NASAL SNUFF use explained by Tropical Bob

SNUS use explained by Kitabz

What is it?
Snus is a tobacco product originating from Sweden (since the early part of the 1800s).
In its simplest form it is made up of dried and ground up tobacco plus water and salt.
However most commercial varieties contain the above plus:

* humectants - either or both propylene glycol (E1520) and glycerol (E422)
* Sodium bicarbonate (E500)
* Flavourings

Humectants help keep the snus moist, sodium bicarbonate raises the alkalinity to aid nicotine absorption and flavourings, unsurprisingly, give each brand a distinctive taste.
Snus made in Sweden is regulated by the Swedish food authority.

How is it used?
Snus is placed in the mouth next to the gum. The nicotine is released into the mucous membranes over a period of time with a peak at around 15 minutes. Users keep snus in their mouths for anywhere between 30 minutes and several hours; the average is around one hour.

What types are available?
Snus is divided into two main categories: loose (lös) and portions (pouches). This is somewhat analogous to smoking tobacco being available as either loose (roll-your-own) or ready-made (cigarettes). The difference is that loose snus can, and usually is, used without any wrapper, i.e., it is placed directly against the gum although it can be wrapped up manually first with tissue, cheesecloth or similar.

Loose snus comes in different grinds (fine, course) and portions come in different sizes (mini, portion/regular, maxi). Portions are subdivided into further categories (portion, white, purified); further details of these varieties will be given later. In addition, snus comes in different strengths, this being the quantity of nicotine per gram (g) of snus expressed in milligrams (mg). Nicotine strength varies from around 8mg/g to 17mg/g.

How much is used per day?
In Sweden, the average male consumption is equivalent to 12 regular portions per day and the average female consumption is 8 regular portions per day. Male consumption is divided between loose and portions at around 40%/60% respectively. Female consumption divides at around 10%/90%.

How is it made?
The ingredients are mixed up then heat pasteurised for several days to kill any bacteria. Some of the above listed additional ingredients may be added during this process rather than at the beginning. For loose snus, except for packaging, this is the end of the process. For portions, the snus is wrapped and sealed inside small teabag-like material and, depending on the style, may also be soaked in tobacco juice prior to packaging. The purpose of the mini-teabag is to contain the snus thereby making it easier and more discrete to place in the mouth and then remove later.

How is it packaged?
Snus is bought in small cans made of either plastic or metal containing, typically, 40-45 grams of loose snus or 20-24 portions of portioned snus (this equates to between 10 and 24 grams of snus depending on the size of the portion). Ten cans can be packaged together and sold as a roll. Rolls are less expensive than ten individual cans (between 5% and 10% less depending on the brand).

Is it legal?
Snus is not legal for sale anywhere within the European Union except Sweden however it is legal to purchae and use anywhere with the European Union. Most buy online.
Snus is available for purchase and use within Norway (not part of the European Union) and certain parts of Denmark due to a loophole within the EU law.
Snus is legal for purchase and use within the United States and Canada.
Snus made in Thailand is available for purchase and use in Thailand.
Snus is not legal for purchase in Australia although snus may be brought in for personal consumption.

Portion Snus:

Loose Snus:

Main Types
As mentioned in part 1, the two main types are loose and portioned also known as lös and pouches.
For loose snus, other than the grind, moisture level, flavour and strength there are no further variations between different brands. Since I am not a loose user (much), I am not the right person to go into the ins and outs of loose snus and how to use it but I can point anyone in the right direction should they wish to know more. What I will say is that it is quite messy to use, at least in the beginning. The main benefits of loose snus compared with portions are cost (around half the price), finer control over quantity used, less irritation from the portion material and allegedly flavour (I’m not convinced about this one).

The more popular portioned snus is trickier to explain because there are several subtypes and further categorisations within those. This is further complicated by multiple uses of the word “portion”. The word “portion” is used to describe all portions in general, also one of the sizes, also one of the strengths and also one of the styles/finishes so this can be somewhat confusing to start with.

Sizes
The easiest way to describe the choices available is to first divide portions into three main categories according to size:

1. Mini – these contain around 0.5g of snus – the second most popular size
2. Portion – these contain around 1g of snus – the most popular size
3. Maxi – these contain around 1.7g of snus – this third most popular size

Cigarette analogy:

1) original/short size,
2) king size and
3) superking size (these are UK descriptions)

Nicotine Strengths
Nicotine strength can be added to the above as follows and describes the nicotine content per gram except for purified portions. Because purified portions have no water content at all, they weigh considerably less; their nicotine content is described in absolute terms (per portion) rather than per gram.

1. Purified only – 6mg per portion
2. Portion or unstated – around 8mg per gram
This strength is available in all sizes and is the default; if it is not stated, this is what it will be
3. Strong – around 11-13mg per gram (also know by the Swedish “Stark” or “Sterk”)
This strength is only available in mini and portion sizes (not maxi)
4. Extra strong – around 15-17mg per gram (also known by the Swedish “Ekstra Stark/Sterk”)
This strength is only available in portion size (neither mini nor maxi)

Cigarette analogy:
1) eclipse,
2) light,
3) regular,
4) high strength

The thing to bear in mind with the strengths is that, aside from the purified portions which are a special case, the descriptions above are relative to the portion size in terms of overall nicotine delivered. A regular portion will have 8mg of nicotine (because it weights one gram) but a strong mini will also have around the same or slightly less because it weighs half as much but has nearly twice the strength of tobacco. Similarly a strong one gram portion will deliver around the same nicotine as a maxi portion because the higher strength nicotine in the strong one gram portion is equalised by the maxi’s larger size.

Finish or Style
For some of the above there are further subdivisions to describe the finish or style:

1. Purified – these contain purified tobacco plus cellulose filler and are completely dry. This style releases the nicotine relatively quickly but also lasts for the least amount of time. Because they are made from purified nicotine, there is no tobacco flavour at all. Any flavours that this style of portion may have are added during manufacture (and there is one brand which is completely flavourless by design).
This type only comes in the mini size, indeed it is thinner than a mini but around the same width and length.
2. Portion or regular – these have been lightly sprayed with tobacco liquid. The causes the nicotine to be released more quickly but has the side effect that they can be a little "drippy". Although spitting is not technically required with snus, some portion snus in this category can cause quite a bit of saliva to be produced.
This type comes in all sizes and strengths.
3. White – these have not been sprayed with tobacco liquid and are mostly dry to the touch however they are still around 50% water (inside the pouch), similar to previous item, it is just that the teabag material has not been additionally sprayed. This type comes in both the mini and the regular size but not the maxi. White portions have a less noticeable taste to start with and take longer to "kick in" than regular portions. However, the flavour and nicotine tend to last for longer.
This type comes in all strengths except extra strong (to date).

Cigarette analogy:
1) eclipse,
2) unfiltered,
3) filtered

You can see from the above where the multiple use of the word “portion” becomes confusing:

Q. Was it a mini? A. No, it’s was a portion.
Q. Was it an extra strong? A. No, it was a portion.
Q. Was it a white? A. No, it was a portion.

In the beginning there was only one type of portion. The minis and maxis were added later, the different strengths were also added later and then the non-sprayed (whites) and purified portions were added later so all of the additional choices have new names whereas the original variety does not, it’s just a portion and this covers size, strength and style.

Colour
Finally, there is colour which describes the colour of the teabag material. Originally there was just one type of material which, before spraying with tobacco liquid was white in colour. The sprayed portions naturally become a light brown colour after treatment. The portions that are not sprayed remain white in colour hence the name “white”. The ones that are sprayed are of course just called “portion” and not “browns”.

So far, so good.

But, to further complicate matters, some manufacturers decided to release teabag material in a black colour so there is now the paradoxical situation where a so-called “white” portion is actually black in colour. This would be straightforward if it could be said that all “blacks” are actually “whites” but sadly this is not the case. There is at least one portion (sprayed) which comes in a black colour (LD Black by Gallagher) so it is best to think of colours as a distinct (and largely irrelevant) category to the finish/style one detailed above. It is said that the black material is softer than the original white material so it’s best to mention why there is a distinction at all (other than aesthetics or marketing).

By this point most people have given up trying to understand everything and have gone back to smoking

Here is a table showing the various permutations (I’ve included “n/a” gaps where there are currently no products in the marketplace but where some could be in the future).

Size____Strength__Style_____Colour__Example brand
Purified___Purified__Purified____White___Oomph Citrus & Menthol
Mini______Portion___Portion____Brown___Granit Mini Portion
Mini______Portion___White_____White___General Mini White
Mini______Strong____Portion___Brown___Taboca Strong Mini
Mini______Strong____White_____White___n/a
Portion___Portion___Portion____Brown___Ettan Portion
Portion___Portion___Portion____Black___LD Black
Portion___Strong____Portion___Brown___Nick (& Johnny) Strong
Portion___Strong____Portion___Black___n/a
Portion___Strong____White_____White___Skruf Stark White
Portion___Strong____White_____Black___General Onyx
Portion___Extra_____Portion___Brown___Odens Extra Stark Kanel
Portion___Extra_____White_____White___n/a
Maxi_____Portion___Portion___Brown___Granit Maxi portion

Here are some pictures of snus showing their comparative sizes in relation to a UK 5 pence piece and a USA dime (they are roughly equal in size).

What you can see above from left to right are:

1) Mini - Mocca mint (5mg)
2) Mini - Tre Ankare (4mg)
3) Purified - Oomph Citrus & Lemon (6mg)
4) White (black!) - General Onyx (11mg)
5) White - General Sterk (11mg)
6) Portion - 1847 by Philip Morris (8mg)

Items #4 & #5 are notable because despite being stronger than than #6, they are actually smaller and additionally come in a wedge shape which can be seen below:

The mg figures given above are for the item itself and not per gram as described in the previous sections (just to confuse you)