Why I *think* it was so easy to quit smoking with snus

[Zofryer]

After being a smoker for a while, you just keep buying the same brand over and over. It becomes this automatic thing you don't even think about. You just want your nicotene. You never hear "I keep 10 cartons of all my favorite smokes in my freezer at the same time, and just switch between all those tasty brands of cigarettes!".

And therein lies the difference. Yesterday I was talking about how Ettan tasted so much better to me than anything General offered. Now I'm sitting here typing this crap out, and I'm thoroughly enjoying an Onyx portion. I felt like one. It's like having a heineken once in a while even though guinness is your favorite beer. You don't get that with cigarettes. Maybe you'll bum a newport once in a while if you smoke marlboro, but you are so programmed into brand loyalty with cigarettes that you won't actually take that step to keep 10 different kinds of cigarettes in your fridge.

I'm a relatively new snuser, but during the day I'm popping 2 nick and johnny's when I wake up, a few CatchDRY mini's at work, some Ettan over lunch, maybe some grandapple mocca or LD Black until I leave, then back to nick & johnny when I get home, mixed with more Ettan, some roda, tre, or Kronan, and I've been going to sleep with some kind of General snus. I'm actually excited to try loose, and can't wait for my prismaster and samples to get here. Oh, side note:

I ordered the Swedish Match Loose Mix thinger before they announced that they were discontinuing N&J Loose. If I should happen to get a can in my order, I'll probably just ship it to someone here that likes it rather than risk liking something that I won't be able to get anymore. They'll probably bone me though.

I don't remember being all excited to try cigarettes when I was young. I started smoking because my friends smoked, and I smoked what they smoked. After a while it's just something you do.

That, and smoke has no real substance. It kinda feels empty compared to having this solid lump of flavor in your mouth giving you constant feedback and wonderful nicotine.

And no more coughing in the morning. I'm walking into work in the morning watching coworkers freezing their asses off rapidly sucking down cigs and I'm starting to feel sorry for them. I'm thinking of all the time off they are going to have to take because of bronchitis and whatnot, and how much easier it's going to be for them to catch a cold. And I'm thinking of the higher risks of cancer and other illnesses associated with my former habit, and I'm wishing I had found snus about 20 years ago.

Add in the fact that I'm saving a fortune over the camel wide lights I used to smoke at a rate of two packs a day. I might pop 14 portions in a day. Even if that climbs to 1 an hour when I'm awake, I'm still saving nearly double over cigarettes. That savings is going to go up even more when I start using loose exclusively at home. That's not even considering the money I'm going to save in the long run on co-pays for visits to the doctor's office I won't have to make, and prescriptions I'm not going to have to pay for.


So to recap:

1) Variety
2) Substance
3) Excitement
4) Health
5) Economics

Did I miss anything? This is a no brainer.

[Soft Morning, City!]

I agree. I love brand hopping. Snus suits different moods much better than cigarettes did. There's a brand to suit any mood, any situation I could be in.

Cigarettes are fine, I guess, but they don't offer much variety. Most of them taste the same, feel the same. I've never had a brand of snus that tasted exactly the same as another brand. I love it.

[RealmofOpeth]

Snus beats other tobacco products in overall features hands down.

Sure, a cigarette when you're having a beer is nice sometimes or for a quick break. A cigar can be good for a get together or chillin for a good while. Chew, dip...great for a shitload of flavor and more substance than smoking..less lung problems of course. Snuff...hard to say...never got much out of it.
Snus...yeah, you covered it mate...but maybe you could add cleanliness?
no ashes/large amounts of spit/smoke film..
oh and convenience (usage that is, not availability)...very discreet (unless you're using loose or a bunch of portions)...hands free

I guess the only possible bad part is it's not quick, but it doesn't need to be, and its good like that.
Also since location is a big factor among non-scandinavians, it has to be imported, harder to get..etc. Of course if you don't have to pay customs, this isn't so bad..it's sort of an esoteric thing that you can feel unique about having while not every joe and his brother has like cigarettes. I'm not so sure how much that's worth though compared to not paying any shipping and being able to get it at most locations at any given time... given if other factors like price of the snus (including no or low tax) and the quality/brands stay the same.

[sagedil]

And don't forget the no longer burning a hole in your favorite shirt part. :lol:

But I agree totally. the experience is completely different. I love the variety. I just ordered my next batch, and didn't order a roll this time because i just wanted the widest variety possible. I ordered something like 13 tins, and each one was different.

I usually keep two open at a time. One more traditional tobacco flavored, and one sweet flavored. I find that I am in the mood for sweet right after a meal, but other time, I want the more true tobacco flavor.

I still smoke a cig a couple of times a week. I find I do occasionally miss the physicality of smoking. especially if I am hanging out with someone who is smoking. But I am grateful now that I only smoke when that is what I WANT, not because I NEED to.

[OzCatter]

It hasnt quite made me quit smoking yet, as I'm not a major nicotine addict, I might smoke 1 cigarette a week most of the time. I switch between brands quite a bit, at the moment I got a pack of Camel Wides, Camel Signatures Robusto, and the always awesome and good Lucky Strike Unfiltered.

But my main love along with snus is the cigars and my trusty pipe. I smoke mostly Padron or Rocky Patel's right now, but I also enjoy any kind, especially those from Don Pepin Garcia(met the man a few months ago, fine man, plays one good piano). My pipe cost me around $40 and is an unfinished kind, basically whatever I smoke adds color to it and more flavor.

To think, an 18 year old who doesnt smoke trash, I'm one of the few

[RealmofOpeth]

But my main love along with snus is the cigars and my trusty pipe. I smoke mostly Padron or Rocky Patel's right now

Padron is pretty good. I'm not very educated on cigars, but I like that brand for sure.
If you enjoy quality tobacco beyond snus, I say whatever floats your boat. Using snus doesn't inherently make you stop liking other forms. For me, I'm much less interested in other forms now that I have snus. But it doesn't stop me from enjoying a cigar/ette..I'll still use one and enjoy whats there if it's quality. Perhaps dip falls into the category of being completely nixed for me..having such a similar format to snus, but nothing but negatives in difference, that I don't enjoy dip at all.

[victoryredchevy]

I agree with all of this, even though I'm not a smoker. I'll admit when I was drinking beer, quite a bit and in large amounts every weekend, a cigarette seemed to make the beer almost taste better and make it a little smoother, but I'm not using snus as an alternative to smoking. I'm using it as an alternative to American smokeless tobacco. I had a hopeless addiction to the, now disgusting, stuff for 4 years and I'm glad I prefer the Swedish form of smokeless now. I tried quitting dipping several different times and found myself realizing that the habit and addiction of American spit tobacco had overtaken any hope or determination of quitting it that I had. Now instead of feeling like I have no control, I just switched full time to snus and I've found it easier to accept the fact that I'll probably never quit snus, instead of never quitting the American crap. It's not as self-degrading now to know I have an addiction. I'm addicted to a foreign tobacco product that has much higher standards in quality, production, taste, storage and just about everything else you can think of. I had a loyalty to my favorite American brands(Red Seal, Skoal and Cope pouches, Grizzly) and they were like a close friend or a part of me that was always there when I wanted them, even though I was always self-concious and aware of what they could eventually do to my body and mind. What I hated about the risks and such was just simply not enough to overtake the fact that I loved having dip in my mouth. Over the years of using dip I began to feel like crap, hate knowing how many awful things were in it and just flat out got bored and tired with all my brands. It actually got to where I would crave a dip, finally get one and get tired of it and spit it out after 10-15 minutes. So, I got curious a couple of months ago and started again craving that wonderful smelling and tasting Swedish snus I'd discoverd about a year and a half ago and I finally made the wise choice to go full time snuser. Now..... I feel better physically and mentally, I don't get tired and bored with my favorite brands and I feel like a five year old in a candy store when I'm ordering and waiting on my next shipment of this fine product to come in the mail. I'm waiting on an envelope full of it as we speak and I keep checking the mail, running to the mail box after work, praying that it came. Snus is very strange at first, but If you start liking it in the slightest way you'll find yourself wanting and craving it like crazy. Not because of the nicotine, but because of the very distinct and odd flavor and scent. I can't get enough of it now and I'm perfectly fine with that. As I've stated before General is my favorite brand, but I also am a brand hopper. I always get more than one can of my favorites and throw in something I'm curious about or something I've tried and kinda liked before. I'm currently pondering on switching to Ettan original portions full time for some reason. In some way the different brands seem to taste the same, but they all are different and offer variety. When I got my last shipment in I went through it faster than expected and found myself stuck with a semi-dried out can of Lucky Strike original portions that I thought was just Ok at first. The further into that tin of Lucky I got, the more I craved it and the more I liked it. Now, it could be one of my fav's and it's all gone! By the way... Lucky portions taste perfect with a cup of black coffee. In all, snus is a great product and I only see it getting bigger and more in demand here in the States. I love it.

[OzCatter]

See, this is what I'm gonna try and help my dad with. Back when he was in the Army, he used to smoke a pipe and enjoy it til money didnt allow for it anymore, so he switched to dip, probably the most nasty form of tobacco known to man in my opinion. I would much rather have someone blow a cloud of smoke in my face repeatedly than for me to accidentally take a sip of my dad's spit bottle thinking it was Coke.

I think when he gets back from his training in NC for the Guard, I'm gonna introduce him to the good snus, and try to pull him off the nasty dip

[victoryredchevy]

OzCatter... Go for it. It's a good idea and it's worth a try. I can personally say from being an experienced user of both American snuff and Swedish snus, that I feel better physically and clearer mentally and my mouth feels so much better while using snus compared to dip. Let me know how it goes. I agree, dip is just disgusting and now I can't even stand the smell and taste of it anymore. If snus wasn't available to me, I'd be screwed!!! Good luck.

[Soft Morning, City!]

I still smoke a cig a couple of times a week. I find I do occasionally miss the physicality of smoking. especially if I am hanging out with someone who is smoking. But I am grateful now that I only smoke when that is what I WANT, not because I NEED to.

I find that I still do this sometimes as well. A lot of my friends smoke. Most of the time I don't feel the need to smoke at all, but sometimes a cigarette is very pleasant.

But your point about only smoking out of want as opposed to need is spot on.

As Waits said in Coffee and Cigarettes, "the best part about quitting is that you can have one." I've found this very true despite it's humorous intent. I can have ONE, not feel guilty, and not crave another.

[anweis]

Re: Why I *think* it was so easy to quit smoking with snus

So to recap:

1) Variety
2) Substance
3) Excitement
4) Health
5) Economics

Did I miss anything? This is a no brainer.

Zofryer, i quit smoking thanks to snus, almost two years ago. I am glad that i did, but i did find variety, excitement, and health and economic incentives in handrolling cigarettes made with the finest tobacco and paper. I don't mean Bugler here. I mean the best handpicked leaf from around the world.
I agree with you that factory made cigarettes are almost identical these days. They all have dangerous additives and reconstituted tobacco (tobacco paper made out of tobacco dust) inside them. I don't miss any of those.
Now, if i could only find the strength to quit snus...

[Jason]

One thing that put it over the top for me was when they switched to that fire-safe paper (only in certain states I believe). It destroyed the taste, and I'd have to relight my cigarette several times if I wasn't constantly puffing on it. :evil: