Geeks vs. Technophobes: The New War

During the investigation of an email sent to a Boston College mailing list accusing a student of being gay, local law enforcement searched a student's dorm room and confiscated all his computer equipment, his cell phone, ipod, and other devices.

They are claiming the student is guilty of various charges including "obtaining computer services by fraud or misrepresentation" and "unauthorized access to a computer system." So it would seem there was more to the investigation than follow up on a hateful email, or charges of "flaming" on a public forum. Usually those sorts of things are just deleted by an admin, and maybe the user is banned for terms of service violations. Not this time.

Where this case gets totally ludicrous is in the justification for the search warrant. This is where probable cause has to be shown to defend the removal of a citizen's rights. In this case though, the probable cause includes things like the fact that the student was seen with "unknown laptops" that he claimed he was fixing for other students. I guess they didn't believe him, though I can't imagine even so what they thought he'd be doing with the "unknown laptops" that was so bad.

Better yet, is the reasoning that because the student "uses multiple names" to log on to his computer, and uses two different operating systems, one of which has a command line interface, that this constitutes probably cause for a search warrant, the confiscation of all his electronic devices, and the search and analysis of all his private information.

I really wasn't aware that using multiple login names or running more than one operating system were in any way criminal or suspicious. If that's enough to get a search warrant in these times, I better make sure no one ever finds out how many different operating systems I use, nor how many different login names like "Admin" and "User" I have on some systems, much less that I have systems that use a command line. Hell, I've got a computer that doesn't even have a monitor attached to it. It's just this mysterious black box with a couple lights on it that purrs away silently day and night. You want to talk about "unknown" computers... bet that one would scare the shit out of em! The computer next to that runs not one, not two, but three operating systems! And has room allocated for two more! Five operating systems? That must put me on the level of an international terrorist!

Anyway, maybe this kid did commit some sort of computer crime. I really don't know. You can't tell anything from the allegations and probable cause released by law enforcement, which means whatever they suspected him of doing, they didn't have any real proof. What this means, last I checked, is that it's totally unconstitutional for them to have searched his dorm room and seized his equipment based entirely on their technologically ignorant "fear the unknown" tactics. Scary.

You can read the full article at the EFF website.

Quick & Dirty Snus Reviews: Round 3

Well, because of the long delay getting to round 2 of reviews, I'm able to jump right on round 3 as I've already had my third order in for a week and a half at this point, and pretty well familiarized myself with everything in it.

This order was a little different from the first two, as it was both a larger order, but actually ended up having fewer new and unique types of snus than the previous two. The bulk of the order was spent stocking backups of a few types of snus that I've come to love and depend on. Roda Lacket, General Ekstra Sterk, and Nick and Johnny. Also picked up a second can of a few others like Goteborgs Rape #2, Ettan, General Onyx, and Claq Qui. Even though I'm not moving through the first cans of these all that fast, I know I'll be using them off and on and will be happy to have a can in the freezer when I run out of any of them.

Of the "new" varieties I picked up, three are actually just the white portion versions of snus I've already familiarized myself with in original portion form. So far I haven't formed a preference for white or original portion, I've been pretty happy with whatever they happened to come in, but as some types are available in both, I figured I'd try out the other format and see if there was an obvious difference. For the sake of the reviews, I'm treating this as new varieties and will review them, but mostly with a regard to how they compare to the original portion for that I've already tried and reviewed.

Let's get to it.

PM 1847 White Portion: 1847 was a snus I was originally a bit intimidated by, as it is a pretty strong and intense tobacco flavor. I found pretty quickly that I liked it a lot, but then realized as much as I liked it in certain settings, or paired with certain beverages that matched it for being strong and dark, I couldn't use it all the time. For this snus, the white portion version seems to mellow it down just the right amount. It is delicious and smooth, comes on a little easier and never overwhelms the senses. I will probably be sticking with the white portion of this from here on, except for the occasional craving for a good kick in the head with an original portion. I'm tempted however to empty each new can of white portion into the one original portion tin I have, as I love these tins, but the black lid appeals to me a lot more than this one. What's that? I could just switch the lids around?

Ettan Vit (White) Portion: A good amount of the fun of Swedish Snus is learning and using new words. It's easy enough to figure out that Vit means White, Stark or Sterk means Strong, and we could always just substitute in the English word. But we don't want to. What the put on the can is what it is. So General Ekstra Sterk is and Ekstra Sterk. Skruf Stark is a Stark. And Ettan Vit is... okay fine, Ettan Vit is generally referred to as Ettan White. I just like saying Vit. Vit Vit Vit!

So Ettan was one of my early faves when I started with snus. A nice mild snus with a little salt, always reminded me of having a cheek full of sunflower seeds. Pretty pleasant and easy to handle while adjusting to the new experience of Swedish snus. The white portion format of Ettan seems to be about the same, except milder. For me now, this means it is way too mild, I don't get enough flavor out of it, and as I don't notice the salt in snus as much as I did at first, I don't even get the sunflower seed salty experience. What this means is that I won't be using Ettan Vit, will surely stick with the regular portions when I want Ettan, but I'm thinking that this may have been an even better starter snus than the Ettan regular portions, as the flavor is so mild it should be easy for any snubie to handle.

General White Portion: Here's one I didn't notice all that much difference between the original and white portions, though I'm probably going to have to do a closer study, as I keep hearing other users say the white has more of a peppery flavor and other variances between the two. For me it's just as much of a middle of the road, dependable standard snus as the good ol' General Portions. The cool thing about the whites though is that General recently started arranging them in the can like it does the Onyx, in the very nice looking "star" pattern. This also gives the portions a wedge shape to them, which a lot of snusers find makes them fit nicely under the lip. I personally like to squish em a bit and even them out, but to each his own.

Gotlandssnus Green: I'm still a little perplexed over the Gotlands varieties. Having picked up the Yellow initially, thinking it was a plain tobacco flavor, then finding it had a pretty heavy sweet and herbal flavor to it that I actually liked quite a bit. I picked up the Green next, hearing good things about it, and seeing that it was intended to be a flavorful snus. Opening the can it certainly smells quite nice. Smells quite "green" in fact. You can practically see it growing on some sort of lush evergreen shrub. What a great smell. Upon trying it though, I was somewhat surprised and disappointed to find that it's flavor was actually much milder than the Yellow. Not bad, mind you, this is another tasty snus, it's just much more subtle that I had expected. I'm still preferring the Yellow over this one. One thing I really like about this one though, is that the can says "Flader" on it, which I take to mean "Green", and I like saying "Flader", yes I do.

Gustavus: This is one I picked up on a whim. Hadn't heard much about it, got decent reviews but didn't sound like anything spectacular or all that popular. My tastes though had been starting to head more and more towards plain tobacco flavors with a good amount of saltiness, so I'd decided to pick up a variety of the more plain snus brands and give em a whirl, knowing that out of the bunch I'd eventually choose just the outstanding ones to keep in the regular lineup. With those expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by the Gustavus. It's a plain tobacco, not extremely strong like the 1847, but not as mild as Ettan or General Portions either. It has a certain uniqueness to it that I found immediately appealing. Good stuff that will probably hold a regular spot in my lineup, or at least be one I get the desire for now and then. They recently redesigned the can to be a nice looking black, somewhat rounded at the top and bottom, with a shiny silver flip top "ashtray" lid. I don't have a picture yet, tsk tsk.

Lucky Strike: I initially stayed away from all the "cigarette" snus varieties. Philip Morris, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall... I'm not sure if I just wanted to stick with the more "exotic" stuff that had interesting names I had never heard of (and liked saying). Or if I just wasn't interested in snus that might taste anything like cigarettes. Either way, the whole thing broke down when I got inspired to try the PM 1847 and liked it. Also, having liked the tobacco and salt flavors of Ettan and some others, I was advised to try Lucky Strike along with a few others. So I did. Lucky Strike cigs were always really the only smoke I would have considered a suitable substitute for my regular Camel Filters. They were the only ones I had now and then that blended a nice flavor with just enough kick in the back of the throat for me. That being said, Lucky Strike snus doesn't taste like Lucky Strike cigarettes. It is however, a strong tobacco snus, with a smokiness I find nice, though I'll advise that some people feel it is too artificial tasting, or they just don't like a smoke taste to their snus. For me, it's great. This is also another one with a great can. It's a big bold manly can. With that simple and bold Lucky Strike logo on top, it is thicker than most snus cans, with a nice black lid portion, and a steel bottom portion. Inside there's a plastic sleeve that fits between the two, sealing it pretty well. This can could probably double as a projectile weapon in a pinch. Though I suggest only throwing your snus in the most desperate of situations, and only when you're reasonably sure you'll be able to retrieve it afterwards. The picture here shows the can after it is unwrapped from the outer labeling it comes in, so you can see the steel bottom portion. The only thing the can is missing is the fairly standard "ashtray" compartment. But for this can, I can live without it.

M by Mocca: Now here's a pretty can for a plastic one. Nice grey silver color, a modern looking rounded edge design with an ergonomic dimple in the top to get the ashtray lid off. How nice. Okay okay, the snus, the snus. Right. I picked this one up as another of the plain tobacco testers. Most of the Mocca line I've seen or tried were of the heavily flavored variety. Remember they do those heavily flavored minis in the cute colorful metal tins? The Pomegranate that smells like Bazooka Joe? Mhmm, so I was curious to see what they did with a plain tobacco. And? Not bad, not bad at all. Mellow, nice flavor, but really all in all nothing outstanding. With a whole variety of plain tobacco snus on my plate, this one sorta just blends in. My main gripe with it though would be longevity. Or lack thereof. It's really a decent flavor that a lot of folks could be perfectly content with, especially those who aren't as much of suckers for some hefty tobacco flavors like I seem to be becoming. But the flavor fades out very quickly. I'm talking no time at all. I know most Swedes only keep their snus in for 30-45 minutes tops, and a lot of us Americans are kinda crazy in that we probably average at least an hour, and sometimes forget one for two hours or so. But I didn't get 30-45 out of this one, and with so many that'll keep going for an hour plus... there's not much point for me in this one.

Oden's Kanel: Remember how the spot for my Oden's Kanel Extra Sterk in the last batch of reviews was filled with a story of getting the wrong snus, and realized I'd ordered Extra Sterk instead of regular strength? Right right. Well, because of all that, I ordered a can of regular strength Kanel with this order. Now, the funny thing about this is that the day my order arrived, I received a separate package containing my replacement can for my original order of Extra Sterk. Only... it wasn't Extra Sterk, they sent me original. I wasn't about to go back to customer service for such a small discrepancy, so I ended up with two cans of Oden's Kanel Original. Fortunately for me, this stuff is delicious. The only downside is it's going to be a while before I get to try wiring myself up on the 17mg Extra Sterk. Delicious. Did I say delicious? Alright, opening this can you can immediately smell the cinnamon. And it smells delicious. Now, I've always been a fan of cinnamon, and even though I know most everything cinnamon flavored is also pretty highly sweetened in this country, and that cinnamon doesn't really taste like that, I was still somewhat surprised by how the flavor of this really is just cinnamon. There's a mild sweetness, for sure, but it's mostly a delicious spicy cinnamon flavor, that almost hints at gingerbread or clove. I also somewhat expected this snus to burn or tingle in my lip more than most, and it didn't. It's really just a heavenly, pleasant, delicious snus. Highly recommended.

Retro: The last, for now, of the plain tobacco snus. There seem to be several incarnations of the Retro can, and I haven't found one that matches the newest that I have. All the cans I've seen have been pretty stylish looking, in fact the previous design was actually more retro and happening looking in my opinion than the much plainer style of the new can, though I like the nice beveled edge design on the new one. This was another snus recommended to me because of my penchant for plain salty snus like Ettan. This one is definitely more distinctive than the Mocca, as well as lasting a more normal amount of time. It's distinct flavor, however, is not one that works so well for me. It's fairly salty, but doesn't stand out to me as a good balance of salt and flavor, and the flavor has more of a bite to it than I usually go for. If there's bite I want a nice boldness to balance it out, but usually I prefer a more robust and rounded tobacco flavor. Not bad, just not my cup of tea. I don't hate it, I'll finish the can, but I doubt I'll buy it again unless I decide to give the white portion format a chance.

That's it for round three. I'm guessing I probably have one more order to go with another handful of new ones to try and then I'll be able to line up about a dozen as my faves that will be staying in rotation for normal use.

Quick & Dirty Snus Reviews: Round 2

Whew. Got lost for a little while there. Expected to get to Round 2 of this a lot sooner, but as I was getting ready to get on it, my third snus order came in, distracting me with another slew of new varieties to try out. Pretty soon I found myself with over 30 open cans of snus and realized that I was starting to get a bit confused with all the snus goodness. I could hardly keep track of what I had tried each day and what my impressions had been. Which called for going back to each and trying them again and trying to pay extra special attention to each until I had a distinct impression.

I have to say, there sure is a lot of great snus out there. I've already got another handful I've decided I need to try with my next order, but I have to hold off on that until I go through some of my current stock.

So where were we? What was in that second batch of snus I need to write up? Let's see... Nick & Johnny, 1847, Claq Qui, Grovsnus, Gotland Yellow, Phantom Blue, Oden's Kanel Extra Stark, Mocca Pomegranate, Mocca Mint, Catch Dry Eucalyptus, and Goteborgs Rape #2

Right, let's get to it.

Nick (And Johnny): Wow! This was one of those love at first snus instances. I knew pretty quickly this was going to be one of my regular faves. It's a mid-range Stark with 12mg of Nicotine. Not as high as General Ekstra Sterk or some others, but a nice extra kick over the standard 8mg. It has a nice robust tobacco flavor, with a great underlying sweetness. I still can't put my finger on all the unique qualities of this one, but in my book it really is one of a kind, and definitely in my top 5. I enjoyed it so much from the start that I had to add in a few more cans for my third order or I'd have run out in no time.

Philip Morris 1847: What? Philip Morris? Aren't they one of the big bad American tobacco companies? Isn't this supposed to be Swedish Snus? I know, I know. I was a bit hesitant on this one, though I kept hearing good things about it, I've become pretty jaded against names like Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds as I've learned more about the nastiness of their tactics and product additives. But I decided to give it a shot anyhow. Really, how can one resist that gorgeous can? It's one of the nicest, made of steel, embossed lid that seals well but is easy to open simply by pushing down on that spot that says "TRYCK". I wish I had a shot of the bottom of the can as well. The "ashtray" lid you see on most cans for used portions is on the bottom side of this can, and there's something about that I find to be super cool. But enough about the can. When I first opened this one up I was somewhat intimidated by the smell. STRONG, sharp, pure tobacco smell assaulted my nose. It smelled pretty hardcore. I set it aside for a while before trying it out. When I did I found the taste to be somewhat less strong than the smell, but not that much. But it was still good. A strong enough flavor you might confuse it for a stark, but it's not. It was one of the first I tried that was really pure pure tobacco flavor. No sweetness here. Salt and strong tobacco. I found it paired well with black coffee or dark beer. I started liking it more than I expected to, so much that I thought I might be able to take it as my regular snus of the day, but quickly realized it was just a little too heavy for that. Great for certain times, but not for all day long. Now the white portion on the other hand... oh wait, that's in the third order. No spoilers! Oh, and this is made by PMI, Philip Morris International, which is apparently a totally different company from our American Philip Morris. PMI has recently entered into an agreement with Swedish Match to work together for the promotion of Swedish Snus in America, and I believe Swedish Match may be taking over production of 1847.

Claq Qui: Roda Lacket does a stark! Does life get any better than this? Well, actually, as far as stark snus goes, I feel like there are better ones out there. One would think a Roda Lacket Stark might be like Roda Lacket times 2 or so. But really, the distinctive Roda Lacket flavor is much less apparent in the Claq Qui. It's there, but it's not as strong, certainly not stronger. I'm not saying Claq Qui isn't good, it is. But I find that if I want a Roda Lacket I'll have a Roda Lacket. And if I want a Stark, well there are other starks I love love love, so I rarely got for the Claq Qui. With 13mg of nicotine it's close enough to Nick & Johnny that I usually grab one of those, or General ES if I want a little more kick. "Claq Qui" means "Fight Club", btw. Which explains the blood spatter design on the can. This one is definitely still worth trying, some people live on this stuff, it's definitely got a different flavor from a lot of the stark snus out there, just not my preference.

Grov Snus: Another bold tobacco snus, standard 8mg of nicotine. This one really hasn't grown on me. Could be the tobacco flavor being on the "sharper" side, with a distinctive bite to it that doesn't appeal to me. I hear the Grov Svart is different and worth trying, so I'll have to check that out and get back. I've also still got most of this can to go through, so maybe I'll have a change of heart, or at least some more specific impressions to share.

Gotlandssnus Yellow: This is an interesting one. I wanted to try a Gotlandssnus variety as it seemed to be a small distinctive manufacturer, and I'd read they used some unique tobacco in their snus. I chose the Yellow variety to start with, as it is generally listed as having a "Tobacco" taste. Figured a plain tobacco would be a good place to try out what was rumored to be a unique type of tobacco. However, Gotlands Yellow has a flavor that I wouldn't refer to as tobacco, and put it in with the more flavorful types. It has a strong but not overwhelming sweetness, very unique, that I can't quite name. One of those you have try and either like for what it is, or don't. I like to have one here and there when I'm craving something a little more flavorful and different.

Phantom Blue: Alright, you want to talk about unique and distinctive flavor, try Phantom Blue. A very strong and unique sweet flavor that's quite like nothing I've tasted before. Search around and you'll find it's flavor described in a variety of ways. The official description seems to be Juniper Berry and herbs. There are a few types of snus that list Juniper in their flavor, but this is far stronger, and may be more of the flavor is from the "herbs". Definitely worth trying. If you like the flavor you'll probably love this snus. My only qualm with it is that the material the portions are made of seems a bit different from most others and I don't always like the feel of it in my mouth. Probably won't bother most people, but it keeps me from reaching for this snus as much as I might otherwise.

Oden's Kanel Extra Sterk: Kanel is Cinnamon, and I love cinnamon, so I was highly anticipating trying this snus out. I had thought I'd ordered the regular, not the Extra Sterk, which turns out to have 17mg of nicotine and would be the strongest I've tried. When I realized I'd ordered the Extra on accident, I was a little scared and a little excited. I do love my 15mg General ES, how much could 17mg spazz me out? Alas, when my order arrived I went straight for this can without reading the label closely and when I opened it up I found it was full of loose snus. Checked the label again, yup, they'd sent me a can of Los. Not just that, but it was the Oden's Original, not the Kanel, so my curiosity wasn't strong enough to get me to try hand baking a pris and shoving it under my lip. I contacted the company and told them of the mixup and they kindly promised to ship a replacement can asap. So, this review will have to wait.

Mocca Pomegranate Minis: With 5mg of nicotine these have a little more than the usual 4mg, but still not enough to make it worthwhile to me. The little round colorful tin is certainly cute, and this line is pretty obviously marketed towards females, though can be enjoyed by anyone who likes sweet, fruity little mini snus. This snus smells pretty much exactly like Bazooka Joe bubble gum, and though it doesn't taste exactly how it smells, it tastes as much like bubble gum as it does pomegranate in my opinion. It's mostly sweet and fruity, lacks the tartness of real pomegranate. It's not bad though, at all, if sweet and fruity in a mini is your thing.

Mocca Mint Minis: Okay, honestly haven't tried this one. Again, cute packaging in this line. 5mg of nicotine, smells nice and minty, but with so many other great snus types to try, I haven't gotten around to taking the time to waste one of these portions on myself. Maybe one of these days...







Catch Dry Eucalyptus: I picked this up in a mini along with the other flavored minis. This one I actually did get around to trying and decided immediately that since it was available in a regular sized portion, I'd have to get some. I picked up the regulars in my third order, but will go ahead and talk about them here. This is the first of the more flavorful, "fresh" flavors I've really enjoyed. Unlike General Wintergreen, it's not overly sweet, and since it's not mint, it's not overly minty, though the flavor is almost mint-like in it's sharp freshness, it's not super sweet and is mostly just refreshing. Doesn't fit my usual line up of strong tobacco flavors, or tobacco with a kick of something else. I don't taste salt at all with this one either. If you like the flavored types of snus, try this one. And even if you don't so much, give it a whirl as you may find it's the perfect one to have around for certain occasions.

Goteborg's Rape No.2: Hmmm, well the original Goteborg's Rape grew on me over time, it never really became distinctive enough for me to specifically want to grab it from the fridge at any time. Gote #2 is the same basic flavor as the original, but with the addition of a really nice berry flavor. Lingon Berry I guess. Being not at all familiar with Lingon Berries, I can't tell you whether it really tastes like Lingon Berry. All I can tell you is that it's a really nice flavor that definitely makes this snus stand out. Even if you find yourself being iffy over the original Goteborg's Rape, you should definitely give #2 a shot.

That's it for order number two, hopefully I'll be back in less time to round up order three. Cheers, Keep on Snusin'!

Exciting Snus News

As anyone who's read my snus posts knows, my original discovery of Swedish Snus which led me to quit smoking was mostly facilitated by my discovery of SnusCentral.org. I took immediate advantage of the plethora of informative articles and reviews there, as well as the generous and friendly community in the forums to get questions answered and to help me pick out my first varieties of snus and get on the road to snus and off the cigarettes.

Since then SnusCentral has remained one of the few places I visit on the web constantly. It's one of those that has a near permanent tab open in my browser, and I can pretty regularly be found there reading any new posts, and jibber jabbering away about this or that. It's basically my mecca of snus information and opinion, delivered in a friendly and easy to use package.

The founder, Mr.UNZ has done a lot of work, both to the site and in the snus world in general, and it shows. And now, even more than ever.

As more evidence that SnusCentral is a top notch snus information site and community, we've now been joined by the largest manufacturer of Swedish Snus there is. That's right, Swedish Match has taken up a presence at SnusCentral and made themselves available to answer any questions we come up with to put forth to them, and to consider any of the feedback and suggestions we provide.

Wow. Now that's cool.

Some of the first info coming to us from them, and one of the so far most asked questions to them has been about increasing the availability of Swedish Snus in the states. As of yet it is mostly just available at tobacco stores scattered here and there, and many of us have no option but to order it online. This is looking to change. While they can't yet reveal a timeline for us, a fair portion of the General line of snus should be becoming more widely available, with every intention for it to become as common as your standard brands of cigarettes.

While my favorite General varieties (Extra Sterk and Onyx) are not among the selection at this point, nor my many favorites of other lines of snus, this is still pretty exciting. Swedish Match building a presence in the US opens a lot of possibilities and eases some of my fears that "the man" may try and take my Swedish Snus away through their continuing propaganda and relentless anti-tobacco legislation. At this time we've got politicians wasting our time and tax dollars trying to pass legislation through fear mongering, to tie the online purchases of tobacco products together with terrorism.

And while maybe, just maybe there are terrorists getting some sort of revenue flow through selling cigarettes over the internet. Maybe, I'm still not fully believing that's the most lucrative thing they could come up with (remember drugs and guns?). Even if they are, they sure as hell are not being funded by the sales of Swedish Snus. I could count on one hand the online stores selling any decent amount of Swedish Snus. Most snus users seem to use any of about 3 main sites for their purchases. And I'd be beyond shocked to find that any of those sites had any ties that even the most inventive of politicians could say were terrorist ties. Gimme a break.

So this is a time of exciting developments, as well as scary ones. Tobacco has become enemy number one for a lot of folks in this country. But all tobacco is not created equal. Hopefully we can rally enough support, and spread enough intelligence about Swedish Snus to counter some of the ignorance and fear that's already being distributed. Only time will tell.

In the meantime, feel free to visit SnusCentral and check out the "Manufacturers Speak!" section to see the ongoing conversation with Swedish Match. While you're there you can also read up on the latest news in the world of Snus, dig into some articles on the background of Snus, health information, product reviews, or find a friendly welcome in the forums.

See ya there!

Quick & Dirty Snus Reviews

Alright, since I finally nailed out the snubie post I get to move onto more fun stuff. I'm not real happy with the post yesterday, a newbie guide should be shorter, more concise with clear and obvious points to it. But, concise I am not, long and rambling I am.

But rambling or not, I'm going to try and throw out some quick and dirty here. Now, there's not much snus lovers love more than talking about snus, especially giving their opinions and experiences with different types of snus. Half the fun of snus is that there are so many different varieties and while some seem to be generally more or less popular than others, everyone has their personal favorites.

I mean to do one of these early on, with first impressions, but had a second round of new snus coming along, so figured I'd wait til I tried those and cover more varieties at once. Now I've tried those, I nearly ended up putting this off again because I've got a third order on the way. That's what can happen. There always seems to be something new to try.

Anyhow to get organized here, I'm going to break this out into the two orders I've received. Obviously I'm more familiar with the first order snus, having been using them longer, but there are still some second order ones that jumped right out at me and have been seeing daily use while I've started to neglect some of the first round.

First Order: General Portion, General Onyx, General Extra Sterk, Skruf Stark, Roda Lacket, Jakobsson's Icefruit, Ettan, Goteborgs Rape, Northerner Energy Snus, Catch Chill Vanilla/Mint, and General Wintergreen Portion.

Second Order: Nick & Johnny, 1847, Claq Qui, Grovsnus, Gotland Yellow, Phantom Blue, Oden's Kanel Extra Stark, Mocca Pomegranate, Mocca Mint, Catch Dry Eucalyptus, and Goteborgs Rape #2

Yeah, that's a lot of different snus, and there's plenty more out there. This is a far cry from grabbing a pack of Camel Filters each day. I've got more new ones coming along soon too.

Alright, quick and dirty....

General Portion: What I consider a "standard" snus. Straightforward tobacco with a good amount of salt. Most of the General snus varieties are also described as having "citrus" to them as well, but while I get some underlying sweetness, I've yet to really distinctly pick up any citrus. This is a good starting point for new snus users. Standard 8mg nicotine.


General Onyx: The "Premium" of the General line. A little more spendy, can has some nice accents, a white portion snus that actually has black portions which are wedge shaped and fanned out in the can to give a nice appearance upon opening. Saltier than standard General portions, with a spicy peppery kick to it. Get the same sweetness after a while, but still wouldn't call it citrus. This is a very popular snus, and while a lot of folks refer to it having a "silky mouth feel", I find the portion material to be rather abrasive in my mouth until it gets good and wet. I've grown to like this snus more than I initially did, but I always pop it onto my tongue and wet it down before putting it under my lip. Technically a stark snus because of higher nicotine content, at 11mg of nicotine I like it as a "medium" between the standard 8mg and the higher starks. Great with a cup of black coffee.

General Extra Sterk: I love this stuff, after getting used to snus I started using this more and more and it has become my ritual first snus of the morning. With 15mg of nicotine it has one of the highest nicotine contents, and really helps get me going. It was also a lifesaver when trying to beat the after dinner cigarette cravings. On top of that, it's delicious. It is less salty than the Onyx, not really much saltier than a General Portion, has a slightly bolder tobacco flavor, but isn't overly strong. I get a lot of very nice subtle sweetness before long, not any sort of sugary sweetness, mind you, but a very natural mellow sweetness that I've come to love. This snus was a lifesaver for quitting smoking, and is one I am currently having to ration until my next order gets in. It will probably remain one I stock lots of.

Skruf Stark: This is a pretty popular snus with lots of fans. With 14mg of nicotine it falls right under the General ES in strength. However, I keep going back to it to give it another shot and still just really am not into it. It's not bad, heaven forbid, but it hasn't jumped out to me as a personal favorite. It has a sharper and more distinct tobacco flavor, not quite the round and robust tobacco flavor I like, and also lacks the underlying sweetness I seem to enjoy. Still definitely worth trying as it's earned many fans.

Roda Lacket: Oh Roda, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... Uhm, yeah. This one is possibly the hardest for me to describe. It was one of my first favorites and I'm still very pleased with it, even though my tastes seem to be going through changes. It's fairly mild as far as salt and tobacco go, and has a nice sweetness to it that I find difficult to pinpoint or compare to any common taste. A little fruity? But not decisively fruity. It's just pleasant. A standard 8mg of nicotine, this is a good one to carry around as an all around anytime snus. The flavor goes well with so many things. I swear by a Roda Lacket with a plain latte, and have also enjoyed it with Honey Ginseng green tea, or good old southern style sweet tea, or water, or just about anything. Definitely a must try for anyone. I'd recommend it as a good starter snus as I think it is mild enough. The flavor is unique, but not so unique that it disagrees with many people. Not so much a love it or hate it like some snus, more of a love it or like it.

Jakobsson's Icefruit: Now this seems to be more of the love it or hate it type of snus. Well, maybe not hate it. Most snus is pretty hard to hate, but while there are a lot of folks out there who will rant and rave about this snus, there are still a few of us who apologetically admit to not being so fond of it. My first impression of it was that it had a rather brutally sharp and somewhat chemical flavor to it. I've revisited it a few times since, and can definitely pick up more iciness than the initial sharp ick I got from it. It's not minty, so ice is a pretty good descriptor, sharp and pretty fresh, but it just hasn't appealed to me. I've still yet to really find the fruit under the ice, but I'm going to keep trying. Another issue I have with this snus is that somehow the portions seem bigger than normal, so they feel less comfortable to me and seem to bulk out my lip more. Less discreet :( This is often recommended as a starter snus, and it's worth a shot, though I would consider it too unique and strong for a good starter, it's one some folks fall quite quickly in love with.

Ettan: Another nice "standard" snus. Salt and mild tobacco. This is a great all around anytime snus, and a very good starter snus as well. I've only tried the original portions, and am looking forward to checking out the white portion version in my next order. A standard 8mg of nicotine, this is just such a manageable snus in every way. For someone who just wants to pick a type and stick with it, this could easily be the can they carry around with them every day.

Goteborgs Rape: Yeah, nevermind the interesting name. It is supposed to have special characters I haven't taught myself to recreate yet. Rape means something like "course" or something more appropriate in another language. Us Americans have a lot of fun with it of course, since we like to shorten things this one easily turns into "Gote Rape". Questionable humor aside, this is a pretty popular snus, with a pretty distinct flavor. Tobacco and Juniper Berry I believe. I'm not all that familiar with Juniper Berry, but it's certainly interesting. It sounded pretty tasty, so I was looking forward to this one, but it took a while to grow on me. I like it just fine now, but I tend to group it in my mind to being in the same category as Roda Lacket and a few others, so if I'm in the mood for that sort of thing, I'll usually prefer to just grab a Roda Lacket. So, distinct, but not distinct enough for me to want it specifically. Standard 8mg white portion.

Northerner Energy Snus: I thought an energy snus was an interesting idea. Especially since my alarm clock goes off at 5:10am, and despite getting up so early for 7 years now, I still hate it, and still suck at it. I figured it might be worth a shot to keep a snus on my bedside table and pop it in when the alarm went off. Snooze it a bit and maybe by the time I had to get up I'd be a bit more invigorated and willing. I went for the Northerner Energy because I'd heard the Elixyr energy snus tasted terrible. Well, really, so does this stuff. Mostly it tastes sweet, kinda artificially sweet, and the various energy herbs and such lend it a weird taste that doesn't appeal to me. It's a mini portion, low on nicotine content. 5mg I think. It does wake you up a bit, but not a real big kick. Mostly I've abandoned it because using it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach made me a bit queasy for a while.

Catch Chill Mint/Vanilla: This is a limited edition. Catch is doing a quarterly flavor thing, with one for Jan-March, one for April-June, etc etc. If you want it, go get it if you can still find it. This is a mini portion, only 4mg of nicotine, much smaller portion that fits easier under the lip and is more discreet. Not my thing at all. Not enough nicotine, the flavor is alright, but you don't get as much flavor with the smaller portion. It's sweet, a little minty, didn't notice the vanilla much, but I only tried it once for the sake of curiosity. My biggest beef with mini portions is that a can only comes with 20 portions instead of the 24 that normal large portion cans come with. Yet, for fewer portions with half the nicotine you pay the same amount or more. Makes no sense to my frugal nature.

General Wintergreen: Got this as a free sample, figured it was worth a shot. Whew! Minty fresh. Strong wintergreen flavor definitely drowns out any tobacco flavor if that's what you're looking for. It was too much for me. I like mild sweetness and mild flavor mixed with the tobacco. This one also seemed to burn in the lip a bit more than others, I think something to do with the wintergreen. This snus will probably definitely appeal to some folks who like strong minty stuff, or don't want to taste the tobacco. Just not for me.

Okay, that's as quick and dirty as I get. Still, I've decided to break off the second order into a separate post. Be back soon!

The Snubie Experience : New Snus Users, What to Expect

Alright, I promised this post a while ago and have been meaning to get to it. I've had a harder time than I expected getting it together in my head. Honestly, I'm still not sure what's going to come out. So I just kept putting it off, letting myself be distracted by various things. You know, work, family, all that nonsense. Oh, and my favorite type of distraction, projects! With our growing snus assortment, the ziplock bag tossed in the keg fridge organizational method started not working so well. So I rounded up a bunch of junk wire that was kicking around out back and built a couple wire snus racks to go inside the door of the kegerator to keep our snus handy and easy to browse and choose.

Anyway, let's get this rolling.

While snus has been around for about 200 years in Sweden, it's pretty new and unfamiliar to most Americans. And while some of our big tobacco companies have started marketing their own interpretations of it, by all reports their version bears very little resemblance to true Swedish Snus, tending more towards sugary sweetness and less to the tobacco flavors, salt, and more subtle sweetness of herbs, berries and other things you'll find in the wide varieties of Swedish Snus.

I've never tried Camel SNUS myself, but have heard plenty of folks who discovered it, and either quit smoking that way, or decided to move on to Swedish Snus after trying it. Myself, I heard about Swedish Snus after befouling my mouth on a Camel Orb and searching around the web for feedback to see if anyone had actually liked the stuff. I spent a day or so reading about Swedish Snus, then reading reviews on specific types and putting together my first order. It took about a week for the order to arrive, and by the time it got here it was highly anticipated, and I was very excited about the potential of quitting smoking.

But I just barely knew what to expect in the beginning with Swedish Snus. I'd read lots of reviews by seasoned Snus users, lovers, and enthusiasts. I'd read a staggering number of reports of how quickly and easily people had quit smoking with the stuff. I'd read a wide variety of articles and reports as to the "harm reduction" properties of snus compared to cigarettes. It all sounded good. Great, in fact. Nearly too good to believe except no one had any reason to be making this stuff up. So I dove right in.

In the weeks since I've had more time to compare notes with other snus users, both veterans and snubies, to see the questions asked by new users, reports on the various effects people experience, and of course, to go through the experience myself. I've seen enough snubies asking questions that start with "Is it normal for...." to feel that it could be useful to try and put together a guide through that first week or so for snubies.

Now, everybody is different. Duh. We've got different tastes, preferences, metabolisms and physiological reactions to what we put in our bodies. So obviously, the experience is going to vary a bit for everyone. I'm going to try and cover my own experience and what I have heard most often, but your experience might be different. If you start using snus and find things happening totally different from what you expected, feel free to join the friendly community at SnusCentral and share your experience and ask any questions you may have. I'll be there, so you can also harangue me for misleading you if you feel I have in any way ;)

So. Let's start at the beginning.

So you've picked up some Swedish Snus. Either from a local tobacco shop, if you're lucky enough to have one that carries it, or you've put together an order and waited for it to arrive. Hooray! You've probably got a little round can, most are plastic, though some are metal. Break the seal and crack that baby open!

Now, we're putting our senses to work here. Depending on what variety you've chosen, you've already greeted your visual sense with the design of the can. Some are pretty cool, some are very plain. Now once you have it open, you'll see a bunch of little pouches kicking around in there. These are your snus portions. They are probably going to either be brownish, white, or black. Original style portions are the brownish ones. The teabag like portion material is given a final "wetting" with tobacco juice at the end of production. These are moister, the flavor comes out faster, and often runs out faster. White portions don't receive this final treatment, are dryer, take longer to get flavor, but often last longer. Black portions are generally just white portions that are made with black material, at this time there are just a few of these. They are technically white portions, so don't get too confused. One of the types of black portions "General Onyx" also come arranged in the can in a circular "fan" arrangment, very nice looking, and the portions are sorta wedge shaped.

Okay, there's your visual. Now, as people we tend, when faced with something new we intend on putting in our mouths, to want to smell it first. I don't necessarily recommend this with Swedish Snus. Why? Because at first, the smell of a fresh can of snus doesn't really reflect the flavor. Also, because the smell can be fairly unpleasant. A good fresh can will often have a rather strong ammonia smell to the portions. It doesn't really prepare you for the flavor, and can be a little off-putting. I noticed that after using snus for a week or so, when I got my next order I was able to smell through that initial assault and pick out the distinct smell of each individual snus. Whether this was a result of quitting smoking, or becoming familiar with the subtleties of snus, I'm not sure.

Either way, snubies, sniff at your own risk, and remember it's not going to taste like that.

So what will it taste like? Well, first you've got to get a portion in your mouth. Portions go under your upper lip. One of those things that separate it from dip or chew. Some portions I like to wet a bit before I insert, others I just shove up there. This is just a preference that varies from person to person and snus to snus.

And what snus to choose for your first snus? I went straight for a General Onyx, since I'd heard so much good about it. Don't do this. Onyx is a wonderful snus that can be appreciated by snus enthusiasts, but I really don't consider it a good starter snus. It's strong, it's both salty and kinda spicy, and that combined with the dry material of the portion really wore out my virgin lip flesh.

So if I could do it over again? I'd probably choose either an Ettan original portion or a Roda Lacket. Both are pretty mild, though the Roda Lacket has a distinctive flavor which may be distracting for a first snus. Ettan is pretty straightforward tobacco and salt. It's kinda like holding a bunch of sunflower seeds in your mouth, that sort of saltiness. Roda Lacket is unique, but seems to be a pretty popular one, I've heard it commonly loved, and haven't noticed too many people knocking it.

So, pick out your first snus, grab that portion. Now, pull one side of your upper lip out, and slide that portion up there. This is probably obvious, but the length of it goes side to side, the shorter side of it goes up and down. I personally always put the side with the seam towards my gums. I keep forgetting to check around and see if this is a personal neurosis or not. My only logic for it is that I expect to absorb most of the nicotine through my lip, and that little extra flap layer cold inhibit that a tiny bit. Maybe I'm just crazy.

Now, most of us aren't really used to having something up under our upper lip. I know I wasn't. So it's really not the most comfortable thing at first. It feels pretty bulky, and fairly uncomfortable. This is one thing that will vary widely from person to person depending on your particular face and lip structure. I've got a decent amount of room up there and enough flesh around my mouth that for the most part you can't ever see that I have a portion in, and yet, it still felt like I had a huge, obvious bump on my face at first, not to mention nearly impossible to find a comfortable way for the portion to lay up there.

Generally, I find that a lot of portions don't have a total even tobacco distribution. There tends to be a thick end and a thin end. You can try and even this out before you insert it, or you can try and work with it. My first was an Onyx, which is wedge shaped on purpose, so I left it alone, and still tend to just leave portions as is and insert them with the thin end towards the front, thick end towards the back. I usually place them so one end is next to, but not on, that thing that runs down the front of your gums right in the front middle, this puts the back end somewhere around or over that bump above my canine tooth. That bump is probably going to be a spot that gets more sore than others at first, but that will go away.

Now, I've read instructions on snus that say it will "tingle" for about five minutes. I'd call this "tingle" more of a "burn". This will vary from snus to snus, but really, my first so many portions weren't especially pleasant against my lip and gums for the first five minutes or so. The burn does fade, though in the beginning you'll often have a little burn throughout as your lip and gums get a little sore until they get used to it.

You may feel like it's more comfortable, less bulky, etc to shift the portion more to the side or back towards your cheek. It is more comfortable, and will be less likely to show at all, but. The further back you hold the portion, the more saliva it is going to be absorbing, and the more it will "juice up" and drip. When you're starting out on Swedish Snus, you may have a bit of a challenge getting used to the flavor and the juice of it anyway, so try to refrain from making it harder on yourself by succumbing to the temptation to move it away from that front part of your lip. Also, the more you move it around trying to get a good placement the more it will tend to "juice up". So you're best off not being timid, pulling your lip out, regardless of how ridiculous you might feel, and getting it placed right, then leaving it there.

But it's going to take some practice and getting used to, so unfortunately, you'll probably face the experience of your portion juicing up at times in the beginning. If this is a hard experience for you, hang in there, it gets better.

When you get a portion placed right, up front nice and tight, you'll get a pretty slow and steady release of flavor. The flavor will vary from snus to snus, but most have a fairly distinct saltiness to them, but the underlying tobacco can taste fairly strong or bitter until you get used to it. I'd never chewed or anything, started smoking and stuck with that, so this was a totally different tobacco experience to me, being used to just burning it and inhaling it. I can't say it was especially pleasant at first. It was kinda bitter, pretty strong, and kinda itched the back of my throat at first. I kept reminding myself that cigarettes don't REALLY taste good, they just seem to once you've smoked them a while, and that a lot of cigarettes have a particular harshness at the back of the throat, what I always referred to as that "kick" in the throat, something I loved about my Camel Filters until they changed the formula last year.

Still, I wasn't especially fond of the throat tickle, and was concerned as it didn't seem like the kind of thing you could "get used to", it seemed like a physical effect that would always be there. Much to my surprise, it doesn't, it goes away completely after using snus a while. Go figure. At first though, this effect can be particularly strong and not altogether pleasant. It sometimes gave me the urge to cough, but I found having a drink to sip on mellowed the sensation out and in general cleared up a lot of the initial iffy sensations of the snus.

Which brings me to one of my biggest tips to snubies. Drinks are good! Drinking with snus is great for many reasons. For one thing, there are some great flavor combinations, but for snubies I would suggest always always always having something to drink on hand when you use snus. Even if it's just a bottle of water in the car with you, or whatever. Having something to sip on makes getting through parts of the adjustment period a lot easier if you're not totally loving it, and will definitely save you if your portion "juices up" and floods your mouth with an overwhelming about of tobacco juice.

Swallowing a bunch of juice at once can burn in the stomach a bit, but seems to otherwise be harmless. It only seems to burn for a moment, and with a drink it goes right away. I thought surely it would cause me at least some case of upset stomach, or at least an instance or two of heartburn/acid indigestion type situation, since I've already been prone to that sort of thing for since I was about 19. Amazingly, that hasn't happened. Even more amazingly, I haven't had a bout of heartburn/acid indigestion at all since I started using snus and cut back then quit smoking. So not only has snus never upset my stomach, but quitting smoking unexpectedly cleared up a malady I've dealt with for 10 years without realizing it had anything to do with the smoking.

Now, relating all the possible things you might not like about your first snus can make it sound like a pretty unpleasant experience, and make you think, "Why bother?" But for smokers wanting to quit, it is well worth it, for many reasons. Sure, if you can just quit nicotine altogether, go for it. Having an addiction isn't really the best thing in the world, and nicotine isn't a healthy substance, it's just not really that bad when it's not coming along with a slew of carcinogens. But quitting smoking is hard, so if you're not opposed to maintaining a nicotine addiction, or if you still like your nicotine addiction but realize that smoking is kinda gross and highly likely to kill you in a not so great way, plus supply a lifelong slew of other detriments to your life, snus is so worth sticking with.

It's a fast and pretty easy way to quit. Seriously. Some folks start snus and just toss their cigarettes. I personally went for what was a more natural approach to me. I started using snus, but still smoked here and there when the cravings were especially strong. Still, snus immediately cut my smoking from a pack to 4 cigarettes a day. This dropped further within a week, and each cigarette tasted worse and worse to me, and became more and more pointless, until after a week and a half, I quit.

And despite how unfamiliar, bizarre, or even gross snus might seem at first, you'll get used to it pretty fast. Really, for me, the most uncomfortable part of the adaptation was for my lip to grow accustomed to it. I brutalized my lip with my first portion of Onyx, and once I found a comfortable placement on the right side, I kept putting my portions there, ignoring the left side, as it felt more bulky there. After the first day or so, I really couldn't put them in the right side anymore. I'd try, and even with a high pain tolerance, it was just unbearable. So I got smart, and moved to my left side, wearing it out at a slower pace while the right healed, and of course, getting used to the feeling of having it in the left side of my lip. The really smart thing to do would have been to alternate from the very start, I might have been able to avoid the pain on the right side, and having to let it heal so much. By the second week my lips and gums were adapted, getting only mildly raw at worst. Now I have no burning or even "tingling", am comfortable with a portion in my lip at any time, and don't feel like I have a big obvious lump on my face.

I've also in a short amount of time gone from bearing the taste and sensation of the snus in my mouth and throat, to absolutely loving the flavors, and having no noticeable sensation in my throat. It's pretty amazing, once you get used to snus, how you start to notice so many subtle flavors you didn't at first. Part of this is surely the improved sense of smell from not smoking, but some of it just seems to come with getting familiar with a new snus. Any snus you try can seem to change flavor the more you try it, and you'll find some being so-so at first and then oddly growing on you. Or find that some you were iffy on, when you don't use them for a day or so, you'll start thinking about wanting it's particular flavor.

Of course, the main reason for using snus, especially to quit cigarettes, is the nicotine. After hearing so many stories about people switching easily from cigarettes to snus I rather expected the nicotine effect of snus to be just about like I'd always experienced nicotine with smoking. Of course, I didn't really realize this, as I just attributed nicotine effects and the addiction to what I've experienced for 15 years. But it is different with the differing delivery system and amount, and this was initially a little confusing and perhaps a bit disappointing. I wasn't able to just toss my cigarettes out, because snus didn't quite replace the nicotine addiction as I was used to it.

With my first portion of Onyx, despite feeling just so-so about it, and also having another 9 different varieties of snus I was anxious to try out after reading about them, I decided to stick with the portion at least long enough to get the nicotine, and thus the "full effect" of the snus. But I really had a hard time telling when I got the nicotine influx in my system. I really had to go based on time and what I knew of how long it should take, and how long a portion usually lasts. But despite the Onyx being a strong snus with 11mg of nicotine, I never got a buzz of any sort, and didn't initially notice the nicotine, because I so strongly associated my nicotine "fix" with various sensations of smoking.

Mostly, I realized that with smoking I could really feel the nicotine entering my system, specifically from the center of my chest, in my lungs and sort of spreading outwards. So going without a cigarette to the point of "jonesing" and then picking up a cigarette gives the joy of inhaling a large drag, feeling that burn at the back of my throat, filling my lungs, then exhaling "Ahhhhhhhh" while feeling the nicotine spread warmly through my system from that central point in my middle.

Snus is neither that immediate, nor that specific and distinct. At least not for me. Some people report getting a buzz, either until they get used to it, or when they use stronger portions. And some seem to be able to tell when it starts hitting their system. I don't. So I found it initially pretty challenging to beat the cravings for that rush of nicotine I got from smoking. And that first afternoon, I found I still kept reaching for my cigarettes. Fortunately, I would immediately become aware that there was a snus under my lip and realize I didn't need a cigarette, and that I was not at all jonesin' for nicotine, but was just wanting the familiar hit to my throat and lungs, and the familiar habit of "doing something", the activity of actively smoking a cigarette.

But pretty soon I got used to the nicotine delivery of snus, and quickly grew to appreciate it as I saw the difference between it and cigarettes. I've realized cigarettes give a quick, fast, nicotine "spike" that also quickly drops off again. It's a pretty short lived, temporary contentment really. Snus comes on slower, more gradually, but lasts a lot longer and maintains a higher level for longer. There's not a noticeable "spike" to me, but I quickly came to notice how much more generally "at ease" I felt. I realized that with smoking, my moods tended to spike up and down just like, and probably inverse to, the spike of nicotine from smoking. Without a smoke for a while, I'd get edgy, grumpy, etc. Then I'd finally get to have a smoke, and with that spike of nicotine, my mood would come back up to normal. For a while.

With snus I tend to just float along and be a lot more at ease in general. Sure, stressful situations can still bum me out, and make me want to run out for a cigarette, but in general, the more steady and gentle flux of nicotine in my system is far superior and much more pleasant. Add to that the general increase in energy I have from not smoking, how much better I can breathe, how I don't seem to get heartburn anymore, and can enjoy spicy foods without pain, and I've been pretty thrilled with the experience.

Not to mention I can snus pretty much anywhere, anytime. No more waiting for a slow time at work to run out for a smoke, hoping to actually get a whole cigarette without interruption. No more stepping outside at bars, or slinking off at family gatherings. It's convenient and lovely. After just a few short weeks, I've come to completely love snus, and obviously, can rant and rave about how it has changed my life in such a short time.

Now, I didn't really have any noticeable unpleasant or detrimental effects when I switched from smoking to snus. I did cough a fair amount for the first week or so. But being a fairly heavy smoker, I was pretty used to coughing. Sometimes the cough would be pretty wet, and my lungs seemed to be clearing themselves, so I wasn't bothered too much by coughing up gunk. A lot of the time the cough was dry though, but never really a painful or wracking cough, not the kind of cough that just won't stop. If I was clearing gunk from my lungs, I'd let it go. If it was the little dry coughs they'd usually pass, or I could sip something and be fine. Another good reason to keep a drink on hand at all times that first week or so.

I felt a little funny the first few days, but without specific symptoms, I can't really tell you what it was. With the cough present, I thought perhaps I had a cold, but it was hard to say because I felt so much better in general than I was used to. Really, I could have been mildly sick and not known it. Between the great nicotine delivery and the results of not smoking, I felt so improved that a little cold would hardly have been noticeable.

Now, some folks haven't had it so easy. Some people report a day or so of some queasiness, and uhhh irregular bowels, most commonly reported as "the squirts". I was spared this myself, but even those that have reported it didn't seem altogether bothered by it. Quitting smoking was worth the sacrifice I suppose. Some folks report sore throats, and I did wake up with a mild throat pain a few times, but it went away fast. Only one morning did I wake up with a throat sore enough to think that I actually was sick, but amazingly that too was gone within an hour or so. The worst for me was if I would succumb and smoke a handful of cigarettes during the day. The next morning I woke up feeling like I'd smoked a couple few packs the night before. Ick. I'm not sure if there's any correlation between physical effects and whether you quit overnight or wean yourself off. I weaned and didn't have many physical effects, but those that I did finally disappeared altogether once I quit smoking altogether.

So it takes a period of adjustment. And not all of it may sound pleasant, but it's really never all that bad, and well worth it in the long run to get off the cancer sticks. And to judge by my experience and the many others I've read, once you've gotten used to Swedish Snus, you quickly grow to love it. Not just for the nicotine, but for the variety of flavors available. It truly is a pleasure and there are quite a few of us out there who have made the switch and are now enthusiastic snus lovers.

And while I don't always like the fact that I'm still an addict, I figure there are so many things out there that really aren't very good for you. I can hardly imagine how hard it would have been for me to quit smoking without snus, I'm pretty willful, but I'm not sure how successful I'd have been. Generally, when I decide to do something, I do it. Which may be why in 15 years I never attempted quitting, because I wasn't sure I could do it. Now I have and it's the best choice I could have made. I love my snus, and until someone can convince me that it is more of a health threat than fast food, pharmaceuticals, or any of the variety of things that are okay "in moderation", I'm sticking with it.

Again, if you're not addicted to nicotine, I don't recommend using snus or any tobacco product. But if you smoke or chew tobacco, swedish snus is an enjoyable and affordable "reduced harm" tobacco product that is easy to switch to.

Informative (and amusing) Snus Videos

I can't believe I haven't posted these before. I came across these in my initial "research" phase of the great snus experiment, and found them both informative and amusing. I love this guy, maybe it's the accent.

Anyway, if you haven't taken my advice to go read the articles at Snuscentral, or you prefer being able to just sit back and be informed, or you've just got some time to kill, or you enjoy bald guys with accents, then check this short video series out.

Stop Smoking With Snus

#1 - Confessions of a Former Smoker


#2 - Explanation of Different Types of Snus


#3 - Health, Freshness and Economy Around Snus


#4 - Where You Can't Smoke But Use Snus