*edit*
This is a helluva lot longer than it seemed like when I was typing it out, I'd stick a TL
R on it if I randomly happened upon it. Still, might be interesting.
*edit*
Hello all!
Just thought I'd throw my own bit of experience into the ring for anyone else who accidentally happened upon snus whilst trying to quit cigarettes.
I'm currently a last-term JD student, smoked on and off between one and up to two packs per week for a few years depending on the stress level and social calling. At first it was just a social thing with college buddies, but it unfortunately turned into a craving at some point a year or year and a half or so into it that's burning a hole in my lungs and my pocket. That's the way they get you... :cry:
Anyhow, I resolved over New Years that this would be the year I quit for good. I was able to keep going to the gym and get solid exercise so my lungs didnt go to mush up until an old injury flared up that put me out of commission for a few months. The air in NYC stinks to begin with and the increasing lethargy was really taking its toll on me. :x
Anyhow, I went to my local Shell station to pick up a pack just after New Years when on a whim I decided that I was going to quit ASAP. Decided I would try dipping again after a failed experiment last year, with no improvement whatsoever - I cant stand the spitting and my throat burns within minutes. I gave up and picked up my Camel Lights ($9, would you believe it?!?!), when the attendant slapped the complementary:!: Frost Snus that I'd been rejecting for the last six months on the counter. I figured "what the hell, I'll try everything." Stuck it in my lip as I headed out and started to unwrap my pack.
I didn't feel or taste much as first, it was dry as hell and smelled like spearmint gum. There wasn't much of a rush, but as I started to drive, I realized I wasn't reaching for the typical rush hour cig anymore. Figured it was a fluke and just kept going. Kept popping them in and out like they were gum whenever the flavor left all day without really thinking about it.
Got home that night, unpacked my bag and realized I still hadnt touched my lighter. I typically have one in the morning, before classes, between classes, on the way back, and in the evening, and yet, this day, none at all!
Jumped online to figure it all out, figured out nothing since I didnt know the terminology, but did manage to figure out that I'd barely scratched the surface of this less-unhealthy phenomenon with subpar snus, and that some types were easier on newbies than others.
Headed down to Shisha International (primarily a hookah shop... ish... in NYC) where I'd seen this funny little hockey puck display and picked up my first real tin of Swedish Snus - a tin of General White Mini Mint. Man, what a change. I'd gone through about 1/2 the camel over the course of the day by accident, but the General Mint, I probably kept it in for a good hour, hour fifteen without even realizing how much time had passed. The buzz was better, I didnt feel like I was sucking on expired hard candy, and I could actually tell there was tobacco in there!
Since then (about three weeks or so), I've tried a few variants - the General White Wintergreen Portion, which is apparently more appealing to Americans, but which really just tasted more like toothpaste at first - I got used to it by the end of the tin, but it wasn't pleasant at all at first. General White Portions, which I found more tobacco-ey than I like, but okay, and General Portions, which made me gut juice and spit all over the place. bleh.
I've since settled to ~1 tin per week (i think), and I have to say, it feels great! :lol: My lungs dont feel like crap, I dont feel the stigma of standing huddled outside the law school under a cloud of smog, and everything tastes so much more vibrant!
I tried to see whether I could get off the nicotine entirely, but alas, I'm a bit stuck for now. Finished unwrapping the pack from three week ago and had the worst coughing fit in my life - I can thankfully say that snus has made cigarettes vile and disgusting to me once again (last time I thought this was as a freshman in college). I felt the smoke drying the crap out of my lungs and my throat fighting the foreign smoke that was penetrating - I could feel in my body what those jackets that show smoke in the lungs on the outside depicted in all those commercials. Wasnt pleasant at all, and the instant rush gave me more of a headache than anything.
That said, I started to try to figure out how best to acquire more of these great swedish products without hoofing it to the West Village at $4 round trip for $5.50/tin. That's when I happened upon this site. Happy to say I've placed my first order with getsnus for their freebie tin plus a handful of varieties that look interesting, at a shipping rate that hands down beats the importers (for my paltry usage, anyhow). I'll let you know how those go, as I have weird tastes - I'm the guy who eats the ginger noone else wants that comes with Sushi, grabs nothing but salt-and-vinegar chips, and has yet to meet a "devil's hot sauce" that seemed like nothing more than bbq with a kick.
Ideally, I'd be off nicotine entirely, but that's yet to come. As for now, I've sadly finished the last tin I had except for the first tin of Camel Snus, which I'm going to have to deal with for the next two days or so until the shipment comes in. These things are a bit more palatable than the unflavored General I tried, but they are SO not comparable to the real deal. I feel like a dork on a Vespa on the highway with motorcycles and cars whizzing by. I want more out of it, but it's got no punch. Oh well, I'll live. At least I'm off cigarettes!
This is a helluva lot longer than it seemed like when I was typing it out, I'd stick a TL

*edit*
Hello all!
Just thought I'd throw my own bit of experience into the ring for anyone else who accidentally happened upon snus whilst trying to quit cigarettes.
I'm currently a last-term JD student, smoked on and off between one and up to two packs per week for a few years depending on the stress level and social calling. At first it was just a social thing with college buddies, but it unfortunately turned into a craving at some point a year or year and a half or so into it that's burning a hole in my lungs and my pocket. That's the way they get you... :cry:
Anyhow, I resolved over New Years that this would be the year I quit for good. I was able to keep going to the gym and get solid exercise so my lungs didnt go to mush up until an old injury flared up that put me out of commission for a few months. The air in NYC stinks to begin with and the increasing lethargy was really taking its toll on me. :x
Anyhow, I went to my local Shell station to pick up a pack just after New Years when on a whim I decided that I was going to quit ASAP. Decided I would try dipping again after a failed experiment last year, with no improvement whatsoever - I cant stand the spitting and my throat burns within minutes. I gave up and picked up my Camel Lights ($9, would you believe it?!?!), when the attendant slapped the complementary:!: Frost Snus that I'd been rejecting for the last six months on the counter. I figured "what the hell, I'll try everything." Stuck it in my lip as I headed out and started to unwrap my pack.
I didn't feel or taste much as first, it was dry as hell and smelled like spearmint gum. There wasn't much of a rush, but as I started to drive, I realized I wasn't reaching for the typical rush hour cig anymore. Figured it was a fluke and just kept going. Kept popping them in and out like they were gum whenever the flavor left all day without really thinking about it.
Got home that night, unpacked my bag and realized I still hadnt touched my lighter. I typically have one in the morning, before classes, between classes, on the way back, and in the evening, and yet, this day, none at all!

Headed down to Shisha International (primarily a hookah shop... ish... in NYC) where I'd seen this funny little hockey puck display and picked up my first real tin of Swedish Snus - a tin of General White Mini Mint. Man, what a change. I'd gone through about 1/2 the camel over the course of the day by accident, but the General Mint, I probably kept it in for a good hour, hour fifteen without even realizing how much time had passed. The buzz was better, I didnt feel like I was sucking on expired hard candy, and I could actually tell there was tobacco in there!
Since then (about three weeks or so), I've tried a few variants - the General White Wintergreen Portion, which is apparently more appealing to Americans, but which really just tasted more like toothpaste at first - I got used to it by the end of the tin, but it wasn't pleasant at all at first. General White Portions, which I found more tobacco-ey than I like, but okay, and General Portions, which made me gut juice and spit all over the place. bleh.
I've since settled to ~1 tin per week (i think), and I have to say, it feels great! :lol: My lungs dont feel like crap, I dont feel the stigma of standing huddled outside the law school under a cloud of smog, and everything tastes so much more vibrant!
I tried to see whether I could get off the nicotine entirely, but alas, I'm a bit stuck for now. Finished unwrapping the pack from three week ago and had the worst coughing fit in my life - I can thankfully say that snus has made cigarettes vile and disgusting to me once again (last time I thought this was as a freshman in college). I felt the smoke drying the crap out of my lungs and my throat fighting the foreign smoke that was penetrating - I could feel in my body what those jackets that show smoke in the lungs on the outside depicted in all those commercials. Wasnt pleasant at all, and the instant rush gave me more of a headache than anything.
That said, I started to try to figure out how best to acquire more of these great swedish products without hoofing it to the West Village at $4 round trip for $5.50/tin. That's when I happened upon this site. Happy to say I've placed my first order with getsnus for their freebie tin plus a handful of varieties that look interesting, at a shipping rate that hands down beats the importers (for my paltry usage, anyhow). I'll let you know how those go, as I have weird tastes - I'm the guy who eats the ginger noone else wants that comes with Sushi, grabs nothing but salt-and-vinegar chips, and has yet to meet a "devil's hot sauce" that seemed like nothing more than bbq with a kick.
Ideally, I'd be off nicotine entirely, but that's yet to come. As for now, I've sadly finished the last tin I had except for the first tin of Camel Snus, which I'm going to have to deal with for the next two days or so until the shipment comes in. These things are a bit more palatable than the unflavored General I tried, but they are SO not comparable to the real deal. I feel like a dork on a Vespa on the highway with motorcycles and cars whizzing by. I want more out of it, but it's got no punch. Oh well, I'll live. At least I'm off cigarettes!
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