A lot of new snuffers struggle with the technique of taking snuff, and this can mean that a potential snuffer stays a smoker. There are quite a few threads and comments about how to go about it, but the following are just some personal points from over 30 years of taking snuff, and the move to full time snuffing has been a great thing for me. Any smoker can ditch those cigarettes with snuff and I was a heavy, heavy smoker: If I was not convinced about this I would not waste your time! I don’t pretend to be an expert on the snuff world, as I say this is just how I do it: 1. Use a snuff box. I find that getting used to the feel of a nice snuff box just enhances the whole experience. For me, its important to have something that represents some of the routine I had as a smoker - so I use a nice box and make it part of the ritual. 2. Go SLOW! You can take a quick pinches when you have got the hang of it, but for the most part take your time; if you are at work you will be replacing your five or ten minute smoke breaks with something that takes five seconds to do, so draw it out, luxuriate in the flavour and nicotine boost. I would take three or four pinches when I started to replace my smoke breaks with snuff. Your co-workers are taking their time over their cigarettes so do the same. Slowing it down will also make your pinching more accurate. Now you are a snuff user you don’t have to take your breaks in the rain either, but do leave your desk or workstation. 3. The amount - about the size of a pea seems to be natural. You will share this pinch between both nostrils. Tap the box or tin to free any snuff from the lid and open the box carefully. Close the box as soon as you have the pinch and just give the fingers a little tap against the box to free any snuff that is sticking to the sides of your fingers. 4. The insufflation. This is (obviously!!) the most important part and the bit that goes wrong most easily. You need to learn by practice exactly how hard to sniff to get half of the pinch in the nostril and how much to release the pressure on the pinching fingers. You can practice getting the amount right by pinching some snuff and just dumping into the palm of your hand - is it pea sized roughly? If it is you have got that bit off. The inhalation should be just enough to get the powder in your nose, dont worry about trying to get it into a certain part of the nose - the area we are talking about is tiny - just get it up there! 5. Sniff half of the snuff into one nostril and repeat for the other. There you have it.
My personal recommendation is that you try this method and stick with it. I have tried all the other ways, and still vary it a bit sometimes, but the pinch - when done correctly - is neat, tidy and you can easily vary the size of the pinch to suit your needs. You can also do it very quickly and discreetly if you need to.
I believe that a lot of snuff users learn how to tolerate snuff but not really get to grips with what it can give you. You need to take decent sized, regular pinches - maybe the first few times will make you sneeze but get through this with some determination and you will find that you are craving snuff not smoke - and you will be enjoying it, not just enjoying the sensation of feeding the addiction. Someone once wrote that the pleasure you get from cigarettes is just like the pleasure you get from taking off a pair of ill fitting shoes. That’s no way to live. Snuff, used properly and regularly will soon win you over and the enjoyment is genuine.
There is a big choice, and a lot of comments, on what snuff to begin with, so I won’t go into that, but I do think that if you get this method off correctly that you will find it a very useful technique. As I said, just personal points and thoughts…