Snus Misconception

[srhoades2talk]

Jonathon, the samples you send with your orders are very helpful...I don't use them, but I just sent a bunch of them to my brother in his birthday card, and I need to get some more to let my Army buddies try it. I definitely think if more people knew about it, we would start seeing more people selling it in the U.S.

[LaZeR]

Re: Snus converts

...To each his own I guess, but when someone is wrong about what Snus really is I would ask that you at least correct them and help get the truth out....

Hell I'm about with Sage already on this. I tried to talk up snus and seperate it a bit from American dip/chew/smokeless tobacco Here in this thread @ Snuson and am meeting some surprising resistance.

Oh well. I personally have converted to snus & nasal snuff and am happier and feel healthier already.

[snupy]

After using snus for 3 years, I have long ago given up trying to evangelize for it. Most people are simply not interested, and don't want to listen.

I agree. Most smokers seemed resigned to smoking anyway and do not see any possible way to quit smoking, no matter what we say and no matter our experiences.

[clubsnus]

Snus Misconception

So let me ask this then. What is it that brought you all to start using snus. Was it an advertisement or something else. I am willing to bet it was from some one introducing it to you.

So I was just saying that we should do the same and help pass along our knowledge. Just to help those who are looking for something new or looking for something to help them quit. They are against it because they are not educated to know about it and think it is something different.

Be an ambassador to the product and help educate. Its my opinion that the reason that people are not open to it is because they are not educated and have a misconception of the product. They are addicted to nicotine and not smoking. If they could get the nic without the smoking I believe they would switch. Just a thought.

[Christi]

Re: Snus converts

Well I understand that position about evangelizing people on snus. However, I am as you know very involved and want to help the snus industry grow and expand. This will only help our cause.

To each his own I guess, but when someone is wrong about what Snus really is I would ask that you at least correct them and help get the truth out. No need to force this on people. Its like asking them to change religion. Not too often does it happen. But for those who don't know this is actually much safer for you and because of that I think the opportunity for many is there as long as they get the difference between that and dip. Thanks for the follow up though.

Yes we all have out opinion on flavors and brands. I just was making a statement about how my experience was.

I got my mother, a smoker of 30+ years to try Camel Snus Frost several months ago. She is all for quitting smoking. She has dentures and it just didn't work for her. She said they slid around in her mouth. Anyway, most people I have introduced have tried but not converted. My lil' brother smokes, he tried one and no go. I am totally with you on the education part. IF more people understood what true snus was then it might be easier to get snus here in the US. I am with you on the marketing factor and I wish you luck.

[sagedil]

Re: Snus Misconception

So let me ask this then. What is it that brought you all to start using snus. Was it an advertisement or something else. I am willing to bet it was from some one introducing it to you.

I read about in an article somewhere on the net, just a mention, I looked it up in Wikipedia, then did some more research, then found Northerner.

But Jonathon, ONLY reason I was intrigued was I was in a work situation that I was bothered how often I was having to leave the sales floor I managed to smoke. So was just looking for something that could tide me over at work. No health reasons or anything else. So I was motivated to at least try it.

My friend, when you have been battling this fight for a few more years, you will understand why some of us are just weary of it, why we have just given up trying to spread the "good news" of snus

But I encourage folks to try at least, I am just retired. Did my time in the trenches and want no more of it. :lol:

[Dgtl Dvnt]

Re: Snus Misconception

So let me ask this then. What is it that brought you all to start using snus. Was it an advertisement or something else. I am willing to bet it was from some one introducing it to you.

For me it was Camel's marketing. If Camel hadn't marketed their snus so heavily in my area (NE Ohio), primarily with free samples, I doubt I would have stumbled upon it. After trying the Camel I got curious and googled snus and found my way here. The rest is history.

I was only an occasional smoker but snus has allowed me to give up cigarettes altogether, even when I'm drinking which was the hardest time for me.

[kjoerup]

The biggest problem snus has going for it in America is the perceived association it has with dip and chewing tobacco. Rightly or wrongly, most people associate dip with rednecks and trailer trash. No matter how much one tries to explain how snus is different, they are not going to get past that prejudice, particularly when the Swedish companies package their snus in round cans that are easily mistaken for dip. I admit that it turns me off, and I've known many people who won't try snus once they have that visual association in their minds.

As for the idea of making the packaging more "dip-like" in order for it to sit comfortably on the rack aside Copenhagen and Skol, well, if your target market consists of truckers and good old boys, then fine, because that's about all it will ever be. Hell, even RJR understands this much. Why do you think Camel "snus" have their own uniquely shaped container? They know enough not to associate their product with dip, and they make sure that it isn't going to be perceived that way.

Honestly, I sometimes wonder if Swedish Match understands at all how to sell their fine product in America.

[RedMacGregor]

As for the idea of making the packaging more "dip-like" in order for it to sit comfortably on the rack aside Copenhagen and Skol,

who used it first?

[lxskllr]

As for the idea of making the packaging more "dip-like" in order for it to sit comfortably on the rack aside Copenhagen and Skol,

who used it first?

I think the American companies did. Snus came in coffin shaped containers, and rectangles until the 60s.

[Redbeard]

I've tried to proselytize for snus, explaining how its better for you and the differences between it and dip. I've given quite a few portions to coworkers and have had a few of them that tried it more than once say they liked it. None of them have liked it enough to order their own. I think if it was more readily available they may be more apt to switch. However, there are many who are not simply addicted to the nicotine in cigarettes, but the act of smoking itself. I only smoked for a few years, so it wasn't that big of a deal for me. I do have a buddy, though, who is 38 and has been smoking since he was 15. He does enjoy snus, and though he may want to, just isn't that motivated to quit smoking. There are a number of psychological reasons one smokes besides the nicotine itself.

For what its worth, no snuser introduced me to snus. I kept seeing those ubiquitous Camel ads and eventually asked the lady @ Smoker Friendly what the hell snus was. She gave me a free tin of Camel Frost. I liked it, did some research and found Swedish snus, largely because of this very forum (though I only lurked then). When I started snusing regularly, I had no intention to quit smoking. It just kinda happened.

[RedSand]

I had a long talk with a ex-chewing coworker who called my snus, dip. He couldn't even get over the idea that it was supposed to be placed in the upper lip. When I gave some to him he put it in his bottom lip, despite what I told him. I let him know about the health differences between chew and snus, but everything pretty much went in one ear and right out the other. People are just stubborn I guess. In the end he told me to go buy some Copenhagen if I was going to "chew"

[kjoerup]

I too have given many curious people snus. Only one that I know of went out and bought some for himself.

I'm happy to explain all about snus, its relative safety, harm reduction, etc. Still, it is really the job of the snus companies to educate the American public about their product, and, I'm sorry, they have done an absolutely dismal job in this regard. Swedish Match seems to think that the General line will sell itself, as it does in Sweden. The tobacco shops I have been to that sell General usually have expired cans (as much as three months out of date), and the staff doesn't know one damn thing about the product.

I realize that Swedish Match can only do so much, and it certainly isn't their fault if their dealers hire apathetic idiots to work in the shops. Nonetheless, in the shops that I have visited, it is obvious that there is no SM rep making the rounds to ensure that the product is well-stocked or even fresh. If all their dealer network can offer is rotten, expired product and no basic knowledge of said product, then I'd say that Swedish Match is failing miserably at making inroads into the American snus market.

People at this forum and other sites are doing a fine job of educating people about snus. By contrast, it doesn't seem as if anyone on the Swedish Match payroll has done 1/1000th as much as these volunteers. Hell, some of you ought to be demanding that Swedish Match pay YOU, because you're certainly working harder and more successfully to promote their product in America than *they* are.

I'll repeat my blatantly obvious common-sense advice, and can readily save Swedish Match hundreds of thousands of dollars in focus group studies. If SM wants to actually sell snus in America, disassociate immediately any visually subliminal connection of snus with dip. It turns people off, period.

You may also want to try making certain that the few retail outlets you currently have actually know what they are selling, and that the product is not three months out of date. Is that too difficult for a multinational corporation with vast financial resources to handle? Apparently, it is.

[Liandri]

Sorry this is a fight that won't be won easily. Tried it, failed miserably, moved on with my life not mentioning it to others. Now and again someone might asked "Hey whats that" and I give a brief explanation, then they'll say "Like dip?" And I'll agree to them to an extent and point out the differences. But other than that Its a no go for me. You'll understand later. One thing that grinds my gears with you people is you put this on a pedestal like its the end all be all product of the life time, which leads me to believe half of you use it out of novelty rather than anything else rather than actually understanding you're under the influence of an addictive product. If it was so grand and so great half this world would have been sold on it, rather than trying to shit can it. Some of them maybe be ignorant to the truth, and others not so much. So what if they call it dip, It is a form of moist snuff anyways.

What got me into it? Co-worker transferred over in that area of the world, sent me a email about it, said it wasn't half bad. Told him to throw me a mix up brand sampler in the next oversea's over back to our company. Enjoyed it, got more, read up more into it, fought for it, failed at it, nothing special.

[kjoerup]

Be an ambassador to the product and help educate.

Gee, isn't that the job of, I dunno, employees? Paid employees? Paid employees of the multi-billion dollar multi-national tobacco corporation? Should we also be unpaid "ambassadors" for tomato sauce, chewing gum and shoe laces?

I'll be an "ambassador" to "the product" if and only if I'm receiving a paycheck from Swedish Match/Philip Morris/RJ Reynolds/whomever – and my job description clearly states that my role is to promote their product.

Liandri, I agree with you. It is difficult to have a rational discussion about snus at this forum because far too many people here are only enamored of the bright and shiny colors of the cans and how big "the collection" is. (Cue ooohs and ahhs for the amazing feat of buying a can of Romeo y Julieta and/or Lucky Strike....) Hell, at least cigarette fans don't go on and on talking about how many brands are in "the collection"; nor do they constantly regale you with that wondrous tale all about how they obtained that rare and forbidden pack of Luckies from (gasp!) Scandinavia.

Use and enjoy your addictive product all you wish. I know I have (and do). But we don't have to get silly about it. You guys continually bitch and moan about Camel snus (and I *agree with* you that the stuff flat out sucks), but it *is* now everywhere, so obviously RJ Reynolds knows how to promote and distribute their product. Far from being "designed to fail," RJR has had a lot of success with Camel snus. They know that smokeless is the future of the tobacco business, and they are pursuing it aggressively. If you don't believe me, then believe the RJR rep I was talking to the other day: they did not sink their money and energy into this venture in order to watch it fall flat on its face. Far from it.

Swedish Match's General snus line is failing in the U.S. because of the ineptitude of Swedish Match, pure and simple. If all they have going for them is to rely upon unpaid "ambassadors to their product," then they deserve to fail.