Using and Understanding Snus Powder
A common question I get asked from people who are new to snus is about “snus powder”. These two words together may not relate much, but the two terms “snus” and “powder” are inherently related through their history, and other similar products in the smokeless tobacco category! Today, we’re going to have a little fun and talk about snus, tobacco “powder”, the history of snus, nasal snuff, usage, and more! As someone who has been using snus and nasal snuff for about 15 years now, I enjoy when these products cross paths and I get to talk about these different types and categories of tobacco. So, grab a seat, grab your favorite can, and we’re going to talk about all of these exciting topics and mini/sub categories within the world of tobacco!
I started as a smoker, then eventually switched over to Swedish Snus. I picked up nasal snuff as a little side hobby and have used that over the years, but I am more partial to Swedish Snus. I mostly use portion snus, but I will occasionally use loose snus here and there throughout the week, depending on where I am and what I’m doing. As summer is coming, I’ll be using a lot more as I work outside. So I’m looking forward to that, it’s about “Prima Fint Season”!
A brief history of snus, and nasal snuff
To fully talk about this product, we really need to start at the beginning with the man pictured here, Jean Nicot. He lived 1530 to 1604 and is a major factor in why we have snus today. The story goes that he encountered tobacco in Lisbon and brought it back to France. There, he advised Queen Catherine de Medici of France to crush up and inhale the tobacco as a headache remedy. This helped her headaches and begin to spread in the upper class French society circles. In the 1600s, this tobacco would make it’s way to Sweden. Fast forward to the 1800s, and the Swedes would begin taking a pinch of tobacco and placing it under the upper lip. With moisture added, this tobacco would stay packed in the upper lip and grow and evolve from there! From the 1800s on, new brands began to pop up, as well as new formats. This original form of snus, called lös snus, would eventually be pouched beginning in 1977, enabling more people to use this type of smokeless tobacco that didn’t want to use the loose format!
How Swedish Snus is made
Swedish Snus is a pasteurized tobacco product. This goes back to the 1800’s and Jacob Fredrik Ljunglöf, who began working with JJ Berzilius. If you aren’t familiar, he is hailed by many as the father of modern chemistry. Ljunglöf and Berzilius would began pasteurizing, or steam curing their tobacco, which caused the tobacco to have lower TSNA levels. To this date, all snus is pasteurized in the same way!
In this way, snus does begin as a “powder”, as it starts with tobacco flour, which resembles a brown powder. Water, salt, and sodium carbonate are added to the tobacco next. From there, the tobacco is heated/pasteurized. Then, this tobacco is either sent on as loose/lös snus, or packed into portions and sold as portion snus. Portion snus comes in a variety of formats, which we’ll actually break down here in just a minute.
Nasal Snuff aka Powder/Powdered Dry Snuff
Nasal snuff is one of the oldest forms of tobacco enjoyment in the modern world. While it was popular in France, it actually goes back further than that. Columbus noted in his trip to Brazil in 1494 that the native tribes of Brazil would use this inhaled tobacco powder. It would come back to Spain from there, as well! Then of course, Jean Nicot would bring it to France. John Rolfe would also bring this to North America in 1611, which came in the slightly sweeter “Spanish style”.
This style of tobacco usage still is produced today, though used in smaller circles. In the Southern United States, I observed a lot of women using dry nasal snuff as I grew up here, particularly amongst the “church ladies”. It’s popular in many types of people, regardless of gender, however. I have used nasal snuff for about 15 years myself, and I have quite a few friends around here that use it, as well!
Lös Snus / Lössnus / Loose Snus
Lös snus, or lössnus / loose snus is the oldest, and most traditional form of Swedish Snus. It is pasteurized, flavored, packed in a can, and sent on. While it is the original form of Swedish Snus, and the most classic/traditional form of Swedish Snus, there aren’t a lot of varieties of it around anymore. Most of the traditional brands are still here such as Grov, Ettan, General, and Prima Fint. Some newer companies such as GN Tobacco have brands like Odens. Skruf is a relatively newer one. Swedish Match also has their Mustang brand, which is relatively new. But, there aren’t a lot of varieties of loose snus on the market, and new ones don’t pop up very often. But, the products that do exist are all good. I honestly can’t think of a “bad” loose snus on the market, which is a pretty good thing! I personally mostly use Prima Fint and Grov, as I like snus with a big tobacco flavor and not a lot added to it!
Portion Snus
Portion Snus would come around 1977 with Tre Ankare, a white portion snus that is still produced today! Portion snus quickly took over as the most preferred format of snus, and it still is today. Loose snus is maybe less than 10% of the total snus category, which shows the popularity of snus portions today. Portions come in three main formats: original, white, and white dry. Portions come off the production line as white or white dry, and have less moisture to them than original portions. Original portions are more moist, and get an extra spritz of water at the end of production to make the pouches moist. In size, you can get them in regular size, mini size, and slim size.
NOTE: Some places will list a type of pouch called “white snus” or “all white snus”, which commonly refers to nicotine pouches. I wanted to do a quick note that this isn’t actually snus, but a different tobacco-free product known as “nicopods” or “nicotine pouches”.
How snus and snuff are used
When talking about snus and nasal snuff / powdered snuff, the usage is quite different. I’ll go down the line and talk about the various products and the various ways they are used.
Nasal Snuff Usage
This is a type of tobacco the is dry, and is inhaled through the nose. You simply take a small amount in your fingers, or place it on the webbing between your thumb and finger, and lightly inhale it. A friend once told me it’s like “smelling a rose”. You’re smelling it, not snorting it.
Portion Snus Usage
Portion snus is pretty easy, you just take one and put it in your upper lip. This is done for less salivary contact, which helps keep snus from juicing up too much, and makes it “spit-free”. Also, the pasteurization method makes your saliva safe to swallow, which is another way snus is spit free.
Lös Snus Usage
This one is a bit more complex, as there are quite a lot of ways that you can use it. But the basic principal remains, it goes in your upper lip. First, you can use a tool if you don’t want to touch the tobacco. There are tools called the Prismaster and the Icetool that can form the prilla for you, and insert it under your upper lip. Second, you can do the “farmer’s pinch” method. This basically involves taking a pinch and just throwing it in your upper lip, no forming involved! Or, you can do the hand baking method, which I prefer. This method involves forming a small ball or cylinder of lös in your hand, aka “prilla”, and putting it under your upper lip. No matter which way you do it, experimentation leads to finding the best method that works for you. Everyone is different in this aspect!
The Bottom Line
I hope you enjoyed this little walk through history and a deep dive into the various types of smokeless tobacco that exist in the world. From nasal snuff powder to lös Swedish Snus to portion snus, there are a lot of different products out there and ways that you can use them. But I thought it was finally time to sit down and talk about how the term “powder” relates to nasal snuff and Swedish Snus usage. There is a lot of verbiage involved in smokeless tobacco, and to new folks it can be a little overwhelming, but hopefully sitting down and talking through this helped!
