peach lately fwiw.... Snus is good when I don't want loose and don't want to clean out my teeth. Otherwise, I seem to like american dip.... I also love Oliver Twists.

[Snusophile]

That's the problem. I REALLY wanted to try the 24 pack from Northerner, but I was afraid I might not like Swedish snus as much as I had hoped, and that would leave me with 24 cans of something I don't want. If I enjoy what I ordered, I will probably go ahead and get the 24 pack. It took me a whole hour to decide on 3 different cans of snus to order today, the 24 box solves that problem for me nicely but putting my temptation aside I decided to start small.

[lxskllr]

I wouldn't buy the super mega pack... takes too long to go through. I have about twenty cans in my fridge and a half dozen loose in my freezer.... too much snus!

The thing with the mega box is you can throw a good amount of it out and still be even money. Northerners box isn't limited to Swedish Match products either.

As far as having too much snus... Impossible! I have have over 160 tins in my freezer, and I'll be getting at least 10 more once Gotlandssnus releases Jakobsons. You can never have too much snus :^P

[Datrowl]

In pretty much the same boat as you were dude, i smoked Camel Wides for..... 17ish years, i truely enjoyed smokeing but as time goes on, the world changes, we change and smokeing is not only no longer percieved as " cool " its very much now days a social stigma .... long story short, I too tried the camel snus, it led me here and to real snus, I was so excited the day my order showed up, i had quit smokeing completely with the help of the camel snus in a record 2 days with 0 craveings or side effects, Once i tried the real snus, and found it was VERY different to what i had expected i was VERY discouraged and scared i would start smokeing again... i kept buying the camel snus, to get me thru the days at work, and kept trying real snus in the evening once i got home, just couldnt make myself like it...

then an odd thing happoned... i gave up on real snus, had gone thru roughly 35 tins, tried 1 or 2 portions of each... had a ton of open snus in the fridge.. started useing the Camel stuff full time, figgered what the hey, it'll at least buy me time till they quit marketing it, then i should be able to just quit totally ...i hoped....

after a week of full time camel snusing, it no longer satisfied my craveings, reluctantly a few days later, i gave in and bought a pack of smokes.... smoked one.. and threw them out, disgusting, how i smoked for so long was....beyond me...

but if the camel snus didnt satisfy the craveings, and it wasent smoke i craved.... what could it be?.... ( insert DUH here )

i went back and started re-trying all the real snus's i had in the fridge, this time knowing they were NOT american camel snus and not expecting them to be something they wernt, not trying to make them be, or find one that was.... i knew exactly what they were, and accepted them as such...

craveings gone.... once i quit trying to fit a square peg into a round hole, i was able to understand that the hole was a frikkin triangle all along, and the peg fit like it was made to go there....

ya follow what i'm trying to say? sometimes i use too many words to say the smallest things, let me try again...

do not go into this thinking real snus is camel snus or will even replace it, dont think about snus replaceing smokes.... your not replaceing.... your branching out in new ways... much like buying a new car dosent keep you from takeing the old one out for a spin occasionally for old times sake, in fact sometimes you have to be broken down on the side of the road in that old car one last time just to remember why your makeing those payments on the new one...

accept real snus as a totally different product, independant of the camel snus, dont let your mind try and shoehorn it into that round hole..

if you understand the differences will be vast... and try it objectivly AS a NEW product, and not a continuation of an existing product line that your already familiar with..... then you will find acceptance easier to come by....

it took me over a month of daily self inflicted mental beatings to garner that wee bit of wisdom, i honestly hope it helps

[lxskllr]

Datrowl Makes an excellent point. I didn't dislike Swedish snus when I first tried it after Camel, but I will say I was disappointed. The Swedish snus isn't as sweet, and it isn't as strongly(artificially) flavored. Swedish snus has many subtle nuances that may not be apparent on the first try. It takes a little more tasting work to appreciate the multiple facets of Swedish snus, but in the end it's much more satisfying than the sledge hammer flavor of Camel.

[RPatrick]

Use caution with the try out boxes. To me they are too repetitive for a new snuser just wanting to try some snus. For example, if you decide you don't like natural flavor type snus you might as well toss at least half the box.

For me it was a better idea to do a little reading and hand pick the snus. Do you want something sweet ? Natural ? Peppery ? Minty ? Just knowing the basic direction you want to go can narrow your choices down a lot. It is a great idea to search throught past posts, there is a lot of good information out there regarding nearly every snus offered for sale.

[Starcadia]

Similar boat here, Snusophile. I'm a week and a half into my transition from cigarettes to snus, and I'm shocked and delighted at how easy it's been. The hardest part has been conquering the gestural/behavioral smoking habits, but these are easy to overcome with not an inordinate amount of discipline. The best strategy, I think, is to have snus close at hand, experimenting with different varieties to keep it interesting, and be sure to keep the cigarettes out of your immediate access. Just don't buy any. They're too easy and will continue to manipulate you if you let them.

I was initially worried that the snus nicotine content would be too much, so I went with an average dose snus (Goteborgs Rape'). This didn't quite fulfill me so I went to the stronger brands - Skruf Stark and Nick and Johnny - which actually ended up being too strong for regular use (the nicotine in snus really creeps up on you), and I wasn't a big fan of the flavor. So I tried General portions and loose, and that's just about right, not only in strength but also in flavor, for me.

Don't be afraid to experiment with loose. It's a little bit challenging at first, but the challenge is part of the fun, and it's a very different experience than portions. You can do both. And there are good tutorials here.

With the help of the members here I've been zeroing in the brands that I'll enjoy most for the foreseeable future. General, like I said, is my favorite so far, loose and portion. I've got an order coming from BuySnus of Lucky Strike, Ettan and Grov, which I'm told are quality traditional tobacco blends without an excess of additional flavoring, but maintaining a requisite amount of strength.

Everyone seems to have their own unique tastes, and many appear to enjoy having several flavors to choose from at any given time. So continue to ask questions - people are kind and understanding here, and are happy to give you their opinions - and spend some time getting acquainted with your own unique tastes. Congratulations.

[Asquar]

The hardest part has been conquering the gestural/behavioral smoking habits, but these are easy to overcome with not an inordinate amount of discipline.

This is merely the habitual aspect of smoking, which- depending on who you ask- takes 3-6 weeks to undo/redo. I had a very hard time not smoking for the first couple of weeks or so despite getting plenty of nicotine, but this evaporated soon enough. I no longer reflectively reach for a lighter or any of that, but I do check before leaving the house that I have my to-go tin of snus with me!

[Snusophile]

Thanks for all the really awesome replies, guys. You've made me feel right at home here. On the issue of habit, it has always been the most challenging part of quitting cigarettes for me. Whenever I tried to quit before, I always felt there was something missing and it just wasn't right. I tried the Nicorette gum, and it only made me feel ill and didn't help at all with my oral fixation. After a time I simply resigned myself to a life of smoking--until now. Snus gives me something to do, and it doesn't make me feel left out because I'm still using tobacco. I've been having a great time seeing how long I can go without a cigarette when using snus. Yesterday, I smoked only 4 cigarettes as opposed to my usual pack a day. I went to workout at the gym and my stamina seemed much better, but maybe I'm imagining it. I predict clear skies ahead in my future because of snus.

On the issue of snus, my order has successfully shipped today, and I should expect to receive it by Friday. (Knock on wood)

I have to restrain myself from ordering more already, because I know I have to try out my first few cans before I know for sure that I will like it.