Should I keep snusing?

[heders]

I guess I'll just try to keep my usage under control, ideally if I could stay at the 3-10 portions/pris per week like I am now that would be great.

That's a very good, and low nicotine dosage, which I admire you keeping, but I promise you, your consumption will increase during the years. Just something to be aware of.

I don't know how many friends and people I've met who has said that they've got the nicotine addiction under control because they have an extremely low consumption, but their addiction always reveals its' true colors later on, and the consumption very often increases. That's what nicotine does.

[Mikko]

F*** THE GOVERNMENT! (did I properly censor the curse word?) Sometimes I feel their sole purpose is to annoy and extort. And you have a point there lx, people need to stop being so stiff about health and enjoy themselves once in a while, I mean I'm a healthy guy but I also like to drink, snus, sit on my ass and play games and eat pizza. Honestly there should be a balance in everything and The Man shouldn't have so much influence on what we can and can't do.

Oh and heders, thanks for the heads up, I guess it's inevitable then, might as well just come to terms when my consumption does increase. Another question though, will it keep increasing or will I reach a point where I stay at like maybe 8 portions/pris per day?

[heders]

Oh and heders, thanks for the heads up, I guess it's inevitable then, might as well just come to terms when my consumption does increase. Another question though, will it keep increasing or will I reach a point where I stay at like maybe 8 portions/pris per day?

I don't think it's impossible to keep such a low consumption throughout ones life time, but you have to have an insane will power - and even those who has does not succeed. I have seen this myself a lot of times. Nicotine is a master at tricking you.

It's not a linear increase to the part where you are drinking pure nicotine, but it's an increase more than 3-10 portions a week, that's for sure. You will reach a point which satisfies and removes the withdrawals, because they will get more intense as your brain and body becomes adjusted to the drug. The longer your body has been used to nicotine; the longer you go without it, the crappier you feel, so it often ends with chain snusing to keep the nicotine levels on a steady level. That dose varies from person to person, but 8 portions/prillas per day I would say is the average level.

[Mikko]

Only time will tell then, I think a realistic long-term goal for me is to not snus while sleeping, not snus right when I wake up and not snus just before I go to bed. I have heard that people in Sweden consume more snus than most people on this forum, so the questions I have now are:

heders, how much do you use per day and is this figure low or high compared to others in Sweden? How much does the average Swede that uses snus use per day?

Sorry I have so many questions :P

[heders]

heders, how much do you use per day and is this figure low or high compared to others in Sweden? How much does the average Swede that uses snus use per day?

Sorry I have so many questions :P

I use around 10 portions per day, combining strong portions and regular portions. When using only regular portions, I think I use a little bit more... not sure.

The average Swede, I would say, uses half a can of portions per day. It's pretty common among lös snus users to consume a can per day though - my uncle consumes two cans per day and smokes. Long term users almost exclusively use lös from what I've seen here in Sweden, and they have slowly increased the size of their prilla during the years to satisfy their craving; which is how they can go through one or two cans per day. Two cans per day is pretty extreme, but it's way more common than one would think.

Portion users have often, from my experience, not used snus for that long and have a lower consumption.

But 1/3 to 1/2 of a can of portions per day and 1/2 - 2 cans of loose per day I would say is considered average.

By the way, you don't really have to worry about snus being harmful. It's comparable to coffee. Of course it's better to not use it at all, but it's a million times better than smoking. The real negative effects of snus use is gum recession and the nicotine addiction. You have to choose wether it's worth being addicted or not. If you choose to be, then be happy for being addicted to one of the least harmful tobacco products.

Sorry I have so many questions :P

Not a problem at all. Keep on asking! I'm happy to help.

[Mikko]

Thanks again for all the information. Personally I'm fine with being addicted to snus and have no worries about health (I read all of the studies before making my first purchase), even the gum recession doesn't bother me because I heard it's a mostly genetic thing, ever since I was 6 years old I've had slight recession on my front bottom gums but on my top gums I have no recession at all even after a year of snusing I notice no recession, hopefully it will stay that way or only recede slightly. haha last question and then I'm off to bed, how long do you normally keep a portion/pris in and how does this compare to the rest of the Snus using Swedish population?

[Reynard]

I don't know about all these people saying that in all cases you shouldn't start a tobacco habit if you don't already have one. I fervently disagree, i think there are situations that merit it: I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2002, and I've found that using tobaccco (and more recently, a relatively safe version of it in snus) helps me massively. It helps with my memory and attention, and even sensory gating (paranoia-linked) and certainly with my depression, I wouldn't be without it. It's all researched and proven too.

All I'm saying is, before you make broad statements about tobacco habits, take into account the fact that all things are NEVER equal. I'd recommend snus to a schizophrenic, even if they are not already hooked. Does that make me a bad person? I couldn't care less, it has helped me immeasurably.

[Mikko]

I don't know about all these people saying that in all cases you shouldn't start a tobacco habit if you don't already have one. I fervently disagree, i think there are situations that merit it: I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2002, and I've found that using tobaccco (and more recently, a relatively safe version of it in snus) helps me massively. It helps with my memory and attention, and even sensory gating (paranoia-linked) and certainly with my depression, I wouldn't be without it. It's all researched and proven too.

All I'm saying is, before you make broad statements about tobacco habits, take into account the fact that all things are NEVER equal. I'd recommend snus to a schizophrenic, even if they are not already hooked. Does that make me a bad person? I couldn't care less, it has helped me immeasurably.

You make some valid points. My friends always tell me I'm very paranoid and I think snus helps with this in addition to my anxiety problems, stress and sad periods in life.

[GoVegan]

According to sagedil, nicotine also helps with ADD/ADHD.

[Mikko]

According to sagedil, nicotine also helps with ADD/ADHD.

This is why I recommended it to a friend who has ADD, he doesn't smoke but he says he dips occasionally so I introduced him to snus and he said he liked it much more than dip, so I gave him a few cans to get him started as a birthday gift.

[Reynard]

According to sagedil, nicotine also helps with ADD/ADHD.

Yep, that's well documented. As we chat, drugs are being created based on the effect that nicotine has on a wide range of psychiatric disorders.

[Mikko]

Yep, that's well documented. As we chat, drugs are being created based on the effect that nicotine has on a wide range of psychiatric disorders.

Such a shame the drugs probably won't taste nearly as good as skruf stark løs

[wa3zrm]

When using only regular portions, I think I use a little bit more...

Same here... I try to keep the majority of my snus in the 8 Mg/g range; however, your body will tell you what it wants. Also... an 8 Mg/g portion lasts me for about 2 hours. A 16 Mg/g portion lasts me for 3+ hours or more... and a far as those 22 Mg/g portions... three a day is all I can handle. I've just switched to Olde Viking regular portions because they seem to last longer than any other 8 Mg/g portions I've tried. They seem to have a time release function built in.

[shikitohno]

I don't know about all these people saying that in all cases you shouldn't start a tobacco habit if you don't already have one. I fervently disagree, i think there are situations that merit it: I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2002, and I've found that using tobaccco (and more recently, a relatively safe version of it in snus) helps me massively. It helps with my memory and attention, and even sensory gating (paranoia-linked) and certainly with my depression, I wouldn't be without it. It's all researched and proven too.

All I'm saying is, before you make broad statements about tobacco habits, take into account the fact that all things are NEVER equal. I'd recommend snus to a schizophrenic, even if they are not already hooked. Does that make me a bad person? I couldn't care less, it has helped me immeasurably.

I've come across a study in the past that noticed schizophrenia patients (and people suffering from several other illnesses) had a massively higher rate of smoking than the general population. Trying to recall, I believe it was something like 35-40% of the general population smoked at the time, while schizophrenics had a rate around 70%. They found that the patients were actually self-medicating, and that nicotine really helped them out with those things.

Mikko: Concerning usage increasing over time, most people seem to plateau at a certain level, hence your pack-a-day or two pack-a-day smokers. I've been snusing for about two years now, and when I've got snus I find I'll typically go through a can a day, either portions or lös. I think I'm like that though because all my lös snus tends to be standard 8mg/g (I go for Ettan, Röda Lacket, Landströms and Gellivare almost exclusively), while my portions tend to be extra starks.

[heders]

haha last question and then I'm off to bed, how long do you normally keep a portion/pris in and how does this compare to the rest of the Snus using Swedish population?

Hardcore lös snusers take massive prillas and usually leave them in for a very short time, like 15 minutes or 30 minutes to get that nic kick and fresh flavor. Then they throw it out and change it for a new one. But of course it depends, some lös users keep their prillas in for 2-3 hours.

Portion users keep their portions in for everything from 15 minutes to 2 hours.

I keep my portions/prillas in for everything from 30 minutes to, in extreme cases two hours. But around 1 hour I would say is an average for me.