Swedish Snus or Nicotine Pouches?

About 14 years ago, I discovered Swedish Snus. Honestly, at the time, it was love at first sight. There weren’t as many products available then as there are now, but I dove right into it. I couldn’t get enough. I was placing orders every few days, it seems, just because I wanted to try out as many flavors as possible. In the early days, I found quite a few that I loved, some I didn’t love, and some that would turn out to be my personal favorites. That’s the fun part about discovering this new category, trying out as much as you possibly can.

A few years ago, another smokeless format was introduced: the nicotine pouch. These days, it has taken over in terms of popularity and discussion, and contains as many, if not more, products than the Swedish Snus category. Granted, I’m more of a snus guy, I will use a nicotine pouch from time to time if there’s a flavor I want. As a product reviewer, I’ve tried probably 95% of the products on the market in this segment. There’s some I really enjoy, much like with snus. There’s some I don’t enjoy. But that’s my personal taste.

So, you may find yourself new to smokeless tobacco, or smokeless products in general. You may be curious about Swedish Snus and Nicotine Pouches and trying to figure out which one is right for you. In this article today, I’m going to talk about both categories, some pros and cons of each, and present them to you fully. From there, you can decide if you like one more than the other. Or, you could do it like I do and decide you want to use and enjoy both. Ultimately, the choice is up to you! So, let’s check out these categories, get to know them better, and see what is different about each one.

Swedish Snus

Swedish Snus is a type of smokeless tobacco that originated a few hundred years ago. The story goes that nasal snuff came over from the Americas, made it’s way to the French Court, and then migrated into Sweden where the Swedes made it a moist, oral tobacco product. Originally it was in the loose format, but in the 70’s the portion, or pouch, was created and that became the more common and popular format of Swedish Snus enjoyment to this day. There’s a basic, quick, crash course intro into Swedish Snus.

Now, what is it exactly? Swedish Snus is a pasteurized tobacco. Meaning, unlike American “dip”, this is a steam cured product. Not introducing fire to the tobacco is what keeps the TSNA levels low in Swedish Snus and makes it part of the tobacco harm reduction movement. The loose format is still around, although with less products. The portion format is the more common and popular format, which comes in original (moist), white (dryer), white dry (driest), as well as slim, mini, and large sized pouches.

With Swedish Snus, you get a steady, slow release of nicotine compared to nicotine pouches. However, you may notice a slight brown drip from the pouch. With a proper oral hygiene regimen, this isn’t a major deal, but it is one thing snus has that is different from nicotine pouches. The flavor of snus are focused around the tobacco base, with every flavor added to snus being a component that pairs with the tobacco flavor. For many, tobacco is something they enjoy, so snus is easily approachable due to it’s inclusion of tobacco. While there aren’t as many new snus products popping up as with nicotine pouches, you still have a lot of the classic, traditional, heritage brands that have been around for hundreds of years.

Nicotine Pouches

Nicotine Pouches were introduced less than a decade ago. For a new product category, it still amazes me how popular these have become. Like snus, these come in the pouch format. With snus, we usually use the word “portion”, but with nicotine pouches we usually use the word “pouch”. Though the term “pods” is popular in some markets, particularly the UK. So, nicotine pouches can also be called nicopods. I’ll be honest, sometimes I’ll say that as well just to be lazy and not have to type out the whole “nicotine pouches” phrase. Typing that just now makes me feel lazy. It’s cool, though.

So, what are these? Nicotine pouches are tobacco free produces. Instead of tobacco in the pouch, you usually have some form of plant fiber or cellulose. There is nicotine, flavorings, and preservatives as well. Nicotine pouches are usually available in the slim, moist format. There are a few mini dry products available, but most of them come in that slim, moist format.

With snus, the flavors are really focused around the tobacco. With nicotine pouches, the flavor is just that, the flavor. With each pouch, what you taste is what you’re supposed to taste. No hints of tobacco as with snus, just the added flavor in each pouch. Sometimes, that’s what I like about this category. If I’m having a beer and I want to add lime flavor to the experience, I’ll get a lime nicotine pouch. I may not want tobacco flavor in that moment. That’s where these products come in.

The biggest selling point of these is this: “all white”. These are products that are white before, during, and after using them. No brown drip, like you would get with snus. Also, they don’t contain tobacco. Some people want to enjoy nicotine but may not want to use tobacco anymore. That’s where the nicotine pouch comes in, as a tobacco-free alternative for those who enjoy nicotine but are over tobacco, quitting tobacco, or just don’t want to consume tobacco.

Swedish Snus or Nicotine Pouches: Which is right for me?

Now, you’re probably asking, which one is right for me? Well, that’s ultimately going to be up to you. It does boil down to a few things though.

Do you want to use tobacco? If not, the nicotine pouch is what you're looking for. If you don’t care either way, I’d suggest snus.

Do you want a product focused around the added flavor? If yes, the nicotine pouch is what you’re looking for. If you don’t care either way, I’d suggest snus. But honestly, either are good in this aspect. I use both for flavor, and I’m okay with that. So in this question, it could really go either way.

Do you want a clean, all white experience? Snus doesn’t have this one. I love tobacco, but some don’t. If you want to keep it clean, and have that white, clean, clear experience, the nicotine pouch is what you’re going for.

How do you like your nicotine delivery - fast or steady? If you want a steady, stable delivery of nicotine, snus has this one hands down. If you want a fast, sharp delivery of nicotine, you’re going to want to use a nicotine pouch.

Do you enjoy history? If so, that’s something you’ll find with snus. This over 200 year old product has a rich heritage and history, so you know you’re using something pretty thoroughly vetted.

The Bottom Line

Now, where do I fall on this one? I’m a snus guy. Probably 95% of what I use is snus. Reason being? I like tobacco. I love the rich, dark taste of tobacco. I love the heritage, and history, of Swedish Snus. I’m just a big snus fan boy. So you’ll have to take what I say with a grain of salt, obviously. I’ve used snus for 14 years, and I enjoy it as a major hobby in my life. Anyone who knows me knows I’m pretty into snus.

But, what about nicotine pouches? Hey, don’t get me wrong, I use these from time to time. I may not be the biggest fan of them, mainly because they have taken over the market and it’s caused snus to become less present. But, they have their place. There are a lot of products in this category that have interesting and unique flavors that I do enjoy. Granted, these aren’t my favorite type of products, I do find myself enjoying one here and there.

For you, it’s really going to boil down to personal preference. As with flavors and nicotine strengths, no one can tell you what you’re going to like. I’m here to review products and write articles and tell you about things, but I’m not here to tell you what to buy or what to use. That’s not my place. Ultimately, you should try out both categories, and use as many of these products as you want to develop a flavor profile and preference that works for you, along with an ideal nicotine strength that you find satisfactory.

There are a lot of products in both categories. So, you definitely have your work cut out for you if you’re going to try to figure out which one works for you. But hey, that’s the fun part. And, here on SnusExpress.com you’ll find a wide array of products. So, good luck! And my best advice is this: keep a journal. It’s a great way for you to track, keep up with, and even rate products you’ve tried. So when you go back to do an order you’ll have an idea of what you enjoy!

Check out SnusExpress wide range of Swedish Snus here!

And don't forget to compare with the equally wide range of Nicotine Pouches!