Thursday, October 18, 2007
Marlboro & Camel: When it comes to Snus, you Lose!
What the heck is Snus, where do you get it, why would you want it, and why is Mr. Unloadingzone so excited out it? Good questions! I little background on my tobacco use first, but all you need to know at this point is Snus is a tobacco product developed in Sweden a few hundred years ago.
I'm going on 50 and have been a tobacco user since I was 13 (with one 5 year hiatus). Cigarettes were my tobacco of choice, although I did go through a cigar period. One thing I never got into was "chew" tobacco. The spitting was disgusting and if you swallowed it, it made you sick.
For years, the anti-smoking zealots have made it more and more difficult to smoke in public. No smoking in buildings, no smoking in bars in many states, standing outside in the cold catching a quick smoke break while passer's by looked at you with either hostility or pity. Employers establishing "We don't hire Smokers" rules. It was no fun anymore.
When RJ Reynolds came out with Eclipse, I saw salvation. I've written many posts on Eclipse: how it heats the tobacco instead of burning it, has virtually no odor, 80% of what you exhale is water vapor so no "second hand smoke". Eclipse comes in two varieties, regular and menthol. I tried to wean myself onto the regulars, but when it comes to taste, they need to go back to the lab. I found myself enjoying the menthols and smoked them for years.
Then hard financial times fell upon Mr. Unloadingzone and the Texas State Legislature decided to raise the cigarette tax $1 per pack. I smoke a carton a week and Eclipse were suddenly $60 a carton. I simply couldn't afford it.
So through secret connections at an Indian Reservation, I was able to buy "Native" brand cigarettes for $12.50/carton. They actually tasted really good but I was back to smoking "real" cigarettes.
My clothes reeked of cigarette smoke, my hair reeked of cigarette smoke, my car reeked of cigarette smoke. I was once again relegated to smoking in the garage, the temperature of which regularly exceeds 100 degrees in the Texas summer.
Job interviews were even worse. When you got to the interview, you had to spray yourself with Fabreeze, wash your hands and face with portable soap, and spray your mouth with Listerine.
This was just getting to be too inconvenient. I began considering the unthinkable: quiting! Then I heard about "Snus". Marlboro and Camel were test-marketing their "version" of snus in Texas. Their snus comes in little dry packets that go between the lip and the gum. The big attraction is that you just leave it there: no spitting! And it has nicotine!
My local convenience store clerk slipped me a coupon for a free can of Camel snus, so I figured why not? And it wasn't bad! Of course I had nothing to compare it to yet.
My next step was to hit the internet to see where I could get the cheapest Camel or Marlboro snus from. What I discovered instead was a whole new world of genuine Swedish Snus!
Swedish snus is a ground tobacco product dating 300 years or so and is used orally. It is moist for easy use and contains four main ingredients. Selected tobaccos, water, salt, food approved humectants to preserve moisture and flavor additives which give each brand its unique character. Some snus recipes go back hundreds of years.
It is the manufacturing process and the high requirements of the selection of tobacco which makes the Swedish snus unique. Swedish snus is manufacture through a pasteurization-like process that ensures that micro organisms and apparently most carcinogens are neutralized, and that the snus stays fresh longer.
In Sweden, snus is regulated under Swedish food legislation as a food product and therefore the sanitation requirements are the same as those used in food production. All additives that are used must be approved as food additives.
The most usual way to consume snus is to place it beneath the upper lip, and keep it there for a time varying from a few minutes to several hours, according to taste. Swedish smokeless tobacco comprises loose-weight snus and portion-packed snus (Camel and Marlboro use the portion-packed method). Portion-packed snus is available in a range of flavours and portion sizes (Mini, Large and Maxi).
Then I looked at the health information on Swedish snus and, after reading a lot of boring studies, discovered the following amazing information:
* Sweden has Europe’s highest per capita consumption of smokeless tobacco
* Sweden has the lowest cigarette consumption in Europe
* Sweden has the lowest lung cancer mortality rate in Europe
* Sweden has one of the lowest oral cancer mortality rate in Europe
* Sweden has the lowest percentage of smoking-related deaths among developed countries
What intrigued me the most were two things: that Swedish snus would last up to several hours in your mouth and that Sweden had the lowest oral cancer mortality rate in all of Europe.
To the first point, Camel snus advertises it lasts up to a half hour and Marlboro snus even less than that.
The second point amazed me as I have friends who used "chew" tobacco and developed mouth cancer or gum problems.
As I researched it more and discovered some small snus forums, I discovered that Swedish snus had what appeared to be a totally different taste than the Camel snus I had been trying. So how lucky was I that less than a mile away was a tobacco store which had a snus refrigerator and carried Swedish snus! That's right, one of the things I learned is that snus has a "best used by" date and is to be refrigerated until the can is opened! The Camel and Marlboro snus were just sitting on the counter in the sun.
I purchased a can of General portion snus (real Swedish snus for less than the Camel and Marlboro price) and with some nervousness, opened the can. The physical difference was immediately apparent. While the Camel snus portions were dry, The General portion bags were wet. I inserted a pouch between upper lip and gum.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN TASTE!!!!!!!! It's like the difference between a $2 bottle of wine and a $200 bottle of wine! (and I speak from experience). It's like the difference between a .50 cent cigar and a genuine Cuban MontiCristo.
AND IT LASTED!!!!! While the Camel's would go tasteless in less than a half hour, I went 2 HOURS with my first pouch of General's.
Compared to the Swedish snus, the Camel tasted like flavored sawdust. One person in the tobacco shop said that he had tried the Marlboro and all it gave him was a headache.
Swedish snus also comes in a variety of flavors from peppery tobacco, to fruit flavored, to alcohol flavored, and more. And as inexpensive as it was at my tobacco store ($4.50/can + tax), you can order rolls (10 cans) shipped from Sweden which arrive apparently in less than a week for $3.50/can and less. And imagine the price if the dollar ever picks up against the Euro! I have a 10% off banner on my blog for BuySnus.com which gets the best ratings on the snus forums for service, selection and freshness.
I'm down to my last carton of cigarettes. Right now I'm doing a little snus and still smoking. When the last pack is gone, it will be 100% snus. It will probably be a little tough the first week, but the anti-smoking nazi's have beaten me. It's just too inconvenient to smoke anymore.
And for those of you non-smokers saying "why doesn't he just quit tobacco altogether?", my response is simple: I don't want to. I may be beaten, but my spirit is not broken!
And snus does satisfy my nicotine cravings, though it's going to be tough to give up the "smoking experience".
One item I want to note: The antismoking nazi's went crazy when Camel and Marlboro introduced their snus. Their "medical professions" state that "long-term" use of snus may lead to an increased chance of pancreatic cancer. And even the snus manufacturers are required to put warning labels that snus does not guarantee you won't get cancer. But compared to cigarettes, lung cancer and smokers cough? Big deal.
Marlboro & Camel: When it comes to Snus, you Lose!
What the heck is Snus, where do you get it, why would you want it, and why is Mr. Unloadingzone so excited out it? Good questions! I little background on my tobacco use first, but all you need to know at this point is Snus is a tobacco product developed in Sweden a few hundred years ago.
I'm going on 50 and have been a tobacco user since I was 13 (with one 5 year hiatus). Cigarettes were my tobacco of choice, although I did go through a cigar period. One thing I never got into was "chew" tobacco. The spitting was disgusting and if you swallowed it, it made you sick.
For years, the anti-smoking zealots have made it more and more difficult to smoke in public. No smoking in buildings, no smoking in bars in many states, standing outside in the cold catching a quick smoke break while passer's by looked at you with either hostility or pity. Employers establishing "We don't hire Smokers" rules. It was no fun anymore.
When RJ Reynolds came out with Eclipse, I saw salvation. I've written many posts on Eclipse: how it heats the tobacco instead of burning it, has virtually no odor, 80% of what you exhale is water vapor so no "second hand smoke". Eclipse comes in two varieties, regular and menthol. I tried to wean myself onto the regulars, but when it comes to taste, they need to go back to the lab. I found myself enjoying the menthols and smoked them for years.
Then hard financial times fell upon Mr. Unloadingzone and the Texas State Legislature decided to raise the cigarette tax $1 per pack. I smoke a carton a week and Eclipse were suddenly $60 a carton. I simply couldn't afford it.
So through secret connections at an Indian Reservation, I was able to buy "Native" brand cigarettes for $12.50/carton. They actually tasted really good but I was back to smoking "real" cigarettes.
My clothes reeked of cigarette smoke, my hair reeked of cigarette smoke, my car reeked of cigarette smoke. I was once again relegated to smoking in the garage, the temperature of which regularly exceeds 100 degrees in the Texas summer.
Job interviews were even worse. When you got to the interview, you had to spray yourself with Fabreeze, wash your hands and face with portable soap, and spray your mouth with Listerine.
This was just getting to be too inconvenient. I began considering the unthinkable: quiting! Then I heard about "Snus". Marlboro and Camel were test-marketing their "version" of snus in Texas. Their snus comes in little dry packets that go between the lip and the gum. The big attraction is that you just leave it there: no spitting! And it has nicotine!
My local convenience store clerk slipped me a coupon for a free can of Camel snus, so I figured why not? And it wasn't bad! Of course I had nothing to compare it to yet.
My next step was to hit the internet to see where I could get the cheapest Camel or Marlboro snus from. What I discovered instead was a whole new world of genuine Swedish Snus!
Swedish snus is a ground tobacco product dating 300 years or so and is used orally. It is moist for easy use and contains four main ingredients. Selected tobaccos, water, salt, food approved humectants to preserve moisture and flavor additives which give each brand its unique character. Some snus recipes go back hundreds of years.
It is the manufacturing process and the high requirements of the selection of tobacco which makes the Swedish snus unique. Swedish snus is manufacture through a pasteurization-like process that ensures that micro organisms and apparently most carcinogens are neutralized, and that the snus stays fresh longer.
In Sweden, snus is regulated under Swedish food legislation as a food product and therefore the sanitation requirements are the same as those used in food production. All additives that are used must be approved as food additives.
The most usual way to consume snus is to place it beneath the upper lip, and keep it there for a time varying from a few minutes to several hours, according to taste. Swedish smokeless tobacco comprises loose-weight snus and portion-packed snus (Camel and Marlboro use the portion-packed method). Portion-packed snus is available in a range of flavours and portion sizes (Mini, Large and Maxi).
Then I looked at the health information on Swedish snus and, after reading a lot of boring studies, discovered the following amazing information:
* Sweden has Europe’s highest per capita consumption of smokeless tobacco
* Sweden has the lowest cigarette consumption in Europe
* Sweden has the lowest lung cancer mortality rate in Europe
* Sweden has one of the lowest oral cancer mortality rate in Europe
* Sweden has the lowest percentage of smoking-related deaths among developed countries
What intrigued me the most were two things: that Swedish snus would last up to several hours in your mouth and that Sweden had the lowest oral cancer mortality rate in all of Europe.
To the first point, Camel snus advertises it lasts up to a half hour and Marlboro snus even less than that.
The second point amazed me as I have friends who used "chew" tobacco and developed mouth cancer or gum problems.
As I researched it more and discovered some small snus forums, I discovered that Swedish snus had what appeared to be a totally different taste than the Camel snus I had been trying. So how lucky was I that less than a mile away was a tobacco store which had a snus refrigerator and carried Swedish snus! That's right, one of the things I learned is that snus has a "best used by" date and is to be refrigerated until the can is opened! The Camel and Marlboro snus were just sitting on the counter in the sun.
I purchased a can of General portion snus (real Swedish snus for less than the Camel and Marlboro price) and with some nervousness, opened the can. The physical difference was immediately apparent. While the Camel snus portions were dry, The General portion bags were wet. I inserted a pouch between upper lip and gum.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE IN TASTE!!!!!!!! It's like the difference between a $2 bottle of wine and a $200 bottle of wine! (and I speak from experience). It's like the difference between a .50 cent cigar and a genuine Cuban MontiCristo.
AND IT LASTED!!!!! While the Camel's would go tasteless in less than a half hour, I went 2 HOURS with my first pouch of General's.
Compared to the Swedish snus, the Camel tasted like flavored sawdust. One person in the tobacco shop said that he had tried the Marlboro and all it gave him was a headache.
Swedish snus also comes in a variety of flavors from peppery tobacco, to fruit flavored, to alcohol flavored, and more. And as inexpensive as it was at my tobacco store ($4.50/can + tax), you can order rolls (10 cans) shipped from Sweden which arrive apparently in less than a week for $3.50/can and less. And imagine the price if the dollar ever picks up against the Euro! I have a 10% off banner on my blog for BuySnus.com which gets the best ratings on the snus forums for service, selection and freshness.
I'm down to my last carton of cigarettes. Right now I'm doing a little snus and still smoking. When the last pack is gone, it will be 100% snus. It will probably be a little tough the first week, but the anti-smoking nazi's have beaten me. It's just too inconvenient to smoke anymore.
And for those of you non-smokers saying "why doesn't he just quit tobacco altogether?", my response is simple: I don't want to. I may be beaten, but my spirit is not broken!
And snus does satisfy my nicotine cravings, though it's going to be tough to give up the "smoking experience".
One item I want to note: The antismoking nazi's went crazy when Camel and Marlboro introduced their snus. Their "medical professions" state that "long-term" use of snus may lead to an increased chance of pancreatic cancer. And even the snus manufacturers are required to put warning labels that snus does not guarantee you won't get cancer. But compared to cigarettes, lung cancer and smokers cough? Big deal.
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