Snuff: Definition, Types, Health Risks, and How to Quit

Snuff, a form of smokeless tobacco, comes in dry, wet, and creamy preparations. It is meant to be inhaled through the nose or placed in the mouth to produce saliva.

Common Types of Snuff

Dry Snuff

Dry snuff refers to a powdered tobacco product made from cured or fermented tobacco leaves, ground into a fine powder. It involves curing or fermenting selected tobacco leaves, which are then ground down into a fine powder. Traditional "fine snuff" highlighted the taste of different tobacco blends only, but most of what is sold today has a scent or flavor added as well. Common flavors include coffee, chocolate, plum, camphor, cinnamon, rose, mint, honey, vanilla, cherry, orange, apricot.

Wet Snuff

There are three different kinds of wet snuff, which is intended to be placed in the mouth to produce nicotine-laden saliva:

• Snus: This Swedish moist snuff is sold in little packets. The snuff is slipped between the upper lip and gum, where it sits, mixing with saliva and leaching nicotine-containing tobacco juice into the mouth.

• Dipping tobacco (dip): This American snuff product comprises ground-up or loose bits of shredded tobacco that users take a pinch of to place between their cheek and gum.

• Chewing Tobacco (chew): Chewing tobacco comes in a few different forms: loose, leaf, pellets, and plugs. Flavored or sweetened, forms are chewed to release tobacco juices. Both dip and chew are discarded, not swallowed, when finished.

Creamy Snuff

Creamy snuff is sold in toothpaste tubes and is meant to be applied to the gums by rubbing it on with the finger or toothbrush. It is then left in place for a few minutes before spitting out the tobacco-laden saliva it produces.

Health Risks of Snuff, Chew, and Dip

Snuff and other smokeless tobacco products pose significant health risks, including:

• Addiction: All forms of snuff put users at risk for nicotine addiction.

• Cancer: Snuff is associated with cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and pancreas.

• Dental and oral health problems: Increased risk of receding gums, swollen gums, gum disease, tooth staining, bad breath, and tooth decay.

• Heart disease: Snuff is linked to increased blood pressure and heart rate and an elevated risk of dying from heart disease.

• Poisoning: Snuff can lead to accidental nicotine poisoning in children, causing problems breathing, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, loss of consciousness, and death.

• Pregnancy complications: Use of snuff during pregnancy is associated with an elevated risk of early delivery and stillbirth.

Is Snuff Safer Than Smoking?

While snuff doesn't contain tar or any toxic gases produced by burning cigarettes, it has nicotine and tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), considered some of the most potent carcinogens in tobacco. Therefore, the best choice is to avoid all tobacco products completely.

A Brief History of Snuff Use

Snuff has a long history of use, dating back to AD 300-900 with the discovery of Mayan snuff containers. It has appeared in numerous cultures and time periods elsewhere in the world, from South America to Spain and other parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

How to Quit Using Snuff

Quitting snuff can be challenging, but it's possible with the right support. Here are some strategies and resources that can help:

• Set a quit date and stick to it.
• Join a support group.
• Use nicotine replacement therapy.
• See your doctor or a counselor.
• Make a list of reasons why you want to quit.
• Get rid of all of your snuff products.
• Avoid situations where you're likely to use snuff.
• Find a new hobby or activity to take your mind off of snuff.
• Talk to your friends and family about your decision to quit.