Ask @lunecat I believe he was a non-smoker and started snuffing. Is he addicted to snuff now or is it just a habit? I’d say the latter…
@smirple As has been said, it’s down to you if you want to risk nicotine addiction, however I would like to add, the addiction from smokeless is far less harsh than from stinkies. If you control your snuff consumption to a view pinches every hour or so I don’t think it will present much of a problem and just use the medium nicotine varieties like Toque for example.
If you’re over eighteen, you can make the decision for yourself. You did say try it. I very much doubt that buying a few tins of snuff and taking a few pinches would commit you irretrievably to a five gram a day habit. You might decide you like it, then start using more, then end up with a five gram a day habit, but that’s different. I really think it’s a bit like a non-coffee drinker asking if he should try a cup or not because he’s worried he might end up addicted to caffeine. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that anyone use “drugs”, either – except antibiotics when they are at the risk of gangrene, perhaps. But “drugs” is a very loaded, non-neutral term. I make a habit of drinking a cayenne pepper and cocoa concoction every morning, but they are natural plant products, so they must be good for you – while weed and tobacco are produced in a huge industrial plant down in Mexico (haha). To me, snuff tobacco falls into the category of psychoactive plant proudct, like coffee, cocoa, tea, weed, coca leaves, gingko, damiana, and opium. Also deadly nightshade and magic mushrooms. Many psychoactive plants can be poisonous, if taken to excess or by individuals who are susceptible to them. Some will kill almost anyone. I honestly don’t know if I’m addicted to snuff or not. I’ve never had a period when it’s not available to me for a long period of time. Oh, except on some long international flights. But then it just sort of blends in to the general sense of misery and deprivation that I get at 10,000 feet up in the air.
Haha I doubt you’re flying 10,000 feet unless you’re James Bond on a recon mission. I believe it’s 30,000 to 40,000
Heh. Okay, meters then. All I remember is its about as high as everest.
Hmmmm… Have been using snuff for years. I am a cigar smoker (~5 per week) and occasional pipe smoker (~1 - 2 bowls week). I used to smoke cigarettes but gave them up years ago. Snuff, well that tends to be multiple times daily. Am I addicted to snuff? I think I will qualify my answer somewhat. I do not feel I have a physical addiction as I have had several occasions when for one reason or another have not had access to snuff for week or more at a time and did not notice any withdrawal or other physical change. However, I feel I do have a psychological addiction if you will as I simply love the scents, the ritual, the associated memories and the calming effect snuff can have. If you review past threads on this site you will find many references to TAD. Stands for Tobacco Acquisition Disorder - sometimes used in joking manner - but be prepared to have this should you choose to continue on your snuff journey. It is simply that you will find you enjoy it so much that you want to try all of them and will find yourself buying far more than you will use in short period of time. So don’t say I did not warn you.
Hmm… where to start… I think first you need to look at your own personality? DO you get “obsessed” with things? For example, whenever I get into a new hobby or interest - I go full bore. Need proof? I bought my first dry snuff one week ago today. Right now I have 3 open cans, 24 5 gram cans on order , 3 25 gram cans in a trade to cash offer, and am looking at the stuff chefdaniel does. So that’s me … How much of that is obsession vs. addiction? I have grown up in tobacco fields, worked in in from age 6, cannot look out a window of my home and not see acres of it in any direction, started chewing and smoking as a kid - as an adult went through the pipe and cigar phase - and recently stopped smoking. Cold. Turkey. Note it was the smoking - at that point a 2 and a half a pack a day habit – but I can attest in court with no fear of perjury that I have had none since simply deciding to quit. So - obsession vs addiction - only you know your personality. I am not expert enough to get into theory of addictive behaviors being genetic or what not - but I do know that having a wife who went through Narcotics Anonymous that addiction can be a base and primal destructive thing - whereas I find the habits and obsessiveness,while also a psychological inclination, to be altogether different. Would I suggest you start? Meh - if you 18 and of sound mind, make your own decision. Mankind has never lived ata time when information has been more accessible - be informed, consider the personal benefits versus the possible negatives, and move with your decision.
I just wanted to add the majority of addicts ( with anything ) normally do not admit and or even know they are addicted… It’s even one of the qualifiers for rehabilitation with harder addictions. Lol Nicotine is addictive. Go get addicted to a woman not to nicotine.
Thanks for sharing.
@Roderick, the one day idea is a fun thing to believe and I’m sure I’ll quote you on it at some point. But you’re cutting the margin of error thing a bit fine, don’t you think? You sure it’s not 36 hours?
This has been an interesting topic to say the least. I can’t really share my opinion too Mich because I used to smoke before I started using snuff. If I were nicotine free my whole life I would’ve tried this for novelty rather than nicotine. As an ex smoker I started this for nicotine but found much more than I could ever ask for.
This is a very interesting question. When I met my wife I was a 40 a day smoker and my wife was a leading, highly published cancer research scientist. She gave me the ultimatum; her or smoking. I tried everything including hypnosis, nothing worked. I then remembered snuff and I stopped smoking with the first tin. The current medical thinking is that snuff users outlive non-tobacco users by one day. This might not sound like much but that’s 8.4 years longer than smokers and that one day more than non-tobacco users is quite significant in itself. The main benefits currently touted of snuff tobacco and for that matter all forms of tobacco are in the slowing of the onset of Dementia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. However snuff has the advantage over lit or oral tobacco in that it extends life. If I were a “Non-nicotine addict interested in starting” I wouldn’t hesitate.
I’ll play the devils advocate Where’s the proof? lives one day longer then non smokers it sounds sort of funny If you told me five years, three years or even one year I could try to believe it but technically there is no possible way to be able to tell if snuff made that person live an extra day… There’s no way to know if they were going to die anyway because one day is so insignificant that it’s impossible to measure. So I would have to say it’s not real and if it is there’s literally no way to prove it. We are also assuming that high blood pressure, strokes, heart attacks aren’t prevalent in the users family… Which can cut a life in half or make people wheel chair bound. The truth is if you don’t already use tobacco you shouldn’t. I wanted to add I am a firm believer Some users live longer on tobacco For example I get so stressed without tobacco I’m sure I would live less without it… But that’s because I can’t regulate my stress normally. Most non. Nicotine addicts probably can do a better job at relaxing normally. However some people can be more prone to cancers, pancreatitis, strokes, high blood pressures and heart attacks and that’s simply too many factors to recommend nicotine to a " non addict " without a full medical history. It just seems like a lot of Ifs to me
If you google you will find there are loads of studies showing the benefit of nasal snuff. The tide is changing. Everything we thought was bad for us is now good and vice versa. We all know the benefit of switching to nasal snuff. It would appear that the one day extra is gained by preventing the onset of dementia. When we think about it it’s really quite logical how this could extend life.
I read every single article you posted and I agree 110%. Nicotine increases reaction time, calms the nerves, can even prevent dementia and has an array of other benefits… These are the positives But If you googled you could easily find studies focusing on the negative aspect too. ( nicotine increases pancreatitis in rats and other mammals, promotes constriction of blood vessles and or increase strain on the heart etc. ) The reason you can find different tests on the web saying different things is because most of these studies are focusing on either the benefits or the negatives. For example, let’s say a user of nicotine was never going to have Parkinsons in the first place but his or her family has a history of heart disease or another vascular problem, then it could be a mistake for that person to use nicotine in any form. This is why I never really tend to use the word safer and hardly ever beneficial while relying more on an individual to individual basis and not mass studies… These studies aren’t focusing on sick people with diseases and there’s plenty of people living with vascular disease, heart problems, etc… We don’t know who has what and we can’t break into their genetic code to see what they will have in the future. I’m not denying the fact that tobacco products particularly snuff can be helpful I’m just saying it could completely go the opposite way. There are tests that can prove the benefits from tobacco and studies that can prove the negatives… but there’s no way to tell anybody personally 100% anything. Simply because you would have to test 7 billion people after going over their medical history and then each generation after that comparing the previous generations data. Only a study as specific as this would come close to guaranteeing anybody anything. It’s the same reason there’s some skinny guy who was on YouTube for eating a Big Mac or whopper everyday for like 40 years… If another person attempted that they could very well die. No two people are the same and these studies are probably in the 100s of people, max a few thousand. We are about 7 billion + people and not even twins are exactly the same.
From the most recent National Geographic… Smokeless options like e-cigarettes-their safety is not yet known, but federal regulation is pending- could be less harmfull says David Abrams of the Schroeder Insitute. :Burning tobacco releases carcinogens and causes most of the damage. It’s to make combusted cigarettes obsolete" The mini article is about the falling rates of cigarette use. And it’s got a blurb about smokeless being safer. To me that is a really sign of sea change.
Yeah one mustn’t forget the positive effects of nicotine. There’s a reason people use it enough to become addicted and that’s because it’s a pleasant, mild stimulant that doesn’t impair judgment and improves mood and cognition. I don’t think I’d be depressed or stupid if I didn’t use tobacco but it definitely gives a nice lift.
I just love this form! awesome people on here! i need some more snuff