So I really enjoy the effects of nicotine, but I don't like smoking it. I don't like the damage it does to the lungs, or the increased cancer risk that it bears with it (I don't mind smoking cannabis since it may get tar in the lungs but will not lead to black lung disease, and is not associated with any increased cancer risk whatsoever). So for a while I've had an idle curiosity about smokeless tobacco, but most smokeless tobacco products available in America have all kinds of chemicals and generally bad stuff (like fiberglass) added... doesn't really seem any better than smoking! As far as I'm aware, the only smokeless alternatives that aren't associated with the same sort of increased cancer risks are snus and nasal snuff.

Lately I'd been thinking about trying swedish snus, and today I finally ventured to my local tobacconist looking for it. They didn't have any, but on a whim I decided to pick up a tin of (dry) snuff to give it a whirl.

Dry snuff is finely powdered tobacco, generally scented with essential oils and/or menthol. It should not be confused with "wet snuff" or "American snuff" (dipping tobacco... y'know, Copenhagen and the like). It's one of the oldest ways of taking tobacco introduced to the western world, and nicotine's namesake, Jean Nicot, is well-known for having introduced snuff to the French royalty.

Whenever I encountered historical references to snuff-taking when I was growing up, I just assumed I must be misinterpretting them somehow... after all, who would want to snort powdered tobacco?! So it goes without saying that I wasn't expecting to enjoy the snuff, I'm just very inquisitive when it comes to psychoactives and figured I ought to try it at least once.

To my surprise, I really really like this stuff! You can start to feel it within a few seconds (for some reason I was expecting it to take longer), and maximum effects are reached within 3-5 minutes (and seem to last a whole lot longer than the buzz from a cig). It also feels a lot clearer/cleaner, probably because the nicotine isn't accompanied by all that carbon monoxide... it's just an all-around more pleasant buzz than smoking. I can get a heavier buzz without the dizziness that I would get if I smoked up to the same level. Plus, no more nasty cigarette-mouth (I really don't like the aftertaste that smoking leaves).

There's a little bit of a brief kind of stinging sensation when you first take the snuff, not really uncomfortable though in my opinion. The stuff I've got is slightly mentholated (and I think scented with a little something else I can't quite put my finger on), so it's actually a pretty pleasant nasal sensation.

I very highly recommend it to anyone who likes nicotine but feels guilty about all the negative health consequences that accompany smoking!

Can you tell me what kind of effects you get? I can't seem to get anything but sick off tobacco.

If you're not familiar with a nicotine buzz, it's difficult to describe. Sharpened senses, a keenness of thought, and that oh so cosmic buzz. So far no dizziness or nausea like I can get if I overdo it when smoking tobacco.

Ya I just get the spins and puke

Haha, so I don't use Tobacco much and when I do it's in low doses.

yeah smoking doesn't do anything for me anymore unless I was to take a full bowl in 1 hit from a bucket,or maybe the rusticas I'm growing will do better. I enjoy chewing occasionally and that does far more than smoking ever could and lasts longer have you ever chewed do you get more from snuffing than chewing maybe I'll check it out I don't think they sell this in regular stores though around here anyway.

Entropymancer

You should smoke hubbly that's what i do i don't smoke cigarettes or chew or snort tobacco yuck.
Hubbly has very mild nicotine (0.5%) but it still affects you and it has no tar (0%) so its not harmful for your lungs. What a perfect combination


Much Peace

I have enjoyed chewing on a few occasions..but I took too much and got sick the first time. I reallylike cigars as well..but I dont smoke tobacco at all really. I know what you mean about the cosmic buzz it can give, I think I might grow some to smoke on special occasions with aya..I have been wanting to do this for a while..plus, so many of my freinds smoke poison cigarettes(one is even pregnant), so I could give them some organic tobacco cus I would not need most of it.

I hear it's *very* good for lucid dreaming as well.

Anyone here smoke lobelia? how does it compare?

If you guys enjoy Tobacco I recommend you grow your own organic plants like I did!

This what my Tobacco plants looked like when they were about 6 weeks old (last years crop).


They grow to 6-9 feet tall by the season's end!

Does anyone know a good tek for making tobacco leaves sniffable? SWIM has plenty of tobacco plants around him but he never really bothers curing them for smoking. He thinks that processing tobacco leaves for smoking is ideal for him, since he also loves the nicotine "buzz".

Those claims of "no tar" are a perfect example of deception through advertising, without overtly lying. What they mean is that there is no tar in the shisha. When you actually consume it, there is tar carried in the smoke (tar is a product of plant combustion). So they're not technically lying when they claim it has no tar, they're just not telling the whole truth. And you're still inhaling the milieu of other combustion by-products that go along with it (almost certainly including polycyclic aromatic carcinogens).

Also, it's not too convenient to tote a narghile around town with me, or spark one up at work. The big advantage of snuff or snus (aside from the lack of combustion byproducts) is how discretely it can be taken.

I have a feeling that I'll prefer snus when I get around to ordering some swedish stuff, but for now snuff is a very enjoyable and relatively quite healthy tobacco alternative.

Nope, never chewed, so I can't offer any comparison.






Check out the snufftalk.org forum, they've got a whole subforum dedicated to snuffmaking (sounds like fun, I'll have to get some cured rustica to try making my own with). Basically you just dry it thoroughly, grind it with a mortar and pestle, sift to remove any larger chunks, and optionally add some alkaline material (sodium carbonate or the like) to improve the potency (via raised pH in the nasal mucosa). To flavor it, just take a sealable container (like a tupperware), put the desired essential oils for flavoring into the bottom (bergamot sounds good, peppermint is very common), and put the snuff in a dish inside the container so the evaporating essential oil gradually infuses into the herb.

Also, I know that some south american tribes would take green uncured Nicotiana rustica, toast it until very dry, then powder and snuff (it would probably be better to add a base to increase the potency)

It doesn't compare to tobacco for me at all(might help with addiction though IDK) nice smoke though easy on the lungs similar,or better than mullein.

Thanks for this info!

How much one needs to sniff for an effect? The equivalent of a coke line? How does it feel in the nose?

Well, I've been a chewer, a smoker, and I've snuffed so I'll try to lend a hand. Nothing is as good as a dip. Not grizzley or any of that crap. A nice fat dip of copenhagan taste wonderful. Strongest and longest lasting tobaco buzz. Great way to get lukemia too. If you want something that you can actually CHEW on, then Levi Garrett is the best. Soaked in molasses, taste wonderful, and will turn your teeth yellow as the sun. Snuffing gives a comparable buzz to chewing. Comes on a little stronger, but doesn't last as long. Don't need to snuff that much either. If you don't chew then start low, like a quarter line of coke worth, and work up to a comfortable level. You wouldn't want to overwhelm the body with nicotine and have the room start spinning. I didn't know that snuffing has less negative health effects. I'll have to research that. I just assume you would eventually get nasal cancer.