Alright so I started using snuff little over a month ago and I have started to assemble a small collection of various snuffs of different grinds, flavors, ect. I really enjoy F&T Bordeaux, Old Paris, Toque Quit, and occasionally McChrystal’s Clove or O&G but lately my nose has been going crazy. As soon as I take a sniff of whatever, I start sneezing and the runny nose continues for a good hour. What is going on here, I figured after a few weeks of using snuff periodically through the day I would get use to it and not have these problems. Any comments or suggestions?

From what I have gathered by reading many peoples’ experiences with snuff on this site is that it affects everyone’s nose differently. Some seem to be able to take pinch after pinch without any kind of run or need to blow. Not me. The burn, run, and blow is all part of the snuff experience. I generally have the same experience regardless of the type of snuff; be it a toast, schmalzler, floral, american scotch, menthol, etc. While the timeline is different for each type of snuff, the effect is the same: Snuff goes in the nose, burn, and 5-10 min later the run is sufficient enough that I must blow or risk throat drip. Repeat. I don’t mind that my nose runs at all - I find that it is effective at keeping itself from getting congested. If you are getting congestion problems, I would recommend a strong menthol to “open” up the taps. Be careful though, many here swear that although temporarily clearing, menthols may exacerbate your congestion. This is not the case with me - a good toot of O&G (McC’s JIP is really good too) will open me right up. I am sure you will get into a “groove” eventually. Just keep at it!!

This may sound strange, but maybe you aren’t using ENOUGH snuff during the day. My first in the morning always seems to be the ‘harshest’, no matter what type of snuff I choose. Something to be said for alternating through the day if you begin to get clogged up, as well. During the Winter here, I stopped using the Neti-Pot EVERYDAY and switched to every other or every third. I don’t know if it’s the frigid cold and being outside all day but every hit of Quit I had was hitting my throat and brain . I know it wasn’t my technique because that’s the type I’m most comfortable with. I thought, maybe I’m TOO cleaned out with no buffer in my nose?. Since it’s obvious every person reacts differently, you have to be aware of how YOU react and WHAT changes it. BTW, I could smoke all day long, never bothered me. When I was quitting, I cut way down to a couple cigs a day and those seemed to cause me more discomfort- the smoke seemed real acrid, nasty tasting, I coughed more, etc. Kind of strange, really. A person’s body is searching for a very CLOSE companion in tobacco, and until you stop denying it of this daily, it will continue to revolt.

Glaag …Your condition is due to allergies. Your snuff use has simply brought this to your attention.I suggest the 24hr non drowsy over the counter medication Loratadine. I am not a doctor so go figure. Peace!

Juxtaposer Yeah I do indeed have allergies but mostly hay fever so the fall and spring are the worst for me. I usually take Zyrtek but during the winter it dries me out way too much to be using snuff. I have used Loratadine too which is basically the same thing as Claritin.

Don’t worry, all the “symptoms” are part of snuffing more or less. For myself, found out that German schmalzers never let you down, I’ll always take a runny nose instead of a clogged one.

I love SPs, but they cause some allergies for me,including a faucet nose. I changed to snuffs with no bergamot and it eliminated most of my problems. If you can figure out what your body objects to you can always find snuffs that will work.

Lately I’m finding that ANY snuff is making my nose run and causing sneezing fits, not quite sure why this is happening. Have decided to lay off for a little while.

I had a similar problem, and really my snuff usage is very low these days. When I 1st took to snuff, I love it, and was like a fiend on the menthols, and I never had any issue, then I got totally stopped up one day, and it lasted like a whole day, maybe more, and I didn’t do any snuff at all till that cleared up. Then it seemed no matter what I snuffed I’d get stopped up. I did find if I did a very small amout, with a long time between snuffs, it was ok, and I have since found dry toast and scotch types don’t stop me up. I have a Toque Whiskey & Honey in my drawer here at work. But for whatever reason, Toque SP Extra would stop me up. I’ve also been avoiding menthols. So, my conclusion, is it’s probably a combination of things, allergies, which I have read can be chronic, and usually food related, menthols, maybe parrafin oil, and then just certain snuffs. So, when I find a snuff that doesn’t seem to negatively affect me, like this Toque Whiskey & Honey, I make a mental note of that. And if a snuff does affect me, like that SP Extra, I sit it aside(actually I gave it away).

I’m a light snuffer too, meaning I don’t take pinches continuously. But I do find larger pinches irritate less, for some reason. The pinch method works best for me. I can take large pinches of finely ground snuff, but every time I try back of hand or spoon, it goes too far up, and will cause more side effects. When I first started snuffing, I loved Tom Buck, but every time I took it, it would cause me grief. I remember sneezing uncontrollably for 5 minutes. The pinch and bunny-sniff(sniffing without lung power) method helped immensely. I find the Toque fruit flavors to be the easiest on my nose. I can take them all day without ill effect; less nose blowing. In winter, the dryness tends to cause me problems too. If I have problems, I just take a day or two off, maybe a netti pot cleaning, then all is well again. Hope that helps.

I think the climate does play a part - also, for me, technique. I just took a couple of hits of F&T HDT off the back of my hand and so far I haven’t had the runny nose & sneezing that I have had when taking a pinch. EDIT: I have had a little bit of a sneeze, but nowhere near as bad as before.

for me a few tiny bumps off a spoon seems good. My nose runs more and I have to blow it sooner but I don’t get cloged as easily then.

I was sneezing with anything and everything when I first started but, the sneezing has now almost stopped with everything I’ve got. I’m also finding that congestion isn’t an issue now. The main thing which I do get is a runny nose which only seems to happen mostly with moist snuffs. Having said that, doing a LOT of F&T HDT i get the runs. Interestingly, moist WoS snuffs are less of an issue than Taxi Red for example. I’ve started wondering if it’s tobacco strength/type that plays a part but, I’ve not tried enough of anything yet. Back on the subject of Taxi, my nose drips like a tap after 5mins, so i’ll put it in, after the nic-hit blow it out, and put more in.

Alright so now after that bout of runny nose and sneezing I’ve been hit with the stuffed up nose. This morning I literally couldn’t blow or suck air in and out of my nose. I’ve decided to take the day off but is snuff just not for me? If thats the case Im going to be really pissed because I love the different smells/tastes and the history of this whole hobby. I really don’t wanna quit. Especially since I just got my order of 7 new snuffs which are all taunting me to try all day!

Take a few days to a week totally off, then pick a more plain dry non menthol and try that.

@giaach What snuffs do you have, do you have a enough of a mixture so you can isolate what’s good and bad?

I really and truly feel sorry for anyone who has got problems with snuff. So far I’ve had no problems what so ever, touch wood. Some snuffs do make my nose run like crazy but I don’t see that as a problem. When my nose feels a bit stuffed, I take a pinch or two of O&G and I’m on my way again. I was wondering if the fact that I’ve smoked a lot of cigars before I started snuffing did anything to my nose? I used to inhale and blow the smoke through my nose.

@ giaach: I find toasts and American Scotches are less likely to clog you up. When you go back to snuff, stick to one at a time (a few days at least for each). A plain scotch like Navy Plain would be a good start, or a mild toast like Toque Whiskey and Honey if you have one of those. Lavage your nose before you go to bed. I use one of those rubber bulbs that come in an Ear wax removal kit. Breath out through the nostril you are lavaging and use luke warm water.

“Lavage your nose before you go to bed” good call, i always clean my nose out with luke warm water last thing at night… then a little F&T HDT - stick to one at a time is a good point made by Nachman, i made that mistake, you just can’t tell what’s going on… i’m sure you’ll suss it out

Well I have a few snuffs now so I’ll go down the list. Toque - Quit Toque - Absinthe Toque - Coke F&T- Bordeaux, Morlaix, Princes Special, Old Paris, HDT, Seville, Dr J R Justice Rooster McChrystal - O&G, Clove Wilsons of Sharrow - Best SP Gawith - Apricot

Toque Quit doesn’t seem to negatively affect me. F&T HDT also.

I’d have a good clean out, maybe take a day off, then try the F&T HDT for a day. if i use this lightly i’m fine, if i use a LOT, my nose runs. Then, try each one and see what they do.

@ukiceman Sounds like a solid suggestion, while I love my Bordeaux and all these new snuffs call to me. I will hold off for the rest of the day and go with a toast tomorrow. Would a scotch like Rooster be a bad idea bc it seems to be almost as finely ground and HDT?

@giaach The only scotch snuff I have is WE Garretts Sweet and, yes I would say that and F&T HDT are about the same with me. can’t see why Rooster would be different, like you say “it’s fine and dry”

I’ve found Toque Quit to be the least clogging.

I had the same problem, with being cloggged up and completely unable to breath through my nose. I do tend to get it every now and again so I’m actually going to try and figure out what it is that does it to me. I currently have: Toque: Peanut Butter, Vanilla, Toffee WoS: Apricot McC: Raspberry Polsch: Lowenprise (which does clog me right up but I’m a sucker for it. One pinch once in a blue moon) G. Smith & Sons: George IV Wilsons: Sp No1 GW: Ambassordor, Almond. I’ve not snuffed for the last 2 days as I’ve had a bleeding nose due to over blowing stupidly hard when conjested. (Nothing to due with snuff as it only started today) and with the poor weather, my nose is running which only makes the situation worse, stopped now though! Although one peice of advise I will offer, from what I find is when you are all clogged up and can’t breath; for the love of God, don’t blow your nose as it will only make the situation worse. Sit it out and it will clear within a few hours.

Stick to the Rooster and HDT one hit every 10 minutes or so. Your nose will be dry as hell before you know it. Also the initial runniness will help keep the snus from going too far back in the nose (which may be half of the problem).

@Snifs “keep the snus from going too far back in the nose (which may be half of the problem)” I wondered that last night before I fell asleep. Maybe Giaach is sniffing harder than necessary so the sinuses are having a hard time and getting blocked ? @Giaach The first toast I used was F&T HDT which I found a bit tricky. I’d run a wet cotton bud round the inside of my nose first which stopped it from going too far back until I got the hang of it

@Snifs If SNUS is going too far back in your nose, I think you have uncovered your problem.

Snus is Swedish for snuff.

Well to answer the whole " is the snuff going to far back" I usually take a pinch of say Bordeaux and lightly sniff it into each nostril but then I notice that a majority of the pinch is still on my thumb and finger so I sniff again possibly a little harder. Could that be the reason Im soo messed up?

Well I just took a light sniff of Rooster today and holy crap did I get a buzz from that stuff. While I do enjoy a little more flavor in my snuff I’m stickin with this one for the rest of today as suggested by you guys to keep my nose clear and un-congested. So far so good… oh and I think I my problem might be caused by WoS Best SP because thats the one I took before bed the other night and then spent all of yesterday plugged up. Anybody else have problems with SPs?

I got a couple tins of WoS Best SP last year when i did my first order and, it plugs me up as well. I still use it once in a while coz i like it, just not all day! I might have some in a little while and see what happens

Yep, if you have an allergy to bergamot, you will.

If you like Wilsons you could try Irish High Toast No.22 as well, I’ve not got any but, they might agree with you being fine and dry

I haven’t experimented with many SPs, but Toque SP Extra did clog me up bad. I got rid of it. Really, this is what I’ve been doing. If I know it clogs me, I’ll throw it in the trade box. I have mostly gotten rid of most of my menthols, but I wanna keep a few for when I really wanna chance it. But I’m still hitting this Toque Whiskey & Honey now and again, and it has not clogged me at all.

@ Nachman I do remember taking an allergy test as a child but I don’t recall Bergamot as one of the allergy needles given ha. Well I wouldn’t be too sad if I can’t have Wilson’s Best SP. I would only be sad if I couldn’t have any of my floral snuffs from F&T.

Well, I did the WoS Best SP congestion test and…nothing…shortly after I had some WoS S.P 2 and nothing…

See I’m hesitant to say that I’m allergic to WoS Best SP or SPs in general because as of yesterday I’ve been taking Tylenol Allergy Multi-Symptom for Sinus Pressure and Nasal Congestion and either the resting from snuff or that medicine has seemed to help quite a bit. Maybe I just needed to give me nose a rest in these dry winter conditions. Also, I can’t imagine anyone’s nose takes a liking to having particles snorted up it so maybe its just a physical reaction to the snuffs

I’ve suffered with horrible allergies all my life particularly hay fever in the summer. It was so bad as a kid I was on three injections a week and pills everyday just so I could live a half normal life. Thankfully the doctors got it right and, now I’m 45 it’s less of an issue, like they said, “it often gets better with age”. When I first started it was a joke. But, over the last few months, thankfully my body has accepted the invasion and it seems ok with it now. Looks like I’m even OK with WoS best SP after the test tonight. If your allergies are bad, find something you like and stick with for a while. Then introduce other things slowly and your body will probably build its own tolerance I’m glad you liked the Rooster that’s one tick in GOOD box, now you’ve got the fun of finding all the other good ones!!

I’ve think I’ve solved my problems of congestion actually. What I do, is breath in till I fill my lungs completely just before I sniff so the sniff is extremely gentle, if hardly at all. Once I’ve taken the snuff into either side of my nose I simply breath out through my mouth then give another sniff of the nose just to make sure the snuff is secure. If there is any snuff left over on my fingers, I simply sniff that as I please because I’ve already got snuff coating the inside of the lower half of my nose so the rest has something to cling onto rather than shoot straight to the back of my throat/into my sinuses. Give it a try and I think you’ll have a decent result with that.

Yeah I really do think I have been sniffing too hard because I see so much snuff on my fingers that I don’t think I got any in my nose. I guess in this case more is not better.

If you’re aren’t conjested now, give the method I just mentioned a go. I’ve actually just looked in a mirror with my head tilted right back and I can see the snuff in my nose which you’re ment to be able to do. I’ve noticed the vitimin N works quicker and the snuff smells much better, plus no drip down my throat. It should work for you hopefully and solve your problems. It’s worked for me. Remember, lungs full so sniff is slightly difficult and then breath out through your mouth, one more sniff just to make sure it’s secure and you should be happy as a pig in dirt.

Well I tried that approach and it seems to work quite well. I guess my biggest mistake is that when I use a snuff like Bordeaux or Old Paris, the nose burn takes a second or too to kick in and since it doesn’t come on immediately I think I haven’t gotten any in my nose and so I snuff harder. A newbs mistake ha

Glad it has worked for you! I only started trying it a few days ago and it’s been a success. Although the question remains; after snuffing for a period of time using that method, have you been conjested at all?

I think there’s some indoor air pollution where I work, or maybe it’s just the air is dry. I’m conjested all day at work, some at home but not as bad. I’ve bumped the Neti pot up to twice a day, and am still having a lot of congestion. Maybe it’s mold from everything being wet with the snow, but whatever, it’s put a serious dent in my snuffing. I have to blow fine dry snuffs that would sit all day without a complaint right away. I don’t think its snuff at all because I’ve gone a couple days without, and I’m draining and blowing just the same. Maybe now is a good time to go back to the florals that I left alone because they make my nose run, can’t get much worse, maybe.

Been using Bordeaux, and JR Justice the past few days and no problems as of late!

Good stuff, how have you been taking them? Just sniffing them straight up or trying the method I mentioned?

@Snuffin I’ve been using the method you suggested and it seems to work. I have discovered that the F&T’s don’t bother me so I decided to just try some Toque Coke and so far I’ve been fine. I do notice that my nostrils switch back and forth when it comes to clearness, basically regardless of the snuff I use one nostril will be a little harder to sniff with compared to the other, but then they will switch which is strange and the other nostril will be really clear and the other a little harder ha. Not sure if that makes any sense?

Makes sense to me. I think its a fairly common phenomenon.

@ Giach. Glad to have helped. I know what it is like being clogged up, completely ruins something that is otherwise extremely enjoyable. Yeah I get that too. One moment my left will be clogged and my right fine, then it will switch. Strange but such as life. As for the Toque Coke, any good?

I am finding for me, I think a difference between being a little stuffy, or congested, than having my sinuses actually irritated and closed up. I’ve been hitting the Dholakia Medicated now and then, and it’s been fine, but then I did a Bernards, and it was like that actually irritated my sinuses, and made them swell. I’ve been snuffing almost a year now, but now I am thinking it’s not menthols, but just certain snuffs irritate my sinuses and others don’t. Trial and experience seems the only way to know.

I find American scotch is good when I am having sinus problems. Try Navy plain, not real strong,but no stuffiness. WE Garrett is a step up in strength and also does not clog me.

the Toque Coke is really nice. The initial nasal burn reminds me of the tingle you get from the bubbles in a fresh bottle of Coke. Seeing how I don’t drink dark sodas like Pepsi or Coke it’s nice to get that taste every once in a while!

@Snuffin I too had problems with congestion, and tried your method. I finally can use rooster without it hitting my throat! I also haven’t been clogged up lately, so thanks again for the technique tip. I appreciate it Kyle

Been experimenting with my first order and was surprised to find I seem to get rebound problems fairly easily. WOS IHT 22 - Wonderful but if I take too much it seems to congest me. Small pinches not too often seem to be key. WOS Tom Buck - I like this but I seem to get rebound congestion. Though not as bad as WOS Rose or O&G. WOS Rose - Messed me up for days. Too bad as it smells nice. Might get brave and try blending it with something else… Not sure I want to go thru the trouble again though. McCrystals O&G - Was sneezing with a very runny nose for a couple of weeks after just a couple snuffs. Really sad as it is delicious but I couldn’t even breath/sleep at night for a couple days. It was horrible. Toque Chocolate - Nice but it might be causing me problems. Can’t tell yet as I haven’t used it much. Toque Coke - Like this a lot but it seems to mess me up pretty bad the next morning. FUBAR BOHICA - Love this stuff and no problems so far! Sure it burns and makes my nose run but it’s temporary and so wonderful. Glad I got 50g. Samuel Gawith Black Rappee - Excellent and doesn’t seem to cause problems. Though after two weeks I am ready for a change. Samuel Gawith Kendal Brown Original - I like this a lot and don’t seem to have problems. Will use it next week. Not sure what my problems are related too. Is it moisture? Menthol? Additives? Grind? What does and doesn’t bother me seems all over the map. Any insite would be great. Thanks!

Keep on keepin on, for nearly everyone all issues resolve themselves with time and persistence

I hope so. I’d love to try some more flavored snuffs but I’m afraid. Tried the Kendal Brown Original and started having symptoms. Woke up congested. Tried some more today and I seem to get a mild reaction but it’s not terrible.

I think for me it’s the scenting(especially citrus and florals) and the menthol. The kb original seems to be improving as it dries out and looses sent, but not completely. I think I’m going to have to trade or sell the worst offenders. I have to experiment more with the toques as they seemed better. The IHT #22 was decanted into my tiny o&g tin after it was cleaned. I didn’t think there was any menthol but I actually noticed menthol flavor once. Guess I am really sensitive as I’ve been having some IHT today with no problem at all from a different container. Bottom line is I’ll be sticking with all natural snuffs without scenting. Might try flavored once in a while, but I’m not buying big tins of them until I know it’s safe. Kicking myself for getting the big ones of flavored snuffs…