I’m curious to hear, and expect it might lead to interesting conversation, on how snuff-taking has affected your use of other tobacco products. I’m a fifty something who smoked cigarettes as my main form of tobacco use since the mid-70s. I picked up chewing tobacco and dip use for a while in the Army. Getting into broadcasting as an announcer, I was introduced to inhaling heavy smoked cigars as a way of lowering the voice (that’s a secret on how these “big voice” announcers sound the way they do). I never broke that habit and continued smoking heavily up to quitting cold turkey a few years back. Now that I’m snuff-taking and getting into snuff making, I gave in to an impulse and packed a bowl for smoking. The taste was good, the buzz familiar, the activity reminiscent of past years, but overall I was not all that impressed. The experience was under-whelming. So for me, I can say that having snuff available has already proven as not only an adequate alternative to smoking, I actually seem to prefer it. I look forward to building a collection and exploring snuffs both mellow and exciting. How about you?

I guess it lowers my snus use a little I don’t use too much, I like snus better it’s easier to hide since we’re a “tobacco free college”. I smoke my pipe about 5 times a week, use probably 10 portions of snus on average and dip occasionally.

I smoked the occasional cigarette between 13 and 17, picked up to about a pack a week around 18, quit with snuff, went to a place where everyone smoked and picked up heavily again, quit cigarettes with dip, now I have quit dip with snuff again. Mixed in between 18 and now (20) the occasional (2-3 times a week) pipe. Snuff has saved me lots of hassle (smelling of cigarettes, getting money for cigarettes, having the ‘offensive’ wad of dip in public and around family, etc.) and I’m very grateful that such a wonderful form of tobacco exists. Now I am off cigarettes and dip and I just snuff and smoke a pipe… hopefully I can keep that up without cigarettes coming back into the picture!

Before I took up snuff I would smoke 3-5 pipes a day and now I usually only smoke 1 or 2 pipes a day and 3 on the weekends so it has cut my smoking down considerably which is great because quality snuff is alot cheaper than quality pipe baccy.

Interesting tales. I took snuff up a few months ago with the hope that it would replace Copenhagen dipping. My retina specialist strongly recommended quitting tobacco. After a few weeks–or maybe it was days–I was back on the Cope along with snuff. But now I’ve been off Cope again for a couple weeks, and it feels good. Just don’t feel a strong urge to buy a new tin. My dip use was quite constant, except when sleeping. Now I use snuff in the same way I was dipping: small doses quite consistently. And the drusen in my eyes has not increased–in fact, decreased! So, maybe non-smoke tobacco use does not contribute to macular degeneration. The lit focuses on smoking.

I want to add-- I had been dipping for about 30 years.

@least_weasel Congratulations on quitting the dip! I only dipped for 4 or 5 months and I thought I was going through hell to quit! Much harder to quit than cigarettes, for me at least.

@snuffgrinder – Are you serious?

I haven’t touched any of my pipes since last fall, been snuffing all winter, also quit dip, cope and real seal fine cut. edm

After 27 years of smoking, thanks to snuff and this site, I gave up the cancer sticks 6 months ago and only take snuff now, which I find immensely more pleasurable.

I would say that other tobacco items have affected my use of nasal snuff the most. While I do greatly enjoy nasal snuff, and I honestly have contemplated quitting oral tobacco, maybe it’s the nic, but I haven’t done so, so while some days I use nasal snuff more than others, I usually have a dip, chew, or snus in. If using a snus portion, I might take a sniff too, but with the other stuff I don’t, I don’t want to sneeze if I have a dip in. It’s a mental war with me, because part of me wants to quit it all apart from the nasal, which I don’t think is a bad habit, and it doesn’t make me concerned about my gums, though it may irritate my breathing passages at times.

My nasal snuff use started in about 2008 with the discovery of this forum, and contributed greatly to my cutting down on cigarettes. I didn’t however quit entirely until I started combining snuff and snus. Then my snuff use dropped whilst my snus intake increased. I have now found a happy medium between the two and no longer smoke at all. Well, except when I’m absolutely rotten drunk sometimes…

I tell you what- Nasal snuff is almost an art to me. I find such beauty in it! I love every little thing about snuff. It’s such a pleasureable thing to me. The INSTANT I take snuff I get a nic hit. That euphoria is so much better than smoking IMHO. I also use e-cigarettes but they’re not bad for you. Its a vapor with flavor! That gives me plenty of nicotine and the “hand to mouth” fixation- but the snuff I just simply enjoy, and it gives me the MAOI’s that vaping alone doesn’t deliver. If you vaped you’d understand. I take snuff and vape. Those are my things. Now I can breathe, taste my food, etc. Such a luxurious thing, snuff! I recommend it to alot of people. Don’t smoke- snuff Toque!

It hasn’t helped me cut back or anything - I enjoy a cigarette, good pipe, cope dip… but just a little of each. Snuff has really helped me broaden my appreciation for tobacco, and given me a fun alternative. Sometimes I can’t smell like an ashtray, nor do I want a big cope nic hit, nor the taste of snus - - so that little pleasant smelling snuff with it’s subtle nicotine is nice. It’s nice. Someday I’d like to try the crazy e-cigarettes. I wouldn’t know where to begin or what to get.

@masterbrewer all you gotta do is PM me, or @ddavelarsen. I’d list an ecig forum but I dunno if they want me to here… PM me for more info if you’re interested. Lemme tell you something though- all those times you try not to smell like smoke- you probably STILL DO you just can’t tell EVERYTHING I OWNED smelled like smoke. EVERYTHING. And I even went outside to smoke. Its nauseous how bad it smells to you when you quit smoking altogether. You’ll see what I mean someday. I have faith in you! Snuff and ecigs saved my life. I just know it.

When I started taking snuff a few years ago, I lowered smoking cigarettes. There was even a period of about 3 months when I only used snuff. I found a good one now, and I want to repeat and extend that period! As far as I see it from today, I smoke only a few fags each day, snuff is getting my main thing. So I won’t have a hard time on giving up the damn burning of tobacco!

I do believe that snuff and snus can be life savers, quite apart from the sheer pleasure they can bring. Sweden seems to be a huge social experiment in tolerably safe tobacco use. We are not officially allowed snus in the UK which is an anomally given that smoking is much more dangerous and there is research indicating that snus is relatively safe. Is there however a politician with the bottle to press for it? Not a chance I would say. I’m consistently moving away from tars and gasses to smokeless. Thanks mainly to this site and the info and companionship here, it’s been a real pleasure. (transistor. I think I know what you’re driving at: ‘Therefore, a beetle/FET (field-effect transistor) interface as an innovative biosensor has been developed. This BioFET (biologically sensitive FET) is based on the direct combination of the intact chemoreceptor of an insect with the gate of a FET by means of an electrolyte solution. Depending on the experimental set-up, two different biosensor configurations, namely a whole-beetle BioFET and an isolated-antenna BioFET have been designed. In both configurations, the organic compound that is detected by the beetle initiates a recognition process at its nerve cell membranes, which results in a net potential over the whole insect antenna.’ No wonder you get so much pleasure from snuff. You’re using a field effect transistor to enhance the experience!)

When I started using snus, and then later added snuff, it was to get myself off cigarettes. I’d already tried pipe smoking, which worked to a fair extent, but wasn’t quite enough. The combination of snus and snuff got me down to where cigarettes are an occasional and dwindling indulgence (usually no more than one per day, often none). What surprised me was how much my pipe smoking dropped off, too. Snus for nicotine, a pipe for relaxation, and snuff for pleasure. That’s how it works for me.

I was a heavy smoker who snuffed on the side as a hobby more or less. When the smoking ban came in in the UK I just switched to full time snuffing. My addiction to vitamin N is entirely serviced by snuff but I have the occasional binge on other forms; everything mainstream, particularly US dip and chew also Indian phan, beedees etc. I like tobacco.

Mainly I barely smoke now. I mostly snus and snuff. I never intended to alter my habits. I started snuffing more because my girlfriend doesn’t do well with cigarette smoke. So I got more into snuff because I could do it in my home. Then I figured snus would be great for work so I wouldn’t have to nic between spare cigarette breaks. First thing after trying snus and using snuff casualy I lost all interest in cigs (well occasionaly I’ll really want one). Still touch the pipe on occasion but am less likely too just because it cuts into snuffing time. (actualy the pipe is for contemplation and heavy drinking.)

I used snuff for a couple years before I quit smoking cigs (I still have the rare pipe now and then) but when it came time to give them up, it was a godsend. I’d say it reduced my tobacco use, but snuff led me in to occasional snus and chew, so I guess I broke even. I do feel that the smokeless is considerably less risky, though.

It’s been the one thing to get me away from cigarettes.

How?

OT - I suffered migraine’s irregularly and increasingly. And yet, I’ve had only one incident in the past 4-5 months, after I started replacing smoking with snuff. I think there’s some history to support the belief that this can happen. I don’t want to sound like a quack doctor, this has just been my own experience. I’d be very interested to know if others have noticed a similar effect. snuffster - How indeed.

My cigars and pipes just sit in the respective humidors. I might break out the pipe twice a month. same with the cigars. But I haven’t smoked cig’s since i started snuff over 3 years ago.

I feel better since stopping smoking but that’s down to stopping smoking not snuff. As pro-tobacco as I am I don’t think taking snuff has any health benefits per se, although I think it may make certain symptoms more bearable, eg headaches seem to respond to a pinch of snuff but I’m not sure that’s the same as saying snuff is good for headache type complaints.

I don’t get much from cigarettes after starting snuff.

I’ve seen snuff stop some serious migraines. It definatly works on it sometimes.

which has got to be some kind of vaso-dilation type thing? Like if I am completely congested with a cold, a massive pinch will give me completely free sinuses for a while, downside you have a bunch of crap up there that makes you get a rebound effect.

@Nigel. I disagree. When I have a headache a pich of Hedges soothes it better than any pain killer. Hedges is definately my medicine snuff, it sorts colds out and headaches. Good stuff. Stefan

I have been smoking since 11. Occasionally till I was 12. Then from 13 on about a pack a day. Started dipping at 15, about a can a week, now im smoking 2-6 cigartettes a day, a can of cope snuff a week, and about 10 pinches a day. Hoping to move to 0 cigarettes a day but snuff just doesnt help the craving of the feeling of smoke in my lungs

@Brandasaur Then you need an ecig. Feels like you’re smoking and you get the whole hand to mouth thing… Ecigs and snuff- the only way I quit smoking. They work.

Well I used to smoke cigs and dip, since I found snuff (and this site), I now smoke cigs,dip,smoke pipe the occasional cigar,snuff, hookah here and there, dabble in snus and try any new form of baccy I come across. And I love it all! LOL but I would say it has cut my cig use down specifically.

I hate ecigs, they burn my throat and just dont feel right. Same as the inhalers. Slowly replacing snuff with cigs is working hehe

That almost certainly was from A. the type of liquid you were using or B. Human Error. I know I could find you something that would work. Anythings’ better than smoking.

@snuffster. It’s probably at least partialy vasoconstriction actualy. There seems to be more to it then that. If it was the narrowing of blood vessels Then any nicotine would help. Seems to be a series of effects that really aren’t well looked into. Eventualy we’ll know though.

@walrus1985 dont get me wrong Stefan, I do agree it works very well, especially Hedges, for a headache. In fact an old friend who doesn’t use snuff swears by Hedges for headaches and keeps a can just for that reason. My comment was more about nasal congestion with colds, snuff helps me for a few minutes and then rebounds on me, but then I am a heavy user and no one said you should snuff heavily with a cold! On Ecigs - which I don’t really use- I found a disposable one on vacation for £5, made by 10 motives. I tried it for the hell of it and found it to be exactly like smoking a slightly weaker than average Marlboro light. Surprisingly pleasant and lasted about as lomg as a pack of cigs in total.

Theres several different ecigs out there. Some can be stronger than a cigarette. Some weaker. It depends what strength and nic level you choose. As well as the liquid. You can choose some with a PG base (propylene glycol) or VG base (vegetable glycerine). Often people have allergic reactions to one or the other. I don’t have any but alot do.

@nigel ah right I see what you mean. No worries. Stefan

For me it’s just snuff now and don’t really miss anything else. Might get some chewing tobacco at some stage but that’s it.

I think it’s acted as a gateway to other tobacco products, for me, as I’ve come to love Nicotine through it. It’s made me a bit more adventurous and willing to test oral tobacco - with generally disastrous, stomach turning, results - and pipe smoking, which I now thoroughly enjoy.

It hasn’t really. It just added another form of tobacco use to my ever increasing list.