We’ve not had one of these for ages and have a ton of new members so…how/why did you start snuffing? My own introduction to snuff was a bit odd; I found an old SP tin in my Dad’s shop, part of which was an engineering buisness and I think it had just been used to hold pins or something. I was about seven and completely intrigued. By hook or by crook I managed to get hold of a couple of different types and I am either ashamed or proud (not sure which) to say I took my first pinch at seven years of age. It blew my head off but of course it threw a switch somewhere! I didn’t take it often but managed to get a little collection going as I loved the tins. My parents - both lifelong teetotal non-tobacco users didn’t really have a clue what it was (I used to wonder how they got their fun in life but I’m one of five so I guess that’s the answer) and shopkeepers didn’t bat an eyelid when selling to a kid in those days. By my teens I was a regular user but this faded out when I started smoking. I’ve used it on and off then for nearly 30 years. When the smoking bans came in for bars and workplaces in the UK in 07 I just decided to make the switch, and used Toque and Wilsons to do so, being surprised how easy it was. So, that’s me, how did you start? (Some of these comments may be used on the Toque website - just let me know if you don’t want that to happen.)
I started using snuff a month ago and I’m 32. How I first found out about it was reading about it on the internet, then I went shopping at my local smoke shop and online if I couldn’t find a certain brand. The reason why I like it is because it seems just as relaxing as taking up a pipe even though I never took up smoking. I guess what intrigued me most about snuff (and tobacco, in general) was when I was was 19 years old, I’d go into this one used book store in my hometown and the owner always smoked a pipe. The scent of the tobacco would mingle in the air and I never could tell what brand of tobacco the owner smoked, but it had this nice mild scent. It made browsing for used books more pleasant because the atmosphere in this certain book store was always relaxed and easy-going. I don’t know if the owner ever used snuff because I never had the nerve to ask, or even ask what brand of pipe tobacco that he smoked, either. Different brands of snuff always take me back to those days. Even though I am a non-smoker, I do miss the days when people could smoke anywhere that they felt like.
I have no idea how I started. It is lost in the mist of time and a touch of mad cow in my brain.
Nice post Kate. I guess you are in the minority of snuff users here because you weren’t a tobacco user - so not a nicotine junky like the rest of us - before you started. I expect you don’t use very much at the moment, do you have any concerns about addiction? For the rest of us we’ve mostly just swapped one nicotine vehicle for another and to the best of my knowledge the only other member who started as a non-tobacco user was Lazarus. Rest assured if you are going to take tobacco its many, many times less harmful than smoking. I used to smoke a pipe - still do on occasion - and in a way snuff is very similar. A good pipe tobacco is all about flavour which is what a good snuff is about. Cigarettes are nothing more than an urge satisfier. There are certain snuffs that take me right back to various points in my life like you. Welcome to snuffhouse kate.
That’s cool too Nachman - snuff is probably the only thing I can give a decent history for, having my own mad cow.
Well, I’m a complete Johnny-Come-Lately with snuff and snus; until I read about Jaap Bes and this site on Wired a few months back, the only thing I knew about snuff was watching Daffy Duck as the Scarlet Pumpernickel taking snuff and sneezing rapid-fire (anybody else remember this one? heheee). But we recently had a daughter, and while we’ve always smoked outdoors and quit smoking in the cars, I decided I didn’t want to smell smoky all the time around her or be jonesing for a butt when I’m taking care of her and can’t step out. So I made the leap! I still do enjoy a butt now and again, but I’m a snuffer/snuser now.
My first experience with snuff was probably around 12 years of age. It was in a little town just over the NC SC state line called Saluda NC. A buddy of mine and I had walked down to the Pace General Store and bought a can of Sweet Scotch and a can of Happy Days dip. On an old logging trail leading back up to the road to the mountain house, we sat down to try our contraband (as you are about to see things do not go so well for the hero of our story). First the snuff. All I remember is that we blew our heads clean off. Two boys running around, eyes watering, going “omygosh omygosh” I remember as the pain began to subside lying back on the bank of the trail and my friend saying “That was horrible. Let’s try the dip” About 3 minutes later and a few hundred feet up the trail and we were both back on the bank enjoying a whole new sort of misery. My next experience with snuff was in college. A friend of mine and I had gotten into a practical joke war. It seemed the battle was going to drag on endlessly to no resolute conclusion. Thus, employing the logic of Truman, to bring a swift end to the war and to save countless lives, I developed and employed the college version of the A-Bomb. Here’s how: I went and bought a can of Honey Bee snuff. Made a paper funnel and poured the contents of the can into the two air vents of his car closest to the driver seat. Aimed both vents inward, then turned the air, radio, and wipers on high. Next I went and hid in the bushes with half the dorm. Folks I am here to tell you that when he turned the key to start the car it was like every window was instantaneously covered in brown paper bags. The car was opaque brown. He came falling out of the driver’s side door eyes red and watering, sneezing and yelling inbetween the ah—chooooose, “I’ve been gassed! I’ve been gassed.” Now in my defense……O never mind.
I wanted to quit smoking, and never had any luck. When the price of my roll-ups more than doubled overnight, I decided to take the plunge again. I wasn’t into making the old man miserable by living with a seriously jonesing bitch, so I did some research on harm reduction nicotine replacements, and I was led to snuff. Been happily smoke free and snuffing since April. Now if I could only get my other half into it. He still smokes, but he’s nice enough to step outside since I no longer smoke.
I started out of curiosity alone. I smoked my first cigarette, which was my first intro to tobacco at 14 years old. The fields behind my house, as a kid, were a sort of place to play. There were swamps and a pond, etc. Well, after school I’d hang out with a friend named Paul. One day he produced a box of Marlboro Reds. I was surprised and fascinated. Of course, he offered me one and I obliged. I didn’t inhale at all. Now, I know that some nicotine was absorbed albeit a paltry amount. This happened for a week or so and then I started buying my own but I went to Camels (honestly, cos they looked cool in the packaging…I was 14). I then got into walking the family dog happily every night and had a smoke before I went to bed. In college it was a pack a day from then until I was 29. I went off of them cold turkey for six months. Then I started dipping. I knew is was going to be a landslide about thirty seconds after I took the first pinch and I did it out of boredom. The dip tore my gums up after a few years so I found Snus. FANTASTIC stuff. Well this got me off of dip and most importantly spitting. It wasn’t good for my constitution. I still take a few snus every day. I started the snuff, again out of pure curiosity. I’ve come to the realization that I have a relationship with Mr. N. that is not going to end right now. Reading that nasal snuff was perhaps less harmful than even snus it was a no brainer that I was going to try it but it took me months of reading and looking at it online every time I ordered from the site I usually get my snus from. I finally broke down and ordered a Toque and a Wilsons’s of Sharrow. Unbeknown to me at the time they were both the same type/style. The waiting got the best of me so I found a shop in a nearby city so I journeyed there to get myself some snuff. I didn’t want menthol and the guy that worked there was little help. I bought WE Garrett scotch and Brutons. The first one almost made my eyes bleed. I was fascinated by the experience. I’m a glutton for that type of burn (or at that time it was pain) so I hit it again. After only a few times I learned to respect the fine grind of this snuff and the fond love I had for the back of my throat. A couple of days later I got my order of the European brands. It was this past June I think and I opened the 25g Toque tin and brought my nose right down to the surface of it. I was almost taken aback by the ammonia scent for a second but I remembered reading how that was considered a good thing. With the first pinch of Toque Original I smiled a very big smile. I took a deep breath, actually I took a couple of deep breaths and almost chuckled a bit. It was wonderful. I then tried the WoS Best SP and that only solidified things more. I was going to be a snuffer now too. I still have a good bit of that WE Garrett can but I’m working on it with diligence and pleasure. There’s enough varieties and tastes in snuff to keep it very interesting indefinitely. At this point I’m snuff and snus only (maybe the occasional cigar) with probably 50/50 as far as nicotine goes as there’s a healthy amount in snus let alone sterk snus. Wow…that’s a long story if you’re still reading. Ha!
Well, my first memory of snuff comes from when I was maybe 7 or 8. I didn’t try it at that time, but I remember taking a trip with my grandparents to go and visit my Great Grandma in Nebraska. She lived in an old farmhouse near Wahoo. While the house itself was overwhelmingly cool, I remember going into my my late great grandfathers shed out back and finding about 10 empty glass bottles of Levi Garrett. I didn’t know what they were, but I thought they were so cool I brought one back into show my mom. I don’t really remember what the explanation was, but in the end I was allowed to take an empty bottle back home with me. That was 24 or so years ago and I don’t remember what happened to the bottle. But, I remember it sat on a shelf in my bedroom for a long time. I wound up getting started on dip and chew around 9th grade while playing baseball. I remember seeing scotch snuff at most the stores where I purchased dip, but never bothered to buy a can until later on in college. I just thought it was for dipping though, a softer alternative when you got tired of Copenhagen, never even tried to snort it. Years later, around 28, I was offered some McChrystal’s O&G by an acquaintance in a bar in Anchorage. I was already snockered, and while I think it was a pleasant experience, I quickly forgot about it and didn’t bother seeking it out. Then, almost a year ago I discovered snus. After making a few orders on the northerner, I ventured into the snuff section. Seeing how cheap they were I ordered about 10 one day on a whim just to try it out. The rest, as they say, is history. There were certainly a few that I didn’t like, and it took me a while to get my technique down, but I took a fancy to it pretty quick. Within a week or so, I was back on ordering more to try. Now, I’m pretty much addicted to the collecting aspect. Even though I snuff throughout the day, I seems to take forever for me to finish a tin. But, I do use a large variety so that’s part of it. Anyway, at some point I need to start my list, I’m pretty sure I’m well over 150 now and it hasn’t even been a year yet. Well, it looks like I’ve rambled on enough about what should have been a simple answer.
Very cool responses and Snuffegnugen - the longer the better, because its all truly fascinating. I thought I was alone in getting into N at an early age but it seems most of you guys were experimenting by a nearby creek or field at about the same time as well. Sniffs - nice one.
I started,to give up smoking.After numerous attempts,snuff finally helped me quit.Its over 3 months now,and has been no great hardship.
@ Snifs: That was too funny. Best practical joke ever.
Snuffster, In answer to your question, your correct, I’m not a nicotine junky. I don’t use very much snuff because I’m a just beginner snuffer. I’m not too worried about becoming addicted as I imagine that I will be sooner or later. My favorite is Gletscher Prise with Columbia Oil. I like the sharp scent of the menthol and seem to prefer that over Gawith Apricot, and Ozona Orange, which are two other favorite snuffs of mine. Thanks for the welcome! - Kate
My story, long and dull: I started smoking at age 12 since both my parents were heavy smokers and cigarettes were always left available around the house. Eventually I just got too curious and started. I got curious about dip when I got to college as many more of my schoolmates used it. Again my curiosity got the better of me. I was 18 then. None of them, however, could explain why it was officially called ‘snuff’ though no one actually called it that. One roommate I had told me that proper snuff still existed and was much finer, but he knew nothing more. I never used it to stop smoking, I just did either one, depending on my mood or the location. When I was either 19 or 20 I finally found some in a shop while visiting Jacksonville, Florida. I bought two tins, both Helme (Swisher). I don’t remember which two they were but looking at my snuff collection today (trying to remember from the pictures on the tins) I think they were Railroad Mills and Three Thistle. I am pretty sure it was not the sweet varieties. I got them mainly as a lark, and tried them when I was in private. I really can’t remember much about my first experience, but I know I tried several times and it really didn’t impress me. I finished off the tins by using them for dip, but didn’t think they were all that good that way either. Eventually the store at my school stopped selling dip, so I gave it up and in hindsight don’t regret it, though I craved it for awhile at first. Smoking was my first and true love so thats all I wanted or needed. Several months out of college (1995 now, and I was 23) I was travelling again, and this time visited a fancy tobacconist in Halifax, Nova Scotia. This guy was loaded with snuff and I got curious again. He was well stocked in G. Smith & Sons snuffs, so again I picked up one on a lark. I got a little glass bottle of Smith’s Lemon. I tried it right away and again a few times afterwards, then put it away and forgot about it. It really didn’t seem to do much for me. After that I got the bottle out once or twice a year and sniffed a little, then got freaked out about how I was going to get it out of my nose again. I never seemed to notice the nicotine either, being a smoker. This past January I got that old bottle out again and thought if I did a little research on the internet I’d figure out if I was doing it right and maybe I could get to like it if I knew what I was doing. A google search for “how to take snuff” eventually led me here to Snuffhouse and I found more than I ever expected. From this forum I learned how to take it properly and also it resolved all squeamishness I had over it. I soon discovered that there was a vast variety of types and flavors and began to collect them. Now I have tried nearly 300 and am still going. Some I don’t care for, most I do, and a few are absolutley wonderful. Somehow, without me fully knowing it, I gradually lost intrerest in smoking. I bought my last pouch of RYO in March and finally finished it a few weeks ago. The forum did entice me into trying snus and pipe smoking, but these are more a supplement to snuff and in their own way eased me away from cigaretttes. I’m quite surprised how little I miss them and without even trying to quit. A year ago I would not have even considered the prospect. Snuff has changed my life. Its now a passion and a hobby. I never thought I’d find a hobby in tobacco but the history and the variety of snuff, as well as the good people of this forum have really been what got me started. Thank you, Snuffhouse! I still have that bottle of Smith’s Lemon. Not much left now, but its a treasure and a symbolic reminder.
I bought a can of Garrett at a cig shop in the mid 80’s. Tried about 3 pinches, sneezed, gagged, tossed the whole tin and promptly forgot about powdered tobacco until Roderick stepped into my life on snuson and offered free samples. I played around with those two samples for over a month trying to figure it out. Once I ran out I knew I had to buy more. One order of ten 10 gram tins later I’m hooked. That was a year ago. So, to shorten up the whole story even more, I blame Roderick. So does Mrs.Bigmick. It’s probably a good thing he is not in the US. LOL
LOL Mick. So does Mrs. Xander. She told me last night Cheese & Bacon is the best Toque snuff. I think she needs her head examined. Blech!
Mrs bigmick refuses to put “that dirt” in her nose. She does use snus sometimes, and smokes 2-3 cigs a day, so she puts up with my other addictions. I’m still waiting to try the C&B. I’ll probably love it.
Great posts guys - Xander, that is anything but dull. I see in you the makings of a Troutstroker! Bigmick - you are right to blame Roderick; I think he’s single handedly started a snuff renaissance, God bless him!
Great reading here!