Snus nicotine level confusion

[Oldheim]

I posted this in the Snus & snus accessories forum, and was wondering if anybody here could help me on this matter:

http://www.snuson.com/viewtopic.php?t=5862

[Tlaloc]

well that really looks interesting.

i cant help but wounder...what the absorption rate for nicotine is. i imagine that the snus in the center of the portion gives up much less nicotine than whats on the edge.

thus i would guess that the amount of nicotine your body absorbs from any given portion will be more strongly corolated to the strength of the tabacco thats in direct content with your gums, and not the amount of nicotine in the portion as a whole.

so i would predict that the thunder sterk would give users more nicotine per use even if the dose contains less nicotine as such. given that the portions are roughly the same size.

[Markus and Joakim]

Comparing nicotine delivery is a tricky issue...

Okay, so General ekstra sterk has 15 mg/g nicotine, whereas thunder has 16 mg/g. However, the portion sizes differ. Let's use simple math to determine which one really is the strongest per portion:

General ekstra sterk has 22 portions, weighing 24 g combined
24 / 22 = 1.0909

So this is how many grams one portion contains. Now let's multiply that number by 15, to see how any mgs og nicotine it contains.

10.0909 * 15 = 16.363

So one portion of general ekstra sterk contains rougly 16.4 mgs og nicotine

Thunder ekstra sterk has 24 portions, that weigh 22.6 gram combined

22.6 / 24 = 0.9416

0.9416 * 16 = 15.0666

So I'm not really sure. What do you guys make of this? Is there anything wrong with my calclulations, or is general ekstra sterk stronger than thunder ekstra sterk, despite the higher mg/g level?

Oh, and this is my first post here. Hello from Norway guys

Hello Oldheim,

Welcome to the forum.

Nicotine uptake from oral tobacco products is a tricky issue because the uptake is influenced not only by the nicotine content of the product but also the pH (i e alkalinity). Traditionally, carbonate compounds have always been an integral component of Swedish snus to raise the pH level. In addition, the degree of extraction of nicotine from a snus pouch is quite low and highly variable between individuals. At the moment there are no validated methods that allow comparisons of nicotine uptake from different brands or types of smokefree tobacco products including Swedish snus.

At low pH levels most of the nicotine in snus exists in an inactive form that cannot be taken up through the oral mucosa. At higher pH levels proportionately more of the nicotine is in the active free form that can be absorbed. At pH 8.1 the balance between the two forms is about 50:50, and at pH 8.5 c. 75% is in the active form (this pH dependence also explains why there is very low or almost no nicotine uptake if you accidentally swallow snus as a result of the typically extremely low pH in the stomach). The actual extraction of nicotine from a pouch is far from 100%. In fact, in real life a typical user only extracts about 10-20%. The extraction is related to the product itself (pouch material, tobacco particle size etc), but also to how the individual consumer uses the product (manipulation of the pouch with the tongue, change of pouch location in the mouth). Individual variation in quality and amount of saliva, as well as mucosal permeability may also be relevant factors for the actual nicotine uptake among consumers. I am not aware that any other snus manufacturer than Swedish Match has done formal studies of the nicotine uptake from snus products.

Also, the pH levels of Swedish snus tend to decrease during storage. This means that products that have been stored for many weeks (or have been stored in unrefrigerated conditions) tend to have a lower theoretical nicotine delivery.

In summary, it is not possible to calculate the amount of nicotine that an individual user may get from a snus pouch without both knowing the tobacco content, nicotine concentration, and pH. Even with those data, you can only calculate the theoretical amount available to the consumer because of the mentioned issue of the low extraction rate. However, for most Swedish Match products it is possible for an individual user to compare the potential nicotine delivery for different brands simply by looking at the published data on nicotine content. A brand that has, for instance, a 20% higher nicotine content than another brand also has a theoretical nicotine delivery that is 20% higher. This relates to the fact that most of our brands have the same target pH level (8.5) which is the same for loose as well as pouched products. The only exemptions from this "rule of thumb" are General Silver, Catch Dry, and Probe. Those brands have distinctly lower pH levels (around 7.3-7.5) so the theoretical nicotine delivery is lower. As far as I know, there are no similar data available from other manufacturers.

So, given that there are so many variables that we don't know in this case I can't give you a precise answer to which product that would deliver the most nicotine. If we assume that the factors that determine the theoretically available nicotine including the pH level are the same for both products (which may or may not be the case) I don't see any error in your comparison of the two products. Since, as you may have experienced when using loose snus, you get more nicotine when you make your "pris" larger.

That said, a more naturalistic approach would be to try the two products and determine for yourself which one that you feel is the stronger in terms of nicotine delivery.

Sincerly,
Joakim

[justintempler]

Re: Comparing nicotine delivery is a tricky issue...

... (this pH dependence also explains why there is very low or almost no nicotine uptake if you accidentally swallow snus as a result of the typically extremely low pH in the stomach).....

Joakim,

Very good point that I had never considered. Thank you for your very detailed explanation.

Stomach pH <2.0
Saliva pH 6.3-6.7

[paulwall9]

Hmmm, so I guess if you swallow a portion or 2 of General extra sterk you will be just fine LOL!!

[sgreger1]

Re: Comparing nicotine delivery is a tricky issue...

... (this pH dependence also explains why there is very low or almost no nicotine uptake if you accidentally swallow snus as a result of the typically extremely low pH in the stomach).....

Joakim,

Very good point that I had never considered. Thank you for your very detailed explanation.

Stomach pH <2.0
Saliva pH 6.3-6.7

Yah I had never thought of this. Thanks for the info!

SNUS EATING CONTEST anyone?

[Tristik]

~~
Wow, that is an incredibly informative post!

This is exactly why the Swedish Snus industry (and SM specifically in this case) kick so much ass. Completely open about products and findings.
~~

[Markus and Joakim]

Thanks a lot. It is exactly this type of open discussion that commits me and Markus to SnusOn and we are very happy when we can be of help.

BR,
Joakim

[RRK]

So what is the ph of the general extra sterk?

[snusjus]

So what is the ph of the general extra sterk?

The majority of Swedish Match snus has a pH of 8.5. I assume GES has the same level.