ear friends, I began to use nasal snuff two months ago, trying to use it to stop smoking. The results are really encouraging, because I’ve just dramatically reduced the number of cigarettes that I normally smoke every day. I usually use many snuff brands…especially english (McChrystals) and german (Poeschl), appreciating the differerences between these varieties. But using snuff isn’t completely safe, as many medical experts remarked. And I’m often afraid of the risks related to a possible cancer in the mouth or in the throat. Up till now I tried every way you suggested to take snuff correctly. But I’m simply still unable to avoid mucus secretions or residual snuff in my throat/mouth !! My question is the following…Is there a sure way to keep/stop the snuff in the nose, avoiding this kind of problems that get me scared?? As I just wrote, up till now I tried every way to avoid them…smaller pinches, light inhaling, frequent nose blowing/cleaning and so on…but simply unsuccessly! I always find mucus secretions and residual snuff in my throat, after every pinch…Let’s be honest with ourselves…are these problems pratctically INEVITABLE, or is there a SURE way to take snuff, avoiding them COMPLETELY?? Please, help me with your suggestions…because I just became a “snuff-maniac”, I verified its efficiency to reduce smoking and I would be very sorry to be forced to give up this way to appreciate tobacco, because of my fears of a possible larynx cancer…Thanks a lot in advance for your suggestions and…sorry for the bad quality of my english (!!) I’m italian speaking…
Try scrunching your nose up when you sniff, like you’ve got snot drainage in the back of you through that you’re trying to clear, then just sniff lightly. Also bring the snuff a little further from your nose when you sniff and rub your fingers together to get it to follow the air into your nose. I would say that it is practically invetable with American Dry Snuffs, but with the EU varieties that are courser, heavier, and moister you should be very successfull in keeping the snuff in the very front of your nose.
Like Roderick I posted twice. I don’t know of any way to totally prevent “mucus secretions” with snuff. But mentholated snuffs such as your preferred McCrystals or Poschl will cause more secretion than a non mentholated snuff. As far as using a saline spray with your snuff, I would not suggest this if your trying to minimize the drainage into the throat. The added moisture from the spray will make it easier for the snuff to drain back into the throat. I feel that the the health benefit you will have if you quit smoking will out way any health concerns from snuff use. I really do not think there is a big enough health concern with the small amount of snuff that does make it into the back of the throat to really worry about. It is a very small amount. If you are concerned with this “drainage” then you can just blow your nose as you feel it happening. The biggest health concern I could see worrying over would be a polyp in the nasal canal. This next paragraph was done by the Department of Otolaryngology at the Philipps University in Germany. With cigarette smoking declining in the modern world, the tobacco industry has to look for other products that can keep the old customers and attract new ones. Different forms of smokeless tobacco are currently massively promoted and are gaining in importance. Dry nasal snuff–the oldest known form of tobacco in Europe–is one of them. The health risks associated with it are different to those attributed to smoking and oral wet snuff. The nicotine contained leads to dependency. Its resorption rate is similar to that of smoking, so it could be seen as an adequate substitutional therapy. The risk for cardiovascular diseases is lower, compared to that for smokers. Chronic abuse leads to morphological and functional changes in the nasal mucosa. Although it contains substances that are potentially carcinogenic, at present, there is no firm evidence, relating the use of nasal snuff to a higher incidence of head and neck or other malignancies. This one is from the American Buddhist Society. Dr Michael Russell, father of tobacco addiction research: “Snuff could save more lives and avoid more ill-health than any other preventive measure likely to be available to developed nations well into the 21st century”. “Switching from cigarettes to snuff could have enormous health benefits”. Snuffing has two major advantages… Firstly there are no products of combustion such as tar, carbon monoxide and oxides of nitrogen. Secondly it cannot be inhaled into the lungs, which eliminates any risk of lung cancer. This report is from the Sheffield Exchange. Because snuff is becoming so popular, many have questioned its health issues. Like any tobacco product there is a risk, but in 261 years of snuff making, Wilsons & Company has yet to have a single health case filed against them. According to Dr. Rodu, a leading pathologist studying cancer and tobacco, it’s the burning and inhaling of tobacco that creates most carcinogens. Many specialists feel that, for health reasons, if you are going to use tobacco, you are better off with a smokeless tobacco, like nasal snuff. As far as snuff use, I strongly believe you are at higher risk of health problems by drinking soda or cola (Pepsi, Coke, etc), eating fried food, breathing the air of a big city, breathing the air on a highway, everyday molds we breathe, eating processed foods, alcohol consumption, etc.
@ Roderick, Unless you buy your snuff from the Bantu tribes, you are right. The snuff made and used by the Bantu tribes in the Transvaal is strongly carcinogenic and the prime cause of cancers of the upper jaw in that region. There has been a reported case study of a patient who placed snuff in his ear, eventually developing cancer at that site.
@ snuffcurious, for reasons mentioned above I doubt you need to worry about mouth/throat cancer from snuff considering the info we have available on the subject. I’d worry more about cigarettes and oral tobacco use. Both my father and father-in-law are throat cancer survivors. My father has smoked his whole life and unfortunately still does. I don’t believe he ever used any chewing tobacco and I’m sure he never used any nasal snuffs. As for my father-in-law, he was also a cigarette smoker but I’m not sure if he used oral tobaccos. Again, he never used nasal snuffs. If I ever end up with throat cancer I’ll be forced to think it was the 24 years of cigarettes that caused it, not snuff. I have to agree with Troutstroker that there’s higher risks associated with many everyday items/situations. Even if I only used organic fruits and vegetables for the rest of my life I’m sure its too late considering all the pesticides I’ve already consumed. I would like to know which snuffs are the least processed and most natural by the time we get them. Some that I’ve tried I really have to wonder what the heck is in them. Anyone have any info on this?
@ onefortheroad, On all reports of American snuff, Dental is supposed to be the healthiest American choice, as far as tsna amounts etc. @ snuffcurious For tobacco products, what almost every report says: Tobacco use may increase your risk for damaged health. This report is based on long term tobacco users. Well that can be said about anything used over long term. Like aspartame found in diet cola. It is far worse than anything you will get out of snuff. Another thing to consider, Cancer is genetic, you either have the cancer gene or you don’t. For those that do, things like smoking etc. just turns the key on faster. Those who have gotten cancer from tobacco, there is no way to say that they would not have gotten cancer anyway even without using tobacco.
Report from Medical College in India. Explains a little better about the Bantu tribe snuff. Also that there hasn’t been a reported case of nasal snuff causing cancer since 1761. The association between nasal snuff and malignancy is not well established. There is epidemiological evidence suggesting that oral tobacco when mixed with lime and betel leaves causes oral cancer in the Indian subcontinent. Similarly, snuff spiced with dried aloe has been reported to cause upper jaw malignancies in the Bantu tribes. The last reported case of nasal snuff causing cancer of the nose was described by John Hill in 1761. We describe here a case of a 69-year-old woman who developed a nasal vestibular malignancy after 30 years of snuff usage, and this, we believe, is the only reported case of nasal snuff causing cancer in the last 2 centuries.
Betel nuts have been reported to be carcinogenic. I would assome the same would apply to the leaves, but I haven’t looked for information. Betel Nut chewing and cancer [quote]Betel nut (Areca catechu) is ‘chewed’ (held in the mouth and sucked) widely in South and Southeast Asia. It is associated with throat, mouth, and oesophagal cancers and there have been a number of laboratory and survey research projects which appear to positively tie betel use with these cancers. Betel is also used in mixtures often called “Pan Masala” which is sometimes added to chewing tobacco and sometimes used without tobacco. Research into the use of Pan Masala, both with and without tobacco, indicate that Betel likely causes throat and mouth cancers with prolonged use.[/quote]
@samorost, read comment #5, that was with the snuff used by the Bantu Tribes. And its not really considered ‘nasal snuff’ if its placed in the ear. & comment #8: The last reported case of nasal snuff causing cancer of the nose was described by John Hill in 1761. We describe here a case of a 69-year-old woman who developed a nasal vestibular malignancy after 30 years of snuff usage, and this, we believe, is the only reported case of nasal snuff causing cancer in the last 2 centuries. And who knows how accurate they were in 1761 on the diagnosis. She may have had the cancer gene to begin with. And instead of it developing in the breast it developed in the nose???
Yeah I’ve tried putting it in my ear I will say it works in fact though it’s not that diffrent from sticking cotton in your ear and it doesn’t have any nice smell either. It definately felt wrong. Though sometimes you do just have to know.
“Though sometimes you do just have to know.” Yeah, and sometimes you just have to take a person’s word on it. Which, in this case, I think I’ll be taking yours.
I don’t know if I would put directly into ear but rather rub some on the bowl area just outside the ear canal. I think you would get a better nic hit if you used a super fine snuff & mixed it in with visine & used in the eye. Or maybe pull your lower eye lid out & put a pinch in.
I already experienced it. You can read about it in my post A new way to snuff