I know you’re not burning the tobacco but is it still bad for your health?

My assessment is that when taken in moderation and where there are no clear contraindications it is no more harmful than use of other similar products when used responsibly and in reflection of how it affects you the user. In terms of harm reduction I have seen where if faced with making a choice in how to get nicotine- nasal snuff presented the least overall risks when compared against other smokeless tobacco products and smoking. Because most snuffs contain nicotine and since nicotine is a substance that is known to increase heart rate and blood pressure- it may be contraindicated for those who have an underlying medical condition that would be aggravated by such. Much of the reporting on nasal snuff is very limited in scope whereas other forms of tobacco use have been studied in depth. This does not say that there is lacking ‘proof’ that nasal snuff is either with or without risk, just that as opposed to oral or smoked tobacco there have been fewer studies. In the end and as an adult I have made the conscious decision to switch to nasal snuff based on my personal desire to use it and in some respects- to reduce the potential harm linked to smoking. Each adult consumer must do the same if they choose to use any substance such as tobacco- regardless of the manner of consumption. This is my non-medical professional take on the question. I am sure other more well heeled snuff users will have greater clarity or perhaps links to what may help answer this question further.

Until we do a study involving millions and millions of identical twins, all with exactly the same life styles and consumption patterns, and with the only real difference between them being that one regularly uses nasal snuff and the other doesn’t, we’ll never really know. It’s not like cigarettes, which were an epidemiologist’s dream, what with a lovely large sample size, consistently similar products consumed and patterns of consumption, crossing all class, ethnic and income groups. Fantastic! You can draw really meaningful conclusions. So, you’ll find a handful of flawed studies, most of which seem to indicate the smokeless tobacco is either not quite as bad as smoking or much less bad. Or you can trust your feelings about it. Personally, smoking cigarettes makes me feel like crap. Taking snuff has the opposite effect. I don’t notice any shortness of breath, coughing or anything like that. It seems to work for me.

Mostly Harmless http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a6/Mostly\\_Harmless\\_Harmony\\_front.jpg

Oh man it is deadly you should send me all your snuff for I can depose of it carefully >:)

Its a lot safer than crossing the street

I would not be extraordinarily surprised to find that heavy snuff use carries a slight risk of nasopharyngeal cancer. It’s not very well-studied, there’s no evidence right now that it causes cancer (no well-controlled studies have found it) but there haven’t been many well-controlled studies. There used to be no evidence smoking tobacco caused cancer. Nasal snuff does contain much more TSNAs than, say, snus, at least some kinds do. But we know smokeless tobacco like American dip is still much safer than smoking even when it comes to oral/throat cancers. Also it stimulates the heart but there’s no carbon monoxide. So we don’t really know, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some negative effects but they’re certainly less prevalent than with cigarettes. A lifetime of dipping - which delivers higher doses of nicotine than snuff and is known to contain plenty of TSNAs - reduces the average dipper’s life by a couple of weeks compared to a decade for somkers, nasopharyngeal cancers are just not super common.

Oh yeah I know your snuff is very low TSNA as are a lot (all?) Euro snuffs, but I know American snuffs have plenty of TSNAs and I’m not sure about African/Indian snuffs but if they’re flue-cured they probably have their fair share too. Am I correct that any flue-cured tobacco that’s not steam pasteurized will produce TSNAs?

Ah I see; still that certainly leaves it an open question whether each and every European manufacturer, let alone African and Asian ones, use flue-cured tobacco or not. I mean they certainly still use them in American cigarettes so I don’t see why they wouldn’t (or shouldn’t, necessarily) use them in some snuffs. I wouldn’t be surprised if something like SG KB is still made with flue-cured tobacco, for example. But really I’m talking out of my butt here and speculating. Even if some snuff DOES contain TSNAs the cancer risks, if any, are certainly much much lower than for smoking and probably lower than for dipping too. After all a relatively small pinch of snuff is in one’s nose for maybe five minutes before it gets blown out while with dip you hold a big wad in there for 30+ minutes.

After all a relatively small pinch of snuff is in one’s nose for maybe five minutes before it gets blown out while with dip you hold a big wad in there for 30+ minutes.

Actually, you can not blow out all the tobacco from your nose. There is always some left in the corners etc.

Ah true enough I guess, and some drips down the throat; still if you just look at the amount of plant matter a snuffer uses it’s maybe 5-10g at most, I see dippers take a pinch of tobacco for breakfast that would make enough snuff to last all day.

That is right. Our daily snuff dose is one their dip dose.

Horus, Look at the ‘WHO’ post. We put a graph up that shows the TSNA content of our snuff. As can be seen it is so low we had to stretch the graph just to get the numbers on the paper. Lower than dip and lower than snus and lower than tomato ketchup. People think I’m joking when I say tomato ketchup but I’m not. In Parts Per Million you are more likely to get stomach/bowel cancer from tomatoes, potatoes, okra, eggplant, peppers and any other deadly nightshade (due to their high TSNA levels) than nasal cancer from snuff.

Well said!

My wife and I were talking about the long history of snuff and health related issues (or lack thereof). I said, “In over 200 years of snuff use, the people who used it…” My wife interrupted with a smile, “They all died.” So there you have it. The people who used snuff 200 years ago all died.

^ so did the people who didn’t use snuff

^ so did the people who didn’t use snuff

Exactly.

There’s a 678 year old Chinese guy who lives in a cave somewhere. He uses snuff regularly, apparently. I read it in the newspaper, it much be true.

It is extremely harmful. I suggest you save yourself and quit immediately. I will be happy to take that awful stuff off your hands and dispose of it for you!

It’s hell of a lot better for you than smoking. There is scientific studies to back that, much like with Snus (two of the safest forms of tobacco in my opinion). Yes there is SOME risk involved when it comes to snuff. But then again there is SOME risk involved when ever you drive to work or decide to eat something (food poisoning). I say relax and just enjoy it.

NO is the answer to the second question

I don’t know, after seeing my Mr. Snuff and Toque orders show up on my credit card statement, I’d say snuff is very harmful. Maybe not to my health, but at least to my wallet.

My wife and I were talking about the long history of snuff and health related issues (or lack thereof). I said, “In over 200 years of snuff use, the people who used it…” My wife interrupted with a smile, “They all died.” So there you have it. The people who used snuff 200 years ago all died.

Yep. I get the logic. Here is more of that kind of “thinking”… “It has been determined that in each and every case of a death of a human being, it is a fact that the person’s heart stopped beating. Therefore, everyone dies of heart disease.” Or how about this bit of “logic”… “In every single case of divorce that is known to have occurred, each and every one of those divorces was preceded by and correlated with marriage. Therefore, marriage is clearly the cause of divorce.” Heh-heh. 8-}

is taking snuff harmful well “yes” if you help your self to my snuff with out asking X( but ask me for some snuff and its nice and safe

@BarkingLeopard It certainly is a hobby that will harm your bank account, however, it is completely worth it.

@peter77 Oh, agreed. I can already tell that my biggest snuff challenge will be tracking my opinions on all the snuffs I ordered and ensuring that I use the snuffs with the more volatile flavors before they lose too much of their flavor.

I was smoking but after switching to snuff my health condition got better, so I really believe that snuff is much better thatn

Everything in life carries some level of risk and some things even the potential of harm. Not everyone will be troubled by what “could” happen as a result of doing something- be it skydive, taming of tigers, taking snuff or partaking of spirits, but those that do enter into the activity knowing of the potential. As an aside and purely anecdotal at-best but I would say that since putting down the cigarettes I feel much better. And unqualified by anything other than my own experience, but my wife and both kids were visited by what everyone calls the “funk”. A cross between the flu, a cold and some type of stomach bug; with accompanying symptoms and suffering. Tap on wood, but I have felt nothing of the sorts. While I can only anecdotally link snuff in my nose and perhaps down in my GI track as killing whatever it is off, I think there is something to it- despite being around my suffering family these past weeks AND having my fingers at my nose multiple times a day.

Yeah when I start smoking cigarettes again for a couple days (something I do maybe every two months or so) I feel much more tired, grosser, heavier, less energy, etc. Snuff is so clean, just a good hit of nicotine with none of the other crap.

I wouldn’t drive after taking big pinch of NB madras.That could be harmful 8-X

It’s hell of a lot better for you than smoking. There is scientific studies to back that, much like with Snus (two of the safest forms of tobacco in my opinion). Yes there is SOME risk involved when it comes to snuff. But then again there is SOME risk involved when ever you drive to work or decide to eat something (food poisoning). I say relax and just enjoy it.

Actually, snus is very harmful.

I have read somewhere that nicotine lowers HDL - good cholesterel - level. I had CBC recently, today I got the results - my HDL is 45… (minimum is 40, optimum >60). I do not know if it has something to do with snuff though, just sayin’.

^^^^^^^ You can’t believe everything you read :^o some research is byass [bias] in that it supports a different agenda. For years they claimed tobacco causes cancer. one day they say eggs are bad later they say they are good. As an adult with a terminal disease called life, I am free to choose the vice that delights.

It’s hell of a lot better for you than smoking. There is scientific studies to back that, much like with Snus (two of the safest forms of tobacco in my opinion). Yes there is SOME risk involved when it comes to snuff. But then again there is SOME risk involved when ever you drive to work or decide to eat something (food poisoning). I say relax and just enjoy it.

Actually, snus is very harmful.

According to what scientific research? The only thing snus is harmful to is the big tobacco and pharmaceutical companies

The snus research showed a slightly elevated risk of pancreatic cancer, but not enough to be conclusive. The risk of pancreatic cancer in cigarette smokers was substantially higher. That was the only associated danger I have read about.

The snus research showed a slightly elevated risk of pancreatic cancer, but not enough to be conclusive. The risk of pancreatic cancer in cigarette smokers was substantially higher. That was the only associated danger I have read about.

That study showed double the risk of Pancreatic cancer over a non tobacco user. From 2 in 100,000 to 4 in 100,000. For smokers the number was 8. I got better odds of winning the lottery. ( There has been some debate over the methods used in that study, which may invalidate all the findings.)

I wouldn’t count on good medical care saving you if you get pancreatic cancer. About 100 % fatal and one of the nastiest, most painful cancers. But I don’t think your odds of getting it are very high. Although my father was one of the unlucky ones. I remember he asked the doctors if he should stop smoking and they said, Frankly, at this stage it won’t change much. He died with a Camel no filter in his hand, pretty much.

I wouldn’t count on good medical care saving you if you get pancreatic cancer. About 100 % fatal and one of the nastiest, most painful cancers.

Don’t talk like this. I’ve got vegetative neurosis and I feel dizzy when I read such stuff. There is always hope (I hope).

@Viertel, he lived the way he chose and had a full life, if a very unconventional one. One of the last things he said to me was: “I really recommend you don’t smoke – but don’t worry too much about drinking, there’s a lot of good in it.” So, to honor his memory and his advice, here I am on snuffhouse.

A bit dated (depending on if you think 2003 was a long time ago) but this is a nice read. http://www.researchgate.net/publication/9049763\\_Nasal\\_snuff\\_historical\\_review\\_and\\_health\\_related\\_aspects/file/50463516f60bd173bb.pdf

Is switching to snuff a better health alternative for the cigarette smoker? Probably only in terms of avoiding the negative health effects associated with the tobacco combustion products on the cardiopul- monary system.14,19 The most important pathological mechanism – the one of nicotine dependency and abuse – remains.

I wouldn’t say that nicotine abuse is the main pathological mechanism. It increases exposure to smoke-derived carcinogens that I’ll concede, but alone nicotine is merely a stimulant with a few contraindications. Sorry, that’s my degree in Medical Bioscience speaking…

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2247097/ There was pretty strong evidence (p<.05) that use of nasal snuff increases the rate of gingival cancer by about 400% in Indian users. However gingival cancer is not that common; let’s assume the worse and that we’re all 4 times more likely to get it. That means you’d have a 1 in 2,380 chance of getting it. Nasal cancer is even rarer: the incidence would be about 1 in 12,500 if we were 4 times more likely to get it. Or let’s go nuts and say you’re 10x as likely to get it, that’s still only a 1 in 250 chance. And this is with Indian snuffs which are most certainly not steam-pasteurized. So those numbers should help anyone sleep easy. Oral use of snuff is a another story though with really strong associations with cancer (15x relative risk).

I would think for gingival cancer it would have to be oral use? Nasally I can’t seen how snuff would even contact the gingiva, except maybe the occasional spitting of a drip.

That’s a good point and I’m not sure; I’ll have to ask an ENT resident next time I run into one at work haha.

Oral snuff use means it has contact for much longer with mucus membrane, nasal snuff users in India have increased symptoms of blocked nose, runny nose but nasal use is somewhat different as you nose washes away the snuff, as its self cleaning. Nasal cancer is very rare even in snuff users according to the literature. Everything or most things hve a risk, look at death in motor accidents and you might not drive. I guess I am addicted so slightly bias!

I go from time to time on periodic visit at the doctor. “Smokers go to the periodic testing, why shouldn’t snuffers go?” - I thought. So I was at the laryngologist today, again - she said my nose is fine. When I said I take snuff and asked if it may cause troubles, she said “just use nasal saline and it will be fine”. It is fourth doctor who says so and recommends nasal saline. So now I can truly believe in that.

On this date 12 years ago, I was on day ten of a 3-week induced coma due to acute pancreatitis. Came so close to buying the one-way ticket that they had my missus come to the ICU on new year’s eve to say her goodbyes. I was smoking a million cigs a day around that time in my life but the docs didn’t mention that, just my colossal alcohol intake…( which has ever since been hugely curtailed, I might add ).

Live healthy,eat right ,exercise, die anyway. We are only here for a short time enjoy yourself.  <:-P

I take all health / hazard claims with a pinch of… well, I don’t put too much faith in them, let’s put it that way. In days gone by, they didn’t have the technology we do today. Today, not enough people use snuff to warrant full research. The only people likely to want to pay for such research are people wanting to “find” a certain result (whether pro or anti). There’s a marginal at best chance of a nasal cancer (none positively identified in the past). However, your nose cleans itself by flushing backwards and you swallow it, so there are whatever risks that exist from swallowing tobacco. Many hazards are also person related in terms of potential risk. Is it harmful? Probably! Though how, and to what extent, is unlikely to ever be extensively studied. Even if it is studied, the results are very unlikely to be unbiased. What will be, will be. The only thing I do know is that one day, something will end my ride on this celestial rock, and it may or may not be attributed to something I have had direct control of. All I hope is that the time I do have is largely pleasant, and my presence on this rock has been of benefit to somebody, somewhere

From personal experience, I feel like snuff is the best way to go. I’ve tried virtually every type of tobacco/nicotine product at one point in my life and yet here I am back on the full time snuffing. Even 8 weeks of vaping makes me feel worse than 8 years of nasal snuff. I feel snus is a pretty safe one as well but there just isn’t enough nicotine in most snus and the price difference make it not worth it for me.

I haven’t had any readily observable negative side effects from snuff yet, but it’s early going. Still, it didn’t take this long for me to feel the negative side effects of cigarette smoking, so I figure I’m better off using snuff. I will say that having come to snuff by way of snus, I’m finding that I get an unusual feeling of stomach discomfort from snus lately. Once I’m done with my present supply, I don’t think I’ll be ordering any more, and I’m going to be scaling back my usage. Your mileage may vary… I just figure if it makes you feel bad, don’t do it. Unless we’re talking about going to work or getting those chores done your wife’s been mentioning.

Copenhagen moist snuff was my first tobacco product and I used it for a few years. In the mid to late 80s, I used leaf chew, tried a few tins of Dr Rumney’s, started cigarettes, and tried the occasional pipe and cigar. I’ll just say I wish I had continued snuff all those years in between then and now, instead of cigarettes.