Testing the snus waters

[LHB]

Ammonia is a natural by product of fermenting tobacco, so sometimes when you open up tin, especially if it's very fresh and moist, you get a good blast of ammonia. I've found it to be most pronounced in several brands of nasal snuff. It goes away after a little while, but the salty flavor of General White Portions doesn't.

I used snus to help me quit a 37 year cigarette habit over the last 3 months, and am back up to running easy 8 minute miles 6 days a week (about 30 miles per week), and I'm pretty old. It makes a huge difference, not just in your oxygen uptake, but also in your circulatory system. Which means your legs will have much more flex and bounce than they did when you were smoking. For some reason, American dip made my legs feel almost as bad as smoking; Swedish snus doesn't. And it tastes way better, and gives a much cleaner buzz, than American dip.

[Snusmun]

LHB you rock!!!!!!!!!! I'm guessing you must be in your early 50's, and after smoking for 37 years, to be running around 30, 8 min, miles per week is nothing less than amazing. You are an inspiration, and I'll bet you feel and look fantastic. Man those first few miles are an absolute biatch...but slowly...getting....stronger..... (I got a bit of a bum knee which is holding me back right now, but I'm gonna keep going out there and pushing myself harder and harder).

The thing about the ammonia being a natural byproduct.....Well isn't snus pasteurized and intentionally not fermented? What doesn't make sense to me is how and why some boxes are ripe with it and others are not. There must be either a difference in the ingredients, manufacturing process or some environmental factor. Remains a mystery to me.

I have now tried most of my first purchase, and I'm thinking I need to change my name to SnusWus. It's the salt...Just can't seem to really get used to it...but I'm sure that will come. Even the Ettan, at which is supposed to be 2% salt, seemed very salty to me, even more so than others at 5%......maybe that's just variation in batches, maybe the drip from being an OP, or more likely my virgin palate.

To further cement my snuswusiness, I'm finding that I really love the general mini mints, and can't wait for the full portions to be released soon. So ClubSnus, As soon as you get them in, I'll be ordering a roll from you.....the taxes aren't really that bad (35 cents/box), and that cost will be made up in terms of the quick delivery I'm sure, since I'm only 45 miles from you.

[GoVegan]

Hey Snusmun - your location is fairly close to me. Snus must be spreading! I sometimes buy my snus at Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa and it makes clubsnus look like a steal because they are now over $7.00 for a can of General OP. I know the taxes here are steep but something tells me a good portion of that is retailer mark up.

[Snusmun]

:!: :!: How cool, we are indeed neighbors. I've been to the humidor at both coddingtown and the SR Plaza....and yeah its like 7 bucks for a tin. Not to mention seems like the expiration dates are often close. It's nice to have the option though, but can't compare with the prices and selection online. I think the vast majority of that price is retail markup. I think the wholesale cost of a tin is less than one dollar, then a 44% tobacco tax based on that price. Then of course the 9% or so retail tax on top of it.....so yeah, probably $5 of that 7 at least is profit....

Glad to know there's a fellow snuser nearby

[GoVegan]

There is an Arco in Calistoga and a Valero near Mark West that said they will get Swedish snus as soon as they find a distributor for it so I am hopeful it will be easy to buy locally one day. The store in Coddingtown could not get Granit or even General mini portions. I figure it will be about a year after PACT passes for snus to become more available so I am trying to stock up now but I am also hoping to quit nicotine altogether soon as well. Snus is fun but I look forward to the day where I don't need it. In a way, I am also glad that they really jacked up the prices of smokes around here because I know that it will be really expensive if I start smoking again.

[Snusmun]

Yeah the cost of smoking is just ridiculous...but that is the least of it really. It's horrible for you, ages you prematurely, makes you and everything you own stink, takes up tons of time, and prevents you from breathing properly....etc. etc. I don't necessarily want to be a nic fiend my whole life either, but I'm going to use snus as long as I have to until any urge to smoke is absolutely long dead and buried...

And me too, I plan on stocking up while I can, as soon as I narrow my preferences down a bit.

[Snusmun]

Got my order from Northerner today. Just a few cans and made sure they were all shipping from the US warehouse. Took 4 days from Pennsylvania to California...not to bad. One of the items though they did not ship saying it was out of stock....but online it said it was in stock. They must not have real time inventory status on their website. No biggie.

I got Gotlands green, Gotlands yellow, Jakobssens regular, and Claq qui, with Gote Rape #2 backordered.

Being made with mostly the same tobacco, all three Gotlands (Jakobssens included), all smell absolutely amazing. Little if any ammonia, and just boatloads of citrusy goodness. The claq qui smells fantastic as well. The gotlands taste is great. I love it. I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy the bitterness of the Alida tobacco, but it is so so pleasant. Just a really fresh herby flavor. Have yet to try the Claq.

I think I might be adjusting to the salt a little more, but for the most part I find myself tolerating it. The one time it does really hit the spot is after a long run. Overall I'm finding regular portion sizes are plenty strong for me, and often I've been tearing them in half to get a mini (not a bad way to go really, you get twice as much). Most of the day I'd rather be using twice as many minis than regular portions. The regular portions hit the spot though at night, or after a meal or exercise.

[Snusmun]

Just dropped a Claq Qui, but only for like 5 minutes. I can see the appeal of sterks, as the burning peppery feel and flavor are awesome. It's the closest rush I've felt yet with snus which compares to smoking a cigarette. I think using a sterk for a few minutes is a good way to combat any nic fit for those who are not used to, or do not want, a half pack of smokes worth of nicotine in one sitting. They must use a liquid nicotine additive to get these portions up to 13 mg of nic, either added to the tobacco, or during wetting of the portion...maybe both. This extra 4 or 5 mg of nicotine is essentially ready for immediate absorption if the portion is wetted and squeezed a bit. Good way to pimp slap a craving for sure.

[BadAxe]

Just dropped a Claq Qui, but only for like 5 minutes. I can see the appeal of sterks, as the burning peppery feel and flavor are awesome. It's the closest rush I've felt yet with snus which compares to smoking a cigarette. I think using a sterk for a few minutes is a good way to combat any nic fit for those who are not used to, or do not want, a half pack of smokes worth of nicotine in one sitting. They must use a liquid nicotine additive to get these portions up to 13 mg of nic, either added to the tobacco, or during wetting of the portion...maybe both. This extra 4 or 5 mg of nicotine is essentially ready for immediate absorption if the portion is wetted and squeezed a bit. Good way to pimp slap a craving for sure.

A sterk and extra sterk do not have a 1/2 pack of nic in one sitting, the body only absorbs about 20% of the nic from a portion, so your not getting more nic than a cig per say, its just the delivery method that differs. Also, liquid nic is not added to sterks and ES to make them stronger, its the parts of the tobacco plant that are used that determine how much nic is in that particular brand.

[justintempler]

Is the move to extra sterk solely due to using a different part of the plant? I doubt it. Then you have to find a buyer for all that lower nicotine "scrap" you no longer want.

A more likely scenario is the part of the plant not being used is being soaked for it's nicotine content in water or alcohol and the nicotine water is being added back to the tobacco flour from the part of the plant that is being used. That way you aren't adding nicotine, you are concentrating it.

[bondzai]

maybe they kick up the pH?

[bondzai]

ok yeah if the qty of nic is higher then its not the pH...

as far as not having nicotine, well... nicotine has its benefits. My father died a few mos ago and had dementia. As far as I can tell, the drug they use for dementia is a lot like nicotine in its brain activity. I think my mind functions a bit better with nicotine... I do notice motor activity worse, or at least I used to notice that I didn't type or write as well... handwriting was affected by nicotine so this was a negative but... guess I am addicted.

I went on a Buddhist ten day Vipassana retreat where snus was not permitted so I weaned myself off and was off it for ten days completely but the day of release I did pick up a can of Longhorn Straight for the drive home. There're some mighty old people who use nicotine.

Most schizophrenics self medicate with nicotine.

[adm]

To me there is only one flavored snus THUNDER FROSTED. But that is just me.

That's not just you - it's also the only flavoured snus I like. The main problem with Thunder Frosted though, is that it's no good with tea or beer - too minty.

Other than that, it's great.

[Snusmun]

It's my own personal opinion that the 20% nic absorption data is low. I won't go into all the reasons why here....maybe that's for another thread. Needless to say the data out there is incomplete and there are so many variables involved. I'm sticking with a 50% estimate myself.

A more likely scenario is the part of the plant not being used is being soaked for it's nicotine content in water or alcohol and the nicotine water is being added back to the tobacco flour from the part of the plant that is being used. That way you aren't adding nicotine, you are concentrating it.

This is kind of what I was imagining...more of a tobacco extraction being used. However I really have no idea, just a hunch. I wasn't implying that they are adulterating the snus with some cheap chinese pesticide grade nic.

An yeah nicotine appears to have anti-psychotic properties. Most schizophrenics smoke cigarettes, but thankfully most smokers are not schizophrenics. I'll tell you there are days though when that feels true..

[Snusmun]

Got my order from Getsnus yesterday. Took about 8 days total, but that includes a holiday and weekend...as well it was shipped UPS. Northerner also very quickly shipped the Goteburgs Rape 2 that was out of stock. So that's good to see.

I got Gote Rape 2, Grovsnus portions and los, Catch eucalyptus, roda lacket portions, Skruf Cranberry, a free can of general wintergreen, and Gotlands Grey los as a mystery can.

I have to say that with the exception of the general wintergreen, every other snus has at least some aspect that I enjoy. In fact, I pretty much like them all! I have a shallow but diverse selection now and It's been tough deciding what to have next....not a bad place to be It's going to take a while to decipher which will be my favorites for reorder.

I'm finding that I'm adjusting to the nicotine levels pretty quickly too...whether or not that's good or bad remains to be seen. Almost all only have a hint of ammonia, which is very good to me. And I'm definitely acclimating to the salt content too. All in all I'm thrilled with snus and very rarely have a craving for a cigarette. I am however having some upset stomach / gut grumbling issues, but I'm guessing those will subside. As well my circulation seems to suffer from the higher levels of constant nicotine. So I'm going to start drinking fresh ground ginger tea to help both the digestion and the circulation.

Anyway, just wanted to finish what I started. Thanks for bearing with me!