Smokes, Dip, Cancer, and Snus.

[jkharrer]

Ok so here's my story, I started smoking when I was young, smoked for about a year and a half, mostly marlboro, menthols maybe... but when i joined the military, and had to improve my terrible run times, i knew i had to quit. So i tried this new "camel snus (frost)" at the quick shop in my town. It tasted good, minty, sweet, but had little to no nicotine. So after one can and no smokes, i was so jittery and messed up that i just bought a pack of cigarettes. I continued to smoke, and continued to fail PT tests. So i started dipping, skoal wintergreen, skoal mint, then grizz mint lc, then finally settled on good ol copenhagen lc. I liked it, completely kicked the smoking habit, and substituted it with dip. but then i started to have a constant sore throat, achey gums, and white spots in my throat.... i consulted my doctor and found out the spots could be early signs of throat cancer. This scared the holy hell out of me. So the dipping stopped. The sores thankfully went away after a week or so, but i was a wreck, leading a demanding and stressful life without my precious tobacco... unthinkable. thats when i finally got into looking for good, real swedish snus and ordered my first few cans of Thunder Frosted ES from Northerner. I had heard it wasn't as lethal as american tobacco, and i figured the 16mg of nicotine it would give me the kick i oh so desire. And it did. My first portion nearly knocked me on my ass, but i liked it. tasted good, and calmed the nerves. so i ordered more single cans to try (well only two, i don't have enough money to try many brands/flavors or i would), but what i got was General ES and General Onyx, and didnt really like the taste of either. too bitter for my american taste i guess. so i stuck with thunder frosted and was happy for about two or three weeks, then it started to lose its kick. and now, week four of snusing, i have to put two or three portions in my lip just to get by. i dont know what to do, should i quit for another month and re start on regular portions? keep gradualy adding portions to my lip until i need a whole can's worth just to get by? I'm rather inexperienced in the world of snus, and would appreciate any help or advice i can get from more experienced snus users.

[lxskllr]

Welcome to Snuson :^)

Chasing a nicotine buzz is the wrong way to go about it; you'll ALWAYS lose in the end. I've been against extra stark snus the whole way. People managed fine with regular snus, and light starks until last year when all the new products came out.

All you accomplish by using extra starks(especially double barreling them) is tighten the chains the tobacco companies have around you, and make it harder to go without nicotine.

My suggestion is to use standard strength snus, and forget about the buzz. That's history unless you want to cycle between on and off periods of using snus.

[spirit72]

2nding lxskllr once again :wink:

Nicotine is frequently compared with heroin as far as addictive potential and withdrawal severity are concerned--with the caveat, of course, that heroin withdrawal can be fatal if not managed correctly. Nicotine withdrawal sucks, but it won't kill you. And, like heroin, your body bulds a tolerance, requiring more over time to achieve the same 'buzz'.

So always bear in mind that although you've found one of the safest forms of nicotine addiction available, it is still an addiction...and one that, ideally, you want to manage to the point that you're in complete control of it. The occasional can or two of Thunder is fine(I like it now and then myself), but when you're needing to use multiple strong portions simultaneously, it's time to think about ramping it down.

You could step down to a 'regular' sterk for starters--I like Grov Svart for those, myself.

[tom502]

I'm seriously thinking of getting a roll of General Silver when my stockpile is used. I don't see a need or want to become a high nic fiend, and for me personally, I think I'd be fine with Silver.

[KarlvB]

I'm seriously thinking of getting a roll of General Silver when my stockpile is used. I don't see a need or want to become a high nic fiend, and for me personally, I think I'd be fine with Silver.

Don't! It tastes nothing like General Original portions. But I can understand why someone would go for a lower nic snus. If that is what you are after then Gustavus is the way to go.

According to this article it has about half a gram less nicotine than General. (But with half a gram difference why move away from General?)

http://www.gp.se/gp/road/Classic/sha...?d=10&a=230633

http://www.gp.se/gp/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=867&a=230633

Personally I've just stuck to original/white portions in the day and a couple of starks in the evening (mostly Skruf Stark lös) and I my usage or dependency hasn't increased dramatically

[tom502]

I didn't know Gustavas was lower nic, just the regular original portion of Gustavas.

[chadizzy1]

Welcome to SnusOn!

Feel free to add this to our "Share your Snus Story" threat at http://www.snuson.com/viewtopic.php?t=6292 - it's a way snusers can compare/relate/share stories. It's also a great way for us to get to know each other

[jadedcynic]

Welcome!

I was never much of a smoker, but I dipped. I got a lot of nicotine from dip. More than I get now with snus, simply because the pinch was far greater than the amount of tobacco in a normal portion. So there was definitely an adjustment period. Even though I was getting less nicotine, I felt the trade off was worth it. With dip, or cigarettes, you may get a good nic hit, but it's essentially poison. With snus, the risks are so low, so I feel that I can really enjoy my tobacco without that nagging thought in the back of my mind, "you should really think about quitting."

In my case, I just accepted the fact that I wasn't going to get that huge buzz anymore. Of course we all look back fondly on when we first started using tobacco because of that buzz. But just accept that it won't be like that anymore, or at least not as frequent. So if I were you, I'd start tapering a bit. Since you're already using multiple strong portions at a time, I would only use one at a time for about a week. The next week start mixing in some regular portions without increasing your number of portions a day.

I try to stick to regulars mostly, with the occasional mini thrown in, and use the strong stuff every once in a while. The regulars are usually enough to give me a nice calm and help me focus. If I ever need that extra push I can go to a strong and it will be sufficient since my body isn't as used to that much nicotine.

It might also help to realize that snus has more to it than just nicotine. You might not like the taste of swedish snus right now, but experiment. Over time, you'll start to appreciate it. It can grow on you. Sometimes finding that perfect snus/drink combination can take snus enjoyment to a new level.

[sagedil]

jkharrer, revisit the other snus you thought was too "bitter". Just takes at least a month to fully get used to the Swedish, it won't taste like you first experienced when you weren't used to the salt yet.

Snus is just funny, but you need to give it time.

And echo what everyone else said about chasing a nicotine buzz, just doesn't work like that. I use snus to feel nothing, ALL I care about. I DON'T feel that growing need to MUST have a cigarette every 30 minutes, I DON'T feel that strap closing around my chest. Snus delivers the smoothest nicotine curve of anything on the market, THAT'S what I want.

[chainsnuser]

Use lössnus! A decent sized prilla kicks better than 2 strong portions at once.

... and make your peace with the fact that a buzz indeed is a rare thing once you use nicotine regularly.

Cheers!

[chadizzy1]

peace with the fact that a buzz indeed is a rare thing once you use nicotine regularly.

That's something I was really wondering about. I don't get much of a buzz or anything like that anymore, but I think it's due to snus giving me a regular nicotine delivery. I don't "feen" for it though like I would if I didn't have a smoke in a while. It's interesting.

[sagedil]

Don't do snus for 12 hours, you will "feel" that need again, just as strong, I promise.

[spigot]

Nicotine is frequently compared with heroin as far as addictive potential and withdrawal severity are concerned--with the caveat, of course, that heroin withdrawal can be fatal if not managed correctly. Nicotine withdrawal sucks, but it won't kill you. And, like heroin, your body bulds a tolerance, requiring more over time to achieve the same 'buzz'.

You might be thinking of alcohol or benzos. Both can cause grand mal seizures during withdrawal that are fatal. Heroin withdrawal is some serious business, but it will only make you wish you were dead. :wink:

[simon]

I haven't had a nicotine "buzz" in 15 years.. Maybe the first cigarette I smoked got me a little dizzy back then, but theres no "buzz" to speak of.
I assume you're talking about that dizzy first cig kind of buzz.
All I get is a nic fit, an addict that will smoke used cigarette butts from a gas station parking lot if desperate enough :lol:
When I do get my fix, it's just an aaahhhh that's better kind of feeling, but no buzz, just finally feel better kind of thing.
The lower the nic you're addicted to the better in my opinion. I'd like to get down to where the 4mg minis scratch the itch, then eventually no nic at all..

[Liandri]

lol yeah, haven't had a nicotine buzz in about 25 years.

will smoke used cigarette butts from a gas station parking lot if desperate enough

-Been there, definitely done that.