I’ve never used a snuff bullet and likely never will but this the fullest account I’ve read of a particular type which was thoroughly tested by Graeme (one of our members) for a tobacco journal back in 2001. I myself thought it an interesting account and well worth a read - especially if members are considering a purchase of one of the many similar bullets available for reasons of convenience and discretion.

snuffRocket™ - a new way to take nasal snuff

Reviewed by Graeme T. Steel*

The habit of taking nasal snuff was introduced to the West from the Americas nearly 500 years ago. A form of ground tobacco taken via the nose, it was first enjoyed by the aristocracy, but in time became increasingly popular amongst the general public, especially where fire safety regulations prohibited smoking – down mines or on oilrigs, for example. Snuff has always managed to cut through social class, being enjoyed as much by miners as it is by parliamentarians, the clergy and the legal profession.

Although it never entirely died out as a way of taking tobacco, in recent decades it was seen to be in decline. However with anti-smoking legislation making it harder and harder to smoke in public, nasal snuff is seeing something of a renaissance, offering as it does smoke free tobacco enjoyment without any annoyance to others. Even medical research has found little evidence to prove that it causes the ill health associated with other forms of tobacco use.

An entirely new snuff taking device on the market – the snuffRocket™ - attests to a rekindled interest in nasal snuff.

Snuff is usually carried on the person in the form of a snuffbox or bottle. In the heyday of snuff taking, snuffboxes were often exquisite items made from precious metals such as gold or silver, but there were also fine ones from bone or lacquered papier mâché. The Chinese developed a high art form in their snuff bottles of glass, porcelain, jade and ivory, often painted with extraordinary skill on the inside of the bottle.

Few modern day snuff takers can afford the antique snuffboxes or bottles of yesteryears. Today, snuffboxes are more likely to be made of pewter, tin or plastic.

Snuff, when exposed to air, dries out, becomes stale and quickly looses that ‘kick’ that snuff takers like. Most modern snuffboxes have a poor seal, they are too big and the rather messy, if traditional manner of taking a ‘pinch’ from the box, is seen by many as unsightly.

This is where the efforts of an enterprising company in Columbus Ohio comes in. AeroFlight have developed an entirely new way of taking snuff in the form of a small bullet shaped device.

The manufacturers offered me a sample of the snuffRocket™ to test (I hasten to add without any restraints on what I could say) and so I have, giving up my traditional Georgian silver snuffbox for a week to try it out.

To look at, the snuffRocket™ resembles a bullet, or with some imagination, a rocket, with a small hole in the pointed tip. What is novel is that it is not only a receptacle for snuff, but also a nasal dispenser. At only 1.5 inches long, it’s a discreet little device, which, if seen in public, would probably be taken as an up market version of a head cold inhaler.

It holds between 1.2 and 4 grams of nasal snuff, depending on the texture. The most popular snuffs today are those of medium texture and I’d say that it would hold about 2.5 grams of this type.

A plastic base unscrews from the aircraft grade aluminum body. A ‘U’ shaped chamber inside allows for the filling of a small amount of snuff. That is probably enough for the day for most snuff takers, but for the heavier snuffer or for those keen on the more dense coarse snuffs, it might require the carrying of extra snuff when out and about with which to refill.

It is a little difficult to fill. I found it a messy procedure until I started to think about it. In the end I found it easier to tip out some snuff from the original manufacturer’s tin into a make-do paper funnel and fill the snuffRocket™ that way. That proved easy enough. The plastic base is screwed back and one is ready to go.

Turning the base to the left or right shifts an accurately measured amount of snuff from the storage area within the rocket, into alignment with the internal delivery tube. This allows the snuff to be sniffed out through the pointed end. It really is cleverly designed, although difficult to explain in print.

A turn to the left provides a small dose of snuff, a turn to the right a larger one. As soon as the base is turned either way again, the storage area is filled for the next sniff. Personally, I found the larger dose to be more like the amount I would normally take as a ‘pinch’. It should be said, that unlike one traditional ‘pinch’ which is offered to both nostrils in turn, a dose from the snuffRocket™ is really only sufficient for one nostril. So one needs to twist the base to reload and sniff again for the remaining nostril.

There is a rival product on the market with some similarities, but I believe that the snuffRocket™ is the only product to offer a choice of dosages in the one device.

Being 1.5 inches long, this is the distance that the snuff must be inhaled from the base storage area through to the hole in the pointed end of the rocket. This requires quite a sharp snort, perhaps more vigorous than one would normally need from between the fingers or from the back of the hand, but I adapted to it quickly and found that my average sniff took the tobacco just above midway up my nostril. The rounded tip allows one to get a good suction as it fits snugly into the nasal opening. It was actually quite difficult to inhale the snuff too far, which I am pleased about. Occasionally, with traditional methods I have sniffed too hard and the snuff has gone further than is pleasant.

I tested it with nasal snuffs of the three main textures – fine, medium and coarse and all drew well. I was particularly pleased that there weren’t any problems with the more moist type of snuffs which I personally prefer, as these didn’t get clogged in the chamber.

For many, the traditional snuff taking methods of a pinch of snuff between the thumb and forefinger, or from the depression, which forms in the area between finger and thumb, are both unsightly and messy. This device allows one to be quite discreet and there is absolutely no mess or spillage.

What I liked especially about this new device is that the snuff is kept airtight until a dose is selected and sniffed. Midway, between the left or right position, effectively closes the rocket. This is the position that the base should be kept in between sniffs and snuff left in the device overnight or even longer kept its freshness, which is more than can be said for most snuffboxes.

The snuffRocket™ is strongly made, unlike a similar product made of plastic and acrylic. It would seem virtually unbreakable and comes in four colors – silver, red, blue and black. Snuff contains moisture and can rust base metals easily, but there is no chance of this here. It can be safely washed out in water to remove residue or to maintain hygiene.

I only have one concern with the design of the snuffRocket™. The plastic base is held onto the aluminum body with a removable screw. I am a little concerned that with the constant turning of the base to the left and right that the screw could work its way loose and fall out. In a future model, I would like to see a retaining washer on the inside of the base, which would prevent this possibility.

AeroFlight might also consider producing a model with a larger capacity for the heavier snuff taker. And to reduce the risks of leaving it somewhere, how about a key ring attachment?

www.snuffrocket.com

All in all, I found the snuffRocket™ to be well made and designed and I believe it offers a very good alternative to the more traditional ways of keeping and taking nasal snuff.

*Graeme T. Steel has been a devotee of nasal snuff for many years. He is the founder of Snuff Box – a popular web based snuff club. http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/snuffboxthenasalsnuffclub