Getting saddened by the "Nic race"

[jackolantern]

I am actually getting quite annoyed with this apparent race to be the #1 nicotine content portion snus. I personally like having a portion in pretty much all the time. I take one out after an hour or two only to put another in immediately. Even regular sterks (~11mg) are too high for me to do this, so I feel as though I am being cut out from much of the new snus offerings. Even though I do use a sterk in the mornings, even that is only around 11mg, and I feel like crap if I try to do anything higher, even for just one portion.

It just honestly does not make much sense to me. It seems as though users are just driving their nic tolerance higher and higher until regular portion snus will no longer be enough. And I have heard people talk about only using 2 or 3 portions a day when using very high nic content snus, but that is just not enjoyable to me, and I am sure many others out there. Sorry for the illicit reference, but it seems like high-potency pot to me. People spend large amounts of money on pot that only takes 1 or 2 hits to keep them high all day. But when I was a teen, I just enjoyed the act of smoking the pot. I liked to roll up a joint, smoke it and then smoke a pipe a couple of hours later.

I am not sure where everyone else is. Do you feel like you are somewhat having to sit out on this new round of super-powered snus, or are you loving it and never looking back?

[RobsanX]

I have to admit that I like Thunder, but I can't keep it in very long because it irritates my throat.

The Oden's line comes in regular portions, and I bought the original and cinnamon. I haven't tried the cinnamon, but I really like the original.

[Mohave]

I am new to snus, and as a smoker of two packs a day for over 35 years I find the extra stark varieties such as 16mg Thunder ES are not very strong at all for me. Stark versions I've tried with only about 11-12mg nicotine are rather weak for me, and regular portions with only 8mg or so are almost useless. I would need to have a cigarette within 30 minutes using a regular portion. I'd rather not do that.

So, is it a problem in some way for those with a taste for the regular portions, or is it simply expanding the market, adding more choice for more people?

[Shownarou]

I am new to snus, and as a smoker of two packs a day for over 35 years I find the extra stark varieties such as 16mg Thunder ES are not very strong at all for me. Stark versions I've tried with only about 11-12mg nicotine are rather weak for me, and regular portions with only 8mg or so are almost useless. I would need to have a cigarette within 30 minutes using a regular portion. I'd rather not do that.

So, is it a problem in some way for those with a taste for the regular portions, or is it simply expanding the market, adding more choice for more people?

It gets stronger as you go.. As I stand now, sterk portions are almost too much nicotine. Smoking a pack of cigarettes in a day now would most likely make me sick. I don't understand the nicotine race. It's too much for a snuser.

[deebocools]

I used to feel much like you do, but I've heard that the extra strong portions are indeed useful to some people, believe it or not.

Sure, the novelty of it's kind of annoying, but they're not going to stop making regular nic portions anytime soon, so don't worry about that side of it, us regular nic snusers will always be able to get what we like.

I personally use all regulars and keep some grov svart around which is 12mg. Coming off dip, I've always kept a functional strong portion around for when I crave being hit in the head with nicotine. Sometimes I don't use it for days, sometimes a few times a day. but fact is 12mg might not even be enough for ex really heavy smokers or dippers

[sagedil]

I see it as they are just widening the selection of extra sterks. In the past, I thought they didn't have enough.

My nic tolerance is really no higher than it's ever been, I am just better able to address those moments when I need more. Yes, I absolutely can't chain snus Thunder, or the other big hitters. So I don't. I have at most a few a day and use regular portions the rest of the time. On a few days when I was using more of the extra sterk, I just switched over to a mini so I could at least always have a snus in.

If anything, it has made "normal" snus even more valuable to me. Before the heavy hitters came, I was starting to just use 11 mg sterks most of the time. Now, an extra, extra sterk in the morning, another in the afternoon, and one or maybe two at night, and I am free to love my retro White or Lucky Strike White the rest of the time and I am more satisfied with snus now than I ever have been

[luckysealy]

i am glad they came out with the stronger snus. i used a lot of cope for many years. i find the es varieties really help keep me satisfied. i was having to use a two regular portions at a time to keep off the cravings, so i find this a welcome addition. i was still smoking more than i wanted to when using regular. since i have been using thunder lös most of the day i rarely crave a cig. i haven't even smoked in nearly a week which is the longest i have been without a cig in a very long time. sorry for the rambling the cold meds have me a bit fuzzy.

[jamesstew]

I really wish there were this many strong varieties when I was quitting the cigs.

[jamesstew]

On another note I really love the strong los varieties as I can now get away with using a very small pris at work. Still use portions mostly during my shift but love baking an eraser-head thick pris and being totally undetectable.

[Roo]

I don't chain snus or have any desire to, so I really appreciate the stronger varieties to give me the kick when I need it. I love snus, don't get me wrong, but my long-term plan is to kick the nic altogether. I like the idea of having very strong snus for killing tough cravings at this stage in my addiction, normal strength for those times when I don't need to be smacked upside the head, and one day hopefully I will cut down to minis then pull the plug on it entirely. But for now, I like me some starky sterk. When using portions at work and not los at home, I find myself using strong portions almost exclusively, occasionally throughout the day. Very useful to me.

[lxskllr]

I don't dig the high nic snus' either. I'd like to see the companies put their effort into making good tasting snus, not stronger.

[ponysoprano]

I don't dig the high nic snus' either. I'd like to see the companies put their effort into making good tasting snus, not stronger.

I hear that 100%, but I just got my Thunder Frosted, and it's outstanding, maybe I'm just finally adjusting to the supercharged portions?...I'd be willing to bet we'll see a 25mg. portion within the next 2 years.
:P

[fugitiveinkblot]

I'd say for the normal strength snus on the market, theres already a lot of good selection, even when there need not be. Theres some really good stuff out there, the ekstra sterks with the more potent flavors are important for those who need the kick, and the market for that is expanding. Soon ekstra sterks will catch up with regular strength.

[Soft Morning, City!]

I'm not into the high nicotine stuff at all. I really have no desire to even sample it. When I first started using snus for cutting down/quitting cigarettes, I used quite a bit of Nick & Johnny loose, but I eventually started stepping down to the regular brands when my tolerance got out of control. I'm glad I had the option of a good tasting high nicotine brand when I needed it. I totally see the usefulness in high nicotine brands.

At the same time though, I think the "race" is rather silly and almost a bit offensive. Higher and higher nicotine contents result in higher and higher tolerance levels. It's like heroin. People will become used to the high nicotine brands and the rush will depart, leaving them jaded and craving more. This is the primary reason I don't use the high nicotine stuff. I am absolutely positive that this would happen to me because it did happen to me. I loved that N&J rush, but it stopped happening when the tolerance moved in.

Plus I'm just not into that crazy rush anymore. The typical 8mg stuff completely satisfies my nicotine needs without the "high," which tends to slow me down and make me tired. I do tend to chain snus, but I've been on the 8mg stuff for almost two years now and I haven't felt any need at all for more nicotine. I don't really get any rush out of it anymore (except for the 1st pris of the day, which gives me a little bit of a buzz), but that's fine. My snus just quells the beast and tastes great. If I want a high, I'll go smoke a bowl.

So yeah, I see the need for these brands, but I think the race needs to stop before it gets completely out of control. A 20mg portion would just be excessive.

[Eidekker]

I too am not a great fan of high N snus, but thought that it might be a good thing for those who don't have for economical reasons etc. possibilities to buy a lot of snus, as they can make smaller pris and make the can last longer..