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.
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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.
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Oh man it is deadly you should send me all your snuff for I can depose of it carefully >:)
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Its a lot safer than crossing the street
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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That is right. Our daily snuff dose is one their dip dose.
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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!
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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.
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^ so did the people who didn’t use snuff
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^ so did the people who didn’t use snuff
Exactly.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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NO is the answer to the second question
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