Tranter's snuff discontinued!

Hi folks,
I’ve just found out that the entire Tranter’s range has been discontinued.
Even though Wilson’s have been making it, neither they or Havana House (who are the sellers) seem to have any future plans.
Very sad, and supposedly its down to EU regulations.
The worst part for me is that my all time favourite snuff is Tranter’s 29 special. Although others have stated that Wilson’s Royal George is the same, I have tins of both in front of me as I write, and they’re defintely not the same. RG is okay, but not as good as 29 Special.
Wilson’s suggested Jockey Club as an alternative - again, okay for what it is, but not a patch on Tranters.
Ho hum - a sad day.

Yes, it’s turbulent times in the snuff world. However, the battle for rationale and perspective continues, and both manufacturers and users are working to address the unfairness in the system. Hopefully in time there will be an easing of the legislation for harm reduction products, and some snuffs currently “at risk” or “discontinued” will once again become available. If you are in the UK, please write to your MP and get them on board with the benefits of harm reduction, and the unfairness in the registration fees. A multi billion pound company producing a small range of cigarettes pays a fraction of what is paid by small snuff companies with a diverse range of harm reduction product which can and do help people to quit smoking. We need to enlighten our decision makers, so they can right the wrongs.

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Never had any, but if it was better than Royal George I am glad I didn’t. I do hate when favorites are discontinued. Sorry for your loss ~X(

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Damn, that sucks. Another one gone. I hadn’t even heard of Tranters until now.

Thanks for the comments folks.
I’ve contacted various Havana House outlets and cleaned most of them out of the last supplies of 29 Special, being now the proud owner of 21 tins!  :smiley:
For Lunecat - Country Doctor is a terrific snuff. Actually, Wilson’s Aniseed and Eucalyptus is essentially the same recipe, so do try it out.
As a matter of interest, Wilson’s online catalogue appears to have been decimated. Even their Country Mint (the same as Tranter’s Light Mint, which got me started on this slippery slope way back in 1974!) has been discontinued…

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Hi again folks,
Lunecat - I’ve just got the final 2 tins of 29 special from Havana House in Hove, together with 2 of Country Doctor. They have quite a few Country Docs left in stock if you’re interested. Very helpful folks on 01273-731351 (usual disclaimer)

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Hi again folks,
I’ve just rung Havana House (01753-833334) and they DO still have some Tranters’ snuffs in stock: they say they have a lot, but they have to look to see what’s there.
I’m down to my last 4 tins of fab 29 Special, but hoping for some Carnation, Light Mint and Cotswold as a very poor option :frowning:

@detheridge It might be worth trying Royal George again if you can get hold of a new batch. It was briefly discontinued as Wilsons were unable to source one of the ingredients. They have since sourced it from a different supplier, and rereleased it as New Royal George. The recipe is the same, but they have said the end result is slightly different, hence the name change. The best way of ensuring you get the new batch will probably be ordering direct from sharrowmills.com

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50ft_trad
Many thanks for the info. I’ve tried the previous version of Royal George but found it markedly different to 29 Special, despite the online review by Tony Barr some 7 years ago. Maybe I was unlucky and the one I got was from an old batch minus the ‘missing ingredient’? Anyway, I’ll ring Wilson’s and order a tin and see how I get on with it.
Curiously enough, I notice that Wilson’s website now explains why the names have changed, so as not to use names with ‘characterising flavours’. I would have thought that 29 Special would easily meet that requirement. Same with Tranters Light Mint/Wilson’s Country Mint: why not (for example) ‘Light Country’, or even some more historical names: Emperor’s Choice, King’s Ransom, (insert own suggestion here)? :slight_smile:

Quite right, but each brand they register costs money to do so, plus an annual registration fee. Those fees apply to each container size they sell for the same brand, and those costs would soon mount up to more than their annual turnover if they tried to maintain everybody’s favourites. We have to be grateful that they, and other makers, have kept as many different sorts as they have, and continue to support them as much as possible with our business. Many of my favourites have been discontinued, but I managed to build up a 10 year stash of snuff before this all happened. I will however try to keep placing orders when funds permit, and not just rely entirely on my own reserves.

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I loved 29 Special, and the Crumbled Mature, and Jock’s choice. Too bad about it being discontinued. The only Tranter’s I ever tried were courtesy of Chef Daniel, who kindly let me order a few since he somehow could get them shipped to us the USA. It’s so strange about the WoS changing the names of their snuffs. What on Earth difference could it possibly make to anyone, other than to confuse us?