Since before recorded history, people have been finding ways to get their nicotine fix. For whatever reason the first person had for putting a tobacco leaf in their mouth, they apparently found they couldn’t have just one – kind of like Lay’s® potato chips. Since then, people have chewed it, snuffed it and smoked it to get their nicotine, and Sweden has created snus tobacco products, which are gaining more worldwide recognition.
What is it?
Snus is treated differently than tobacco used for making cigarettes or other tobacco products. Normally, tobacco is air dried, which leads to a certain amount of fermentation and results in the creation of fair amount of ammonia, one of the chemicals linked to cancer. When manufacturing snus, the tobacco leaves are cut into small bands and then sun and air dried. The tobacco is then ground into a powder, which is then heated at around 212 °F for 24 to 36 hours. This results in a ‘wet’ tobacco that is refrigerated to keep it fresh.
How it is Used and Packaged
Snus tobacco is seen as an alternative to smoking, snuff, dipping or chewing. The powder is packaged in small, somewhat teabag size packets that are placed behind the upper lip. The pack stays there and the tobacco juice is swallowed, not spit out; making it much cleaner to use than other tobacco products. It usually comes in a small tin with about 15 packets inside.
This type of tobacco is seen by some as a healthier alternative to smoking and is considered by most health care professionals to be safer than smoking. Not safe, but safer.
Obtaining Snus
American tobacco companies are beginning to make the product, but it hasn’t gained widespread acceptance here yet, so the best way to get snus in through the Internet through TobaccoOnline. They have a wide variety of flavors so you can try a new way to get nicotine that doesn’t involve nasty cigarette butts or spitting.
