What is Snuff?
Snuff is ground or pulverized tobacco, which is
generally inhaled or "snuffed" through the nose. It is a type of
smokeless tobacco. There are several types, but traditionally it means
Dry/European nasal snuff. In the United States, "snuff" can also
refer to dipping tobacco, which is applied to the gums rather than inhaled.
Nasal snuff is
basically a finely ground, flavored tobacco, where traditionally the only 3
ingredients have been:
- High Grade Tobacco
- Natural Fragrances
- Water
The ingredients of
snuff vary from country to country with some countries adding mixtures of
paraffin-based oils to their snuffs.
The History of Snuff
Many seem to think
that taking snuff tobacco is a fairly new phenomenon that died out over the
last century due to the increase in popularity of cigarettes. Snuff tobacco,
however, has a rich and varied history since it was first discovered on
Columbus' second voyage to the Americas.
Snuff taking has
straddled all social classes from the aristocracy to the miner and spread to
all corners of the world from Europe to China. Different snuff etiquettes and
cultures have developed through the centuries and there have been a number of
prominent snuff takers including the likes of Napoleon and King Louis XIII.
Christopher
Columbus first noticed American Indians snuffing an unknown powder on his 1494-1496
voyage of discovery. The substance was tobacco, the preparation very close to
what we now call snuff. Columbus brought certain quantity of the powder back to
Europe, where it quickly became fashionable among the French and Spanish.
Later, when Charles II returned to England from exile in France, he took with
him his snuff habit, which soon caught on over the Channel as well.
Henceforth, snuff
became firmly enrooted as the tobacco product of choice among the aristocracy
and followers of fashion. It was seen as a far more refined habit than smoking,
and was especially favored in court. Royalty, both Kings and Queens, attended
to their snuff habits with a passion, and carried specialized snuff
accoutrements and even built dedicated rooms for storing their snuff.
Gradually the
common man came to know the pleasures of snuff too, and snuff mills were
established across England in cities such as London, Sheffield and Manchester
to supply the growing demand. Retailers caught the bug as well, and set up
shops solely dealing in snuff and snuff paraphernalia.
Throughout the 18th
century snuff production boomed, far outstripping smoking tobacco (or its US
sibling, chewing tobacco). It seemed that everyone was taking snuff. And it was
even recommended by doctors as a general cure-all, particularly effective in
the treatment of coughs, colds and headaches.
During the 19th
century snuff was still popular amongst many parts of society in Europe,
although Victorian England became less tolerant of the habit that was started
to be frowned upon in some quarters. Snuff did, however, remain popular amongst
professions where it was not possible to smoke or to be seen to smoke such as
Doctors, lawyers, judges, the clergy and of course miners. During the
nineteenth century, snuff was used so widely in the Chinese population that
literally millions of snuff bottles existed.
During the 20th
century snuff declined considerably in popularity, partly on account of the
growing tobacco industry's huge marketing machine pushing the "convenience
and elegance" of filter cigarettes. After 1949, the communist revolution
in China outlawed snuff as a decadent habit of the Qing dynasty.
These days, though,
snuff is seeing something of a rebirth amongst connoisseurs and those looking
for a nicotine fix where smoking is banned or viewed with contempt. In some
circles sharing snuff after dinner is now more acceptable than lighting up.
How to Take Snuff?
There are more than
a few widely accepted methods of taking snuff. One of the most common is to
simply take a pinch of snuff between your thumb and forefinger and sniff it
sharply into one of your nostrils, and then into the other. Some snuff takers
like to roll the snuff around for a few seconds pinched between the thumb and forefinger
to help warm and release the aromatic oils in the snuff for a more flavorful
experience. It is important to remember that the snuff should only be SNIFFED
into the nose, not snorted. The snuff needs to remain in the front of your
nose, it is not intended to go into your sinuses or throat.
Other methods
include tapping some snuff onto the back of your hand, onto the depression
formed above the wrist near the base of your thumb when one stretches the
thumb, or in the slight depression between your thumb and forefinger.
Some snuff-takers
prefer to use a "bullet," a dispenser that can be held directly to
the nostrils. This device eliminates the need to carry around a tin and the
potential mess of dipping your fingers into it.
Some
recommendations:
- Do not resist the urge to sneeze. It will most
likely happen, but resisting it will only decrease the enjoyment you
obtain from using snuff. The urge to sneeze when using snuff will pass the
more you use it.
- Take care in how you sniff. The effects of
accidentally snorting the snuff into your sinuses or throat can be very
unsettling, and snuff should never have to be uncomfortable. Do not be
discouraged if you don't get it right the first time - with practice, the
sharp but shallow sniff needed to get the snuff into the front of your
nose but no further becomes second nature.
- Keep in mind that the use of nasal snuff is often
accompanied by increased nasal discharge. It is a good idea to have a
handkerchief or tissue close to hand to take care of this increased
discharge.
Snuff
Consumption and Health
There has been a
lot of discussion recently about the health effects of using snuff tobacco and
using snuff as a nicotine substitute. Because the use of snuff has not been
widespread over the recent decades there seems to be no conclusive evidence for
or against nasal snuff due to the lack of a detailed study.
However, recently one
report has emerged from Smokeless New Zealand, which shows how nasal snuff
tobacco can substantially reduce health risks if used as a means to give up
smoking.
In the British
Medical Journal Volume 283 from 26th September 1981 the following results were
reported:
"Unlike
tobacco smoke, snuff is free of tar and harmful gases such as carbon monoxide
and nitrogen oxides. Since it cannot be inhaled into the lungs, there is no
risk of lung cancer, bronchitis, and emphysema."
"The position with coronary heart disease is not
clear. It is not known whether nicotine or carbon monoxide is the major culprit
responsible for cigarette-induced coronary heart disease. If it is carbon
monoxide a switch to snuff would reduce the risk substantially, but even if
nicotine plays a part our results show that the intake from snuff is no greater
than from smoking."
"The rapid
absorption of nicotine from snuff confirms its potential as an acceptable
substitute for smoking. Switching from cigarettes to snuff would substantially
reduce the risk of lung cancer, bronchitis, emphysema, and possibly coronary
heart disease as well, at the cost of a slight increase in the risk of cancer
of the nasopharynx (or oral cavity in the case of wet snuff). Another advantage
of snuff is that it does not contaminate the atmosphere for non-users."
However, in 1986, a statement from the U.S. Surgeon
General concluded that users of smokeless tobacco should know that smokeless
tobacco "is not a safe substitute for smoking cigarettes." Smokeless
tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive, as well as a number of
known cancer-causing chemicals. Any form of tobacco use poses an increased risk
of developing cancer, and no level is considered safe.
While the risks of getting cancer from smokeless
tobacco are lower than those associated with smoking cigarettes, the health
risks of smokeless tobacco are very real and potentially fatal. Smokeless
tobacco use also has not been shown to be helpful for smokers who want to quit
smoking.
Sources
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