Astonishing!

[taketwoaspirin]

Hello All,

A complete newbie here!

I discovered snus a week ago when a guy who works on the same rig as me gave me a portion to try. (Don't even know the brand!) I wasn't sure about the flavour but it wasn't too offensive and I noticed that I didn't want a cigarette for quite a long time afterwards.
I researched it on the internet and found some of the studies that have been done. I'm quite convinced that, if not exactly harmless, snus is at least very unlikely to cause me any serious harm.
The thing is, I've been smoking for 16 years and enjoy it, but I thought: If I can find something I enjoy as much as cigs which probably won't kill me then I'm home free! So I ordered a selection from buysnus.com:

Goteborgs Rape mini portions
General White mini portions
Goteborgs Rape No 2 large
Skruf Cranberry large.

Now here's the astonishing bit...
Yeterday was my first full day on snus. No craving for cigs AT ALL! And in the evening, a friend offered me a cigarette which, reflexively, I took and smoked. I bloody well wished I hadn't; it tasted RANK!!
It was never my intention to quit smoking immediately, I just hoped I could taper off then stop, but it looks for now like I won't be bothering much with the cigs any more! Wish I'd done this ages ago...

Cheers,
Ian.

[MN_Snuser]

Re: Astonishing!

It was never my intention to quit smoking immediately, I just hoped I could taper off then stop, but it looks for now like I won't be bothering much with the cigs any more! Wish I'd done this ages ago...

Cheers,
Ian.

That's exactly how I felt when I got into snus. It's like, where have you (snus) been all my life? Sometimes I miss the "ritual" of smoking, but I don't think I could ever smoke again. With the smoking bans sweeping across the U.S. it's like impossible to smoke anywhere but your garage or in your car. Snus can been used everywhere!

[cocsp2002]

congrats! lots of people here have done almost the exact same thing, so you're in good company. As you use your cans up, order different stuff, and post your impressions as you first try a new snus, then again after you've used a good bit of the can. It's fun to see how peoples' tastes change as they discover snus.

Anyway, welcome, and we look forward to hearing lots from you in the future.

[Old Frothingslosh]

Glad you joined the no smoking club, Ian. That snus is a wonderful thing.

[sagedil]

Welcome to the forum taketwoaspirin,

A bit like a broken record I suppose, but the message is important. Don't even stress about the cigarettes. If you want one, go ahead and have one. Like most of us here though, you will just start wanting snus more and more. I STILL have the occasional cigarette when, and ONLY when, that is what I want. probably about 1 a month now.

[jamesstew]

Congratulations Ian, and welcome to the forum.

[chainsnuser]

Re: Astonishing!

Now here's the astonishing bit...
Yeterday was my first full day on snus. No craving for cigs AT ALL! And in the evening, a friend offered me a cigarette which, reflexively, I took and smoked. I bloody well wished I hadn't; it tasted RANK!!

Yes, it's almost unbelieveable, but it's true. The only reason why the whole world smokes today is because of decades of elaborate cigarette-merchandising, an abundance of bad propaganda and poor medical science. A hundred years ago almost everybody was using some kind of chewing tobacco. It's just the way, tobacco is meant to be enjoyed IMHO.

Cheers!

[jnkyo07]

awesome

that's great man! i've seen so many people on here just quit smoking so quickly and easily cause of snus...it's awesome...hope you continue with the snus

[Xobeloot]

Welcome to Snuson my friend!

Great group of people here. We're glad you could join us.

[Tristik]

~~
Welcome to the forums!

Just wanted to say something about what ya said:

"I'm quite convinced that, if not exactly harmless, snus is at least very unlikely to cause me any serious harm. "

I just wanted to point out that, although studies have shown little to no increased risk in lung or oral cancers, I believe pancreatic and some other digestive system cancers are still significantly higher than a non-tobacco user.*

People praise the harm reduction-ness of snus (rightfully so), and while it's is technically less harmful, many don't say anything about the harm that is still there.

I don't mean to be a nay sayer or anything of the sort. I'm just realistic. I see a lot of new snus'rs coming to the forums downplaying the very real risks that are still there.

*What i just posted above is a summary of what medical articles i've read. If it's wrong, for the love of god, please correct me. The last thing I want to do is hand out mis-information about it's health risks.
~~
~~

[sagedil]

~~


I just wanted to point out that, although studies have shown little to no increased risk in lung or oral cancers, I believe pancreatic and some other digestive system cancers are still significantly higher than a non-tobacco user.*


~~

You are absolutely correct. The one increase in cancer that has been documented related to the use of snus is the increase in pancreatic cancer rates. But what you are missing is perspective.

Use of snus is said to increase your chance of pancreatic cancer from 4 in 100,000 to 8 in 100,000.

So, consider those risks carefully. And one further note, 30 years of study in Sweden has failed to detect increases in any other types of cancer related to snus usage.

[taketwoaspirin]

I just wanted to point out that, although studies have shown little to no increased risk in lung or oral cancers, I believe pancreatic and some other digestive system cancers are still significantly higher than a non-tobacco user.*

You're quite right of course Tristik, and have obviously read some of the same information I found. The commonly quoted statistic is that snus use may double the risk of pancreatic cancer. At the moment I'm willing to accept that increased risk, as a doubling of a very small number is still a very small number!

I wouldn't wish to downplay the possible side effects of snus, but the way I see it is that cigarettes will PROBABLY kill me before anything else does, whereas snus PROBABLY will not

[Tristik]

[quote="taketwoaspirin"]

cigarettes will PROBABLY kill me before anything else does, whereas snus PROBABLY will not

~~
I'm hoping that's the way it goes too eh? I found snus while looking for cig alternatives. I couldn't quit them completely and I knew damn well they were killing me.
~~

[drhamsterville]

I still smoke one of my Kreteks every once in a while. or in the rare case that my snus of gone.

I don't enjoy it nearly as much as I use to though. And after I quit smoking I just felt better all over. Also the sudden nic hit can be a bit overwhelming.

I want to start smoking a pipe though, that will be something to unwind at the end of the day.

[Ainkor]

Welcome to the boards and welcome to the wild world of Snus!

I quit smoking about 6 months ago and never looked back. I do occasionally enjoy my pipe while hanging out with my wife but that's more like enjoying a fine glass of wine versus being a wino.


I can't honestly think of the last time I craved a smoke other than the physical need for something to do with my hands.

Also, in my opinion, great choices on snus! You got 3 of my favorites on your list!


-Ainkor