Following on from the topic on your social class, I’m interested in what first attracted you to snuff? For myself, I guess the real spark was my grandad being a snuffer. Although he died when I was young, I’ll always remember him teaching me astronomy whilst taking pinches of his snuff. I found one of his snuffboxes about a year ago (which although not being ideal, being made of pewter, I use daily for my favourite snuff Toque Original), which made me think that I could use snuff to quit cigarettes. Also though, I’m a bit of a history geek, and the more I read up on the history of snuff, the more I fell in love with it. It definitely adds a certain something to the hobby. So how did you first get into snuffing? I’m guessing curiosity’s going to be the biggest reason for most people, but it’ll be interesting to read your tales.
good topic … for me, i had been trying to use snus to help me combat my cigarette battle … i was losing, using snus and smoking … bigmick suggested i try snuff … and from the minute i hit Toque Spanish Gem, i was hooked.
@snuffbrant +1 as a possible nic alternative to combat dip. As long as I snuff straight to the sinuses, add D.White and 2 pieces of 4mg gum at the same time… Im ok. Since I do like strong flavours and smells that was a big plus.
Ehh… After the doctors told me I couldn’t smoke and the nic lozenges got pretty expensive, I started looking for ‘less harmful’ ways to use tobacco. First, I started using snus because I could finally get General in a store. Then I looked up snuff and I order some from Toque. I loved snuff after I got the hang of it. I still use snus when my nose gets stuffed up and when I’m out. It’s just easier to use in the car or work.
Roderick. His “free” samples have cost me a bundle. The main attraction initially and now is the scents more than the nic. Snus handles most of my nicotine needs, snuff is a pleasant pass time.
I had blocked eustachian tubes for more than 6 months! I tried decongestants, Flonase and numerous other prescription medications. My GP and my Ear, Nose & Throat specialist were unable to do a thing about it. I went down to Memphis, Tennessee for a marriage a while back. While there I saw some Garrett Sweet Mild Snuff. I bought it for a lark just to find out about that snuff stuff that people down south use. WITHIN 24 HOURS my eustachian tubes were unplugged! I now call dry snuff my “therapeutic vice.” (I pirated the above from my snuff page.) http://www.howdydave.com/snuff.html Since I take a bucket full of medications, when I told my EN&T doctor that snuff was a great decongestant for me and it didn’t interact with other medications, he told me to continue using it. I couldn’t get him to go as far as writing me a prescription for tobacco – but whenever asked, I can say that I am a snuff sniffer under the advisement of my physician. I had quit smoking 15 years before going to Memphis and had reached the stage where I called myself a “non-smoker” rather than an “ex-smoker.”
I’m a weirdo and never seen anyone snuff, except one person when I was a child. I’ve always been a bit eccentric and heard that this was still going on in an internet forum. Had to try it. Then feel in love with all the different scents.
I am an anachronism.
@howdydave - What a splendid doctor to have, one who supports your snuff taking! Just a shame you can’t get it on prescription, but t’was worth a try! I’ve mentioned before that I first tried snuff several years ago, the mid 2000’s, when some younger fellows were passing around Lowen Prise at a pub I used to frequent. I think it was a ‘one-off’ for them, and most other people disliked it, but I found it quite pleasant and shortly afterwards bought some of my own. For a while, snuff remained a kind of novelty thing for me, but nowadays it’s a regular pleasure.
I’ve always enjoyed tobacco in all of its forms, so naturally I had to try snuff when I encountered it. My first snuff was Levi Garrett back when you could buy the large glass bottles at Walgreens. I enjoyed it enough to persist, and sought out the English and European varieties, which I found I enjoyed a lot more.
Attracted me to snuff? Less health risk than other tobaccos. The world could probably cut tobacco related illnesses in half, but governments are too blind to recognize it.
The first time I had seen anyone use snuff was when I was in an old movie of The Scarlet Pimpernel, I asked my mom what he was doing and she replied “snuff” Fast forward, smoking became a health issue with me as smoking cigs triggered “migraines” of the vestibular system, making me dizzy and causing me to throw up, and this would last several hours to a couple days sometimes. Smoking also made my tinnitus worse. So one day I happened to remember that old Scarlet Pimpernel movie and used google to see if tobacco snuff was still in production. Finding out it was I ordered some WoS Prime Minister, and also found one of the american scotches to try. I have also found like howdydave did that snuff helps with my health stuff. If I wake up with ringing ears then a little pinch of snuff helps to drain my sinuses (which are putting pressure on my ear drums making them ring) and the ringing pretty much goes away almost altogether. I also really like to smell different scents and so snuff lets me do that while also letting me enjoy a little bit of nicotine in the process.
I’ve always been a little eccentric, and I always liked to try new things. I was reading somewhere on a grow your own site that had a brief article about snuff, and it suggested that one should try snuff before devoting a lot effort into growing tobacco for it, and said that could be done by grinding up your favorite tobacco, and sniffing it. So I coarsely broke up some Bugler, the only tobacco I had on me, and railed it with a straw, sending me into a coughing, sneezing, gagging fit. Fast forward to 2008, I found some Gletscherprise in the local store. The rest is history. This is actually the site I was reading that fateful night in 2006: http://www.coffinails.com/snuff.html The information therein is pretty decent; I’m not sure where I got “crunch your dried-out rolling tobacco and snort it” out of that, in looking back, but we were all young once, I suppose.
Very simple… Being a part of a snus forum where they spoke of snuff freequently it peeked my interest. A friend sent me a sampler before my toque order arrived and I’ve been hooked ever since. I use both at the same time, haven’t found anyone like me. As soon as I pop in a portion or pris i take a pinch. The pinch hits quicker and once it starts fading the snus takes over. I repwat every two hours. It’s heaven. ATM skruff stark los and hmmm… hdt? Grunt? I think hdt will do just fine for my mood
I’ve typed it before, so it’s here somewhere, but, just the other worldly…enigma. I found a little Wilsons tin at about seven, it just fascinated me. Born to take snuff. What a way to remember me when I’m gone…
Inglourious Basterds. Well I read about snuff online before but I thought they had stopped making it because most websites said it was popular way back when. Then I saw the movie and thought Hmmmm that looks like it could be fun to try. Went online and got two tins off of mr.snuff and then my life changed.
Having blocked ‘e’ tubes for so long sounds horrible. My tubes always get that way whenever I catch a cold. They can (and do) ruin airline pilots’ careers. Perhaps snuff is a way forward.
Being able to get a nic hit wherever, and, the smell.
I got into into snuff in much the same way as Micheltn, I kept seeing it on the pipe tobacco websites I would get my baccy from and decided to give it a try, it was cheap enough.
I’ve almost always been interested in the “old ways” of things i.e., I don’t light my camp fires with matches or a lighter, I use a bow-drill (unless time is crutial in some way). I guess that it was the old packaging on the American snuffs that first caught my eye and caused me to delve deeper.
Like Eric, my interest was piqued after reading enthusiastic comments about snuff on a snus forum. There were two things I missed about cigarettes that weren’t being fulfilled with snus: (1) the immediate nicotine rush; and (2) menthol. Snuff fills in those blanks for me. The pleasure I get from the fragrances, and the participation in something slightly eccentric with a long historic tradition, are the icing on the cake.
re: Snuffsters "What a way to remember me when I’m gone… " THAT’S A GREAT IDEA! I’ve got to remember to tell people to make sure that I have at least 3 snuffboxes with different snuffs in them put into the box with me.
started snuffing as a teenager at a school with draconian punishments for smokers, yet the Deputy Head took no notice of the odd few boys who snuffed. I was even offered some very good snuff, from a beautiful antique silver bowl, by one of the Governors, in my last year there! Smoked through my 20s and the first half of my 30s, then returned to snuff. Now can’t understand why people seem to get so much pleasure setting fire to their tobacco!
Mostly because it(snuff taking) was there. I have always been familiar with snuff and when I decided to quit smoking, it was natural to take up snuff.
When I was a kid, around 10 or so, my sister had just been born, and I had a horrific cold. Because of the newborn baby, I was quarantined at my grandparent’s house for the weekend so I didn’t pass on my cold to her. My granddad used to smoke before I was born, but at that time, he had given up all tobacco, or so I thought. Seeing my miserable state, he confided in me that he always took snuff when he had a cold, and took me to a tobacconists. Given my tender age, he bought me some Snuffy Weis, a tobacco-free white snuff. It didn’t cure my cold, but it certainly got me interested! (my mom went mad when she found out…) When I was a bit older, 17 or 18, I had started smoking. My teacher found out all the kids that smoked, and made them take snuff before going outside for recess, the idea being that we wouldn’t want to smoke because we had nicotine in our systems! After that, I tried snuff a few times here and there, but it wasn’t until I tried non-medicated snuff that I found I liked it. As many above have said, I like history. I shave with a a 150 year old razor, carry a pocket knife and a handkerchief, shoot blackpowder and take snuff. It makes me feel like I’m going back in time. On the other hand, I’d feel naked without my iphone… I guess I’m just a bit weird.
someone offered me a pinch a few years ago. I took some more out of curiosity than anything else!
I have always been interested in snuff as a historical and, as @snuffster elegantly put it, “otherworldly enigma”. My wife used to work in my local Gentlemen’s Outfitters, which sells a good range of snuff. She bought me some for a wedding anniversary present a while back, and I loved it…I’ve been snuffing ever since! I smoked some years ago but stopped as I’m a singer and smoking affected my voice negatively. Snuff allows me to have a whack of Nicotine as and when I want it, without it being detrimental to my voice. I also LOVE the aromatic aspect of snuff. I’m a deeply olfactory person and revel in the scents and aromas of day-to-day life, so snuff is hugely appealing to me. I love the stuff, I can’t name one negative aspect of it!
My path to snuffing was round about. I started searching the net a year ago for ideas on how to quit smoking. I was looking for a magic formula that would make my quitting painless,(and jonesless). After months of fruitless searching online I found a video by some guy named tropical bob that showed how to use snuff inside a product called a Ploom to get smoke and nicotine without all the hazards of smoking. I bought the Ploom, got some W E Garret’s and went to town smoking snuff in the Ploom. After about a week or so of smoking the Ploom I decided to try using the snuff as it was meant to be used and snorted some. Being an idiot I snorted a full line of scotch. After doing a little jig of pain, while my eyes ran like leaky pipes, I figured out that doing the snuff nasally took away my cigarette cravings. After a few days of snuffing I gave my Ploom to my girlfriend, who I hope gets the hint to stop smoking, and have been snuffing merrily since. Snuff has truly been the magic formula for me to quit smoking. Thanks go out to tropical bob whoever he is.
i initially listed that i got into snuff to help quit smoking … but really, it’s the hot chick groupies.
it’s always the women, Vathek … always the women. Perfect.
Honestly, it was these three things… It’s Tobacco The variety of scents is amazing And it goes in my nose! (As strange as this sounds )
my reasoning the convienence of it, the low cost and the awesome scents that you get without the smell you give off from smoking
The cost, health benefits, the wonders of the varied scents, and like MikeMoose, I enjoy insufflating fun powders
I got tired of smoking. The pipe and cigar lost their flavor to me. I got older, learned a proper snuff technique, and off I was. I still have my 100 some odd pipes and a bunch of cigars, but so they will sit until that mid life crisis, I imagine.
Being able to get my fix inside pretty much any establishment. And also the fact that, unlike smoking, the smell of snuff is out of this world.
I started using Dr. Rumneys mentholyptus snuff and panche photo snuff, that had me hooked. Yeah, I used leaf, plug, biddies, etc not to mention smoked a pipe from age 15. Love the stuff. Nicotine is my friend…you betcha. I really hate those bastards who give nicotine fans a hard time. My way of figuring…if you dont like it, dont buy it, dont use it DUH!!!..really simple. too many folks trying to tell ya how and all to run your life. After all these yrs…many decades mind you. I always go back to snuff. Now I wont lie to ya, I adore pipe tobacco…but my lungs cant handle the stuff like when I was younger. There ya go…snuff is so much cheaper, and healthier…nuff said,SNUFF SAID.
Paanch Photo, I think is just 5 Photo. Must be how they pronounce it. I guess you have some good Indian markets there. My Indian markets only have IPCO creamy snuff, which I confess to enjoying.
I had gotten up to 3 cigars a day while out of work which was a habit my finances could no sustain. - tried snus and didn’t like it. Found snuff. Also it helps me to stay awake on the new job night shift. I’m down to3 cigars a week now.
@stapf thanks for helping me demonstrate the importance of coffee. I first read your post as saying a habit my fiances could not sustain. I thought man what a strange situation.
Cigarettes were starting to rule my life. They were killing my cash, and making me wake up feeling like absolute crap. I also love cycling, so filling my lungs with smoke and riding a bike do not mix. I happened to see snuff in the grocery store, and decided to buy a tin. Took a big snort the first time, and thought someone was shooting fire into my nose, but I tried again, and again, and again, and again and finally got it right. Now I absolutely love it! There is such history behind that is so fascinating. It’s also helped me with headaches. I also have tinnitus like @ourlastdefeat, and I’ve noticed that now that I don’t smoke, it’s almost gone away. Snuff is just great.
@OscarWabbit : I think we have more in common than we think
The idea of artistic scents, the love of tobacco/nicotine, the vast array of grinds, scents, blends, etc.
The old-fashioned nature of it. The fact that it is an anachronism. To me, a pinch of snuff is a glorious way to connect with our forefathers who first fell in love with tobacco in the 16th century. We are lucky that companies like WoS and SG are still in existence to keep us latter-day snuffers well stocked.
It’s another way for me to enjoy tobacco. I love tobacco.
i was sitting a the computer one night, killing time, and |I typed in " free sample" as a search ( this was 2007), and a link came up for Toque. i didn’t even know what snuff was at the time. I did smoke a pack a week and was thinking about quiting, so I went for the sample. I’ve been a snuffer ever since and haven’t touched a cig since. Plus i becae a member of this site and have no complaints. this will be my 4th year cig free!
When I was younger I had an old Zorro TV serial on VHS. I remember him taking snuff and I was fascinated by it. I had forgotten about it until a friend started talking about his buddy taking sniff when they were younger. I got curious, watched a few @MikeMoose reviews, found Silver Dollar locally, and the rest is history. Now I’m almost off the smokes and I’m damn happy about it.
I was a smoker who wanted a safer and cheaper alternative. I was into snus for a period of time (before the PACT act, which pretty much killed it for me) and used to order from Northerner.com a lot. I noticed they had a section devoted to nasal snuff. I thought “nasal snuff? What the hell is this? Tobacco you sniff in your nose? How far out! I want to try some of this”. I did some research on it and only became increasingly fascinated by it until i decided to add a couple tins/bullets to my regular snus order and give it a shot. Although I no longer use snus or any form of oral tobacco, snuffing has stayed with me. I use snuff daily now and no longer chew tobacco, although I do enjoy the random cigar, its nothing like I used to smoke - about 5 cigars a day or about a pack of cigarettes when I was still smoking them.
I was a heavy smoker and was getting ready for a long plane trip and snuff occured to me as a way to get my fix as dip gives me heartburn sitting on the plane; I also wanted to kick cigs. I grew up in the deep South (US) and was around growing and curing tobacco and people snuffing from time to time. I’m sure I’m not the only person who wondered about insufflating Copenhagen ‘snuff’, but thanks to the internet, I put that idea to bed. The packaging really hit a note with me when I started looking at varieties. I tried a couple of the weaker scotches and really enjoyed the flavor but had to move up into the realm of Garrett and Rooster to get the nic. As a result of that first phase, I’ve got a real taste for Dental Sweet, which I assume is not a favorite with most under 80 and not from my part of the world. Now, burning tobacco seems like a waste since the eureeka moment when I discovered the perfection of experiencing tobacco in this pure way. I always wished a cigar or cigarette would taste like they smell when unlit and now I’ve got it.
First time I took snuff, I took a SG tap box up to my nose (thinking it was a dispenser) and took a big ole’ “coke” SNIFFFFFF it killed my brain and made my eyes cry. Got one hell of a buzz. and loved every second of it ever since…
transistor…LOL…I did the very same thing with my first snuff from a tap box. WOW…have never forgotten that experience!!
Transistor - I did this with Navy - OMG!!!
OT - This is a radical post. A story from so many members all in one topic. Excellent. And thanks @Dogwalla, I am honored to hear that you watched my videos, and that it helped you find out about snuff! Glad to hear it’s helping you off the cigs too
@Whalen I did this same exact thing with Navy! It was the first snuff I bought in the store, mostly because the name stuck out more than any of the others on the shelf. @Rocktopus Didn’t think anyone else snuffed Dental. Since I’ve moved down South (Alabama), all you can buy here is Scotches like Dental, Navy, Bruton, and the like
@dakotas Didn’t think so either. It’s probably like SPAM. You have it in the cupboard and you enjoy some for breakfast and break it out in hard times, but you don’t talk about it in mixed company.
@rocktopus yeah it’s definitely an acquired taste. where in the south did you grow up? I’m a recent transplant in Alabama from Boston.
Oooh! Fried SPAM with Dental snuff sprinkled on it. I think we have a winner. I’d eat it!
As a non cig smoker but a lover of the aroma of fresh tobacco I had always sniffed the new open packs on cigs my parents open. As I got older I would smoke a occasional cigar,you know the Clint Eastwood kind. But now I still smoke ocassional cigars but got hook on the smells of snuff, mostly Bernards etc. One day while I was driving my daughter 15 she found my glove box stash, mostly Carharts sweet ,Bruton,Honey Bee,Maccoboy. She wanted to smell the Honey and I said sure give it a sniff, Ha Ha she said after clearing her eyes. I told her not to tell Mom…
Got started when the Sheriff’s office I worked for banned all tobacco use in any form in the jails, offices,cruisers, and unmarked cars. I have a nice wooden (cherry) snuff bar with double glass doors and a mirrored back. No favorite snuffs, enjoy them all, but am a bit taken by Red Bull. PS have a second identical snuff bar and would trade it for some assorted snuffs Unkei
I don’t even remember how I found out about snuff, I just remember researching it and being quite curious about it.
Spent quite a bit of time watching various videos on YouTube, reading articles and lurking in forums, got a little bit of money and put an order in for some Toque flavours I thought I might like and, as they say, the rest is history.
Absolutely hooked, now.
I have a friend who has been snuffing for several years, and at first when he told me about it I was angry at him and thought I would never try it. About a year later we were just sitting in class listening to a long-winded and boring lecture and he offered me some and i decided to give it a shot. The next day i bought my first cans of snuff(Ozona President)
I was coming home from deployment when we stopped in Leipzig Germany for a layover. I saw Gletcherprize and Gawith Apricot in a little store. I bought them both. My friends thought I was insane but by the next month I had a pretty good collection going and a few more friends trying it out too. I like snuff for the purpose it is made for but it also never fails to be a great conversation piece.
I smoked for 5 years. I tried patched and e-cigarettes, but the bottom line is that i love tobacco. nothing has quite the same effect as tobacco. I thought that taking it up the nose sounded pretty unique and that the variety of flavors sounded amazing. it is inexpensive, low health risk and a great hobby. I really got into it after joining this site and watching videos on it.
I especially love the fact that im participating in the same hobbies as many of our forefathers and historical figures :). now i want a quill and ink.
After a google search and the little tins, I like tins. The range and cheapness of snuff.
@Zacknsnuff Definitely the historical side to, that’s why I must allready have a quill and ink.
The constant pleasure of every pinch, the financial cost, the freedom of being able to consume tobacco anywhere and the health safety. I also like being eccentric, different from the herd. Cigarettes make me anxious, snuff doesn’t. What amazes me is why more people don’t see these fantastic benefits. Smoking just seems crude and uncouth to me now. I hate the smell of second hand smoke.
Smoking was killing me and was becoming unacceptable to everyone and everywhere. And then there is the proposed money savings… I have yet to see that. I might be at the break even point right now, but Id have to stop buying to realize the benefit.
@JohnnyFriday , how are you not seeing the money saving? Though I guess it depends on how much you snuff. A pack of cigs costs 4-6 bucks on average, sometimes as much as 8-12. A can of snuff can cost between 3-5 dollars depending on brand and amount. How long does it take you to go through a 5 dollar tin of snuff vs a 5 dollar pack of cigs?
@JohnnyFriday I understand about the cost savings…TAD is a terrible thing.
In fact, my wife made a bet with me that I can’t go 4 weeks without making a SINGLE tobacco product purchase. Not cigs, SNUS…nothing. I accepted her challenge. All but the RYO smokes are gone, but I have enough pipe/SNUS to hit the 4 week mark with ease.
She will feel the power of my restraint, and then I will go on a shopping spree.
Same as @Brandasaur Watching Inglorious Basterds piqued my interest. Now I think I am the only snuff taker in my county. I have always been an odd duck…
Started smoking pipes in high school. I always liked the smell of the more fancy tobacco. I switched to cigs as it was easy to get and use. I found snus last year since my job went smoke free and after reading about snuff (and it’s scents) decided to try.
I am much more a smell guy then a taste guy, so I am exclusively snuff now.
(Also a boob guy, but that’s another thread)
I won’t see savings until I actually stop buying snuff and use my stockpile. Do I have a lot of snuff on hand? Yes, about a years worth. But in the time frame I have bought it I actually spent more than what I would have on cigarettes. Does that make sense?
Say I bought enough beer to last me the rest of my life this week and at a great savings. It would take me a long time before I was at break even, however in the long run there will be a savings.(hypothetical beer gets skunky)
I must admit, now that I’m up to around 20g a day (no joke), the money savings are less. Have had to give up the Makla too. I was going crazy with that stuff.
HOLY CRAP BADGERS, BATMAN! How is 20g a day even possible?!
He must be eating it
It’s surprisingly easy after giving up a 25g tub a day Makla habit (plus around 10g snuff). Today so far I’ve had 15g IHT22 10g Lemon Toast About 2.5g Bruton And about 2g of Cheeta And the day’s not over yet. Still knocking back the Bruton and Cheeta. Edit: went to sleep shortly after posting this, so that’s yesterday’s total. Nearing 30g. MADNESS! Must stop being so greedy. May be I’ll return to more sensible levels once the Makla vacuum has diminished.
Back to normal today. Had about 7g so far. It was the lack of Makla that caused yesterday’s madness.
Holy Moly!! He must be at least halfway through all the new Abraxas by now!!!
@OscarWabbit
I just don’t see how you can possibly use so much. How can your nose even hold that much? You’re using 2 grams an hour assuming you sleep 8 hours. Its just incredible
2gr/hr really isn’t that much if you think about it. Someone that smokes 2 packs a day uses more tobacco than that.
2g an hour is a lot! in 5 hours a tin of FC Bayern or Gawith Apricot would be empty. I think you have an assuption of what a gram of snuff looks like that is inaccurate… unless you just do a LOT of snuff.
Big pinches is all it takes.
Mr stokes is absolutely right. Fill the nose to capacity, blow and empty every 10 mins, refill nose. The only restraining factor I found is nasal soreness. Any way glad to be back at a more reasonable level. 10g p/day.
Do you use tissues or hankies? The soft cotton of the hankie can cut down on the nose soreness. Also once your nose is used to that much snuff, the soreness will go away.
Snuff’s a wonderful thing. I was out last night without my snuff box and I experienced a craving that made my old cigarette smoking pangs pale into nothingness, but it was a very different sort of craving. With cigarettes it was a kind of desperate feeling of tension and a real drug-like withdrawal; light headed etc etc. The craving I had last night was more mental, that need for the comfort that snuff brings. It’s so rare for me to forget my snuff that I hardly ever go through a craving process, so I tend to forget I’m actually addicted. My life, am I hooked on the stuff:)
@snuffster Did you step into a grocery store and smell some cheese and bacon to take the edge off?
Lol, not one I use but it’s not a bad idea. I’ve never been tempted by that particular flavour:)
I dont think theyd be to happy if you took a swig of honey chased with whiskey.
That would be more like it though.
I knew a guy that said you’re only an addict when you run out.
@cstokes4 I use cotton tartan handkerchiefs. I find if I’m using a slightly stale snuff, the burn is greater, which causes the soreness. This is why I try and always use fresh snuff, but some of my tins are old and I hate throwing away snuff. Thans for the advice
@OscarWabbit: try throwing a chunk of carrot into the stale snuff, it should soften it up a bit. I know that hard, dried up snuff can be less than enjoyable. The SG snuffs in tap boxes used to get to me every time, that stuff is like gravel when too dry.
I hate the pebbly. You snuff it only to have little pebbles just roll out of your nose.
@cstokes4 Thanks for the suggestion. Sounds like a great idea. I was going to experiment with adding apple slices, I’ll try both now. Much appreciated.
I’ve been meaning to do that too, @cstokes. My boss lady just started juicing a few weeks back and it’s amazing how much juice you can get out of a carrot. Not only that, but a carrot holds up very well as far as spoilage goes.
I tried an apple slice in a dried out pouch of A.S. rolling tobacco, and it worked great! Until a day or two later when I found a colony of mold in there, plain water tends to have happier results.
First it was the novelty and the fact that you can snuff anywhere you are unlike smoking or dipping. Then I got into the different brands and styles. It’s turned into an intersting hobby.
Because i’am different, and love anything historical. Also, a good blast of snuff is pretty close to a drag off a smoke, which i’m successfully quiting w/snuff. Its really not even a challenge w/good snuff at my side. Two weeks and counting.
@thesymbolist Yes there is a hobby aspect to it. But for me its also that it is much more economically accessible than many hobbies.I certainly couldn’t afford getting into whiskey or wine like I have gotten into snuff. Hell, Cigars is a very expensive hobby as well.
I agree all that other stuff is way too expensive to enjoy on a regular basis. Snuff lasts a good while. And as to whiskey I could never afford that either and I would be the neigborhood drunk in no time. I’m terrible at the moderation game.
Simple curiosity.
I was at my nephew’s wedding in Memphis and, for the first time, I saw snuff for sale at a corner store. I had had blocked eustachian tubes for close to 9 months which my doctor was having no success in unblocking with medication. Some American scotch (W.E. Garrett) cleared them out within 6 hours.
I have been using snuff as my preferred decongestant ever since.
A really fine, dry snuff like a Scotch or Toast seems to do wonderful things when I have plugged e-tubes. Even menthols don’t get me as clear as something like HDT does. A medium sized hit of a toast can clear me out so well that my sinus rinse or a hot shower produces very little result from my nose. After I figured out this little fact I stopped using my sinus rinse entirely unless I have some irritation from a heavy snuff bender.
Also, since I started snuffing on a daily basis (the time where it was occasional I don’t count), I haven’t had a single sinus infection, runny nose, or head cold in general. I think I keep my nose so coated with the snuff thorough the day that things don’t have a place to land. I usually only blow my nose before a new snuff, not after I’ve just done one recently.
To me, a sufferer of chronic sinus infections, snuff has been a godsend. I would have started this stuff the moment I could have gotten my hands on some had I known the real benefits.
@Dogwalla - Glad to see another person who uses snuff for medicinal purposes!
It’s a GREAT justification, eh?
I do too. Not only does it keep my allergies in check It also keeps my Bi-polar from swing quite so wildly.
I smoked cigs for years. Somewhere I fell in love with cigars.(in the seventies they were cheap) I found a pipe was too frustrating, I even dipped a bit. About twenty years ago, I went into a tinder box here in alb. I noticed the snuff. Little tiny cans of Frieburg and Treyer, The usual ones from Denmark, Poshl etc. Some tins of Dean Swift, and a vial of Count Muariri (spelling mine) I asked if the tins from F&T were the largest they had. He said it was the only size the made. I forgot to mention I was a compulsive Private investigator. In two weeks I was getting devine packages from Charing Cross road (smiths) and the same from frieburg and treyer. They had big cans. Smiths had big glass jars. After some years I left snuff quit cigs and took up the pipe.I have about a hundred or so. They keep my snuff boxes company. The first snuff I ever tried was a hundred gram container of dry orange snuff from Ireland. I never forgot it. I had two hundred gram containers of Gallerhers HDT. After twenty five years the one container I opened was still great.(I keep the other on my desk) I am sixty five and when it is my time I want to have a nose full of Princes Dark and Hedges. (I do one then the other) I love to hold an estate pipe or snuff box and wonder about its history. When i found Mr. Snuff it was like Christmas. I am sorry I rambled on but I love the subject.
Thank You All
Wow, great thread! I confess to not having read everyone’s story, but I’m getting there. Don! Nice to hear from you too! That is a great story.
I first sampled snuff as a kid, just trying tobacco in all its forms. I caged smokes from my parents, attempted to roll my own (didn’t quite have that down yet), and saw some scotch snuff in a drugstore one day. Had to try it. Wow! I hated it! It just about killed me! Suffice to say, I didn’t finish that can and I don’t recollect what happened to it. Probably just pitched it.
But I never forgot about snuff; somehow it was alluring, always in the back of my mind throughout my life. Finally in about 2009 (?) I did a search online to see if they still made the stuff. They did! And wow, so many choices. I ordered a sampler and never looked back. I love snuff, use it every day, all day. I don’t think I’ll ever give it up. My little collection isn’t as big as a bunch of you folks, but I have a desk drawer full of so many different snuffs I never have to worry about having just the right choice. Like right now and most of today, McC Clove; what great stuff!
Stopped smoking 30 ears ago but always had the yearn for one now and again but if you can stop then never even try an odd one smoking is not the way forward. Had sinus problems for the last 10 years and an old snuff taking friend said try snuff and last year i thought why not the first couple of tins never went down that well but i did notice it kept my nose clear so i tried a couple more. Now i love it have a couple of favorites and choose a small tin of something new on every order and really enjoy the flavours and yes it still keeps my nose clear most of the time. So as well as liking the smell and flavours and keeping the breathing system unblocked i never even fancy a smoke anymore. The one thing i did try early on was a bullet but noticed i could take the snuff to the back of my throat not so nice so now i am a tap and sniff man. My 2 running at the moment are Jockey club and Irish Toast tend to like a drier fine to medium and always reading reviews and thinking of which small tin to try next as my favorites have changed. No idea how many snuff takers there is but i have only run into one person locally who uses snuff at work when he cant get out for a smoke.
Thank you all for your generous comments. My snuff and pipe tobacco make me feel like christmas once a month I have certain not alloweds in my life. I had to give up all forms of the grape. (john barleycorn) I suffer from migraines and was given pills to help with the pain. you know where that is going. I was given meds to help with that and it took my taste buds away. I lost fifty pounds. So I keep my sanity with pipe and snuff. when I tap my box and take a pinch, I become transported to eighteen hundred england (Ireland, Scotland?) I reread my precious snuff books, hoping to find something I missed. And please try something I discovered. I take a really big pinch of Black Rappee or Princess dark. Then after a few seconds a good pinch of McCystals or Hedges. Again I thank you all Keep Snuffing
Mr Snuff and this forum has opened up a new world for me, too. As I’ve gotten into snuff more I’ve cut back on pipe smoking somewhat, though I feel they are good companions. I’m still exploring all the variety Mrsnuff has made available and am grateful for that. There are no b&m tobacconists within reasonable distance from where I live and the PACT act has closed off mail-order access to domestic sellers. Also, I work with non-smokers so snuff is a convenient and respectful way to enjoy tobacco.
Love the non bothersomeness of my snuff use. Second hand snuff isn’t life threatening (and even if you say second hand smoke is not, well there is no debate about second hand snuff )
What if you sneeze a big pinch into someone’s face
I tend to sneeze out of my mouth for some strange reason, so people are only in danger if I have a SNUS portion in.
I sneeze out of my mouth too, because if I sneezed out of my nose … well, the mess would not be photogenic. But snuff has only made me sneeze twice, and both times it was a really dry snuff that shouldn’t have been. Lesson learned! Sneezing does feel pretty satisfactory in general though.
@Mouse, you’re right. I think snuff is a good companion for almost anything. I’ve been known to snuff during a meal even, and it was just fine. I can’t think of a time when snuff wouldn’t be appropriate (keeping in mind that there are some activities that people my age simply seldom undertake anymore, that might be inappropriate for snuff taking).
mouth sneezing is a must. I cant imagine ever letting a nose one fly with snuff. Itd be like a blunderbuss going off.
My first real experience with snuff was during Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian Lunar New Year. It’s a holiday that lasts about 2 weeks and involves visiting the homes of family and friends.
Each visit requires a certain protocol:
- A specific greeting (Amar baina uu?) and gesture to all members of the household (giving a gift to the head of the household is optional)
- Three shots of vodka and three Mongolian dumplings (called buuz) must be consumed before a guest can leave
- A guest must receive a gift before leaving (candy, money, etc.)
The dumplings usually take 20-25 minutes to cook and it is during this time that a snuff bottle is usually passed around (any respectable Mongolian man should have his own snuff bottle). Again, passing around the snuff bottle has its own certain cultural protocol (I could go into greater detail if anyone wants to know).
So basically, I visited houses, drank vodka, ate dumplings, and took spoons and spoons (with the occasional pinch) of snuff and just really fell in love with it. It has also served as a great way to integrate into the community, as it is a big part of the culture here (I bought my own snuff bottle and Mongolians love it when I take it out and do the whole sharing thing with them).
Win win.
@SuoremeCOJP Yes, please, go through the details of the Mongolian cultural protocol that you have experienced. It would be worthy of its own thread titled so.
^this. I’d love to know as well. I actually remember seeing something about it one time on the History or Discovery channel though. (it was only in passing though because he was offering snuff in an attempt to get info on the infamous mongolian death worms)
Google translated, but always something to the topic of Mongolian snuff:
Ah, the Mongolian death worm. Apparently it’s red, about a meter long, spits out acid as a close-quarter attack, and shoots out electricity as a ranged attack. Lives in the Gobi apparently.
I’ll write something up for ya’ll that are interested, just give me a moment.
I wanted a safer way to continue using tobacco. Also I was intrigued by the history. Snuff has in fact taught me much about tobacco in general. So glad to have found it! Who’ll give me three hearty cheers to Snuff! Huzzah!
Huzzah, huzzah, huzzah!
Yeah, snuff, ooh baby!
@Juxtaposer. Cheers!