Friendly Survey. Is Snuff Harmless?

rostanf

My purpose is not to change anyone's opinions concerning snuff. My only purpose is to determine whether anyone thinks snuff is harmless, yes or no. Thanks everyone. This question is inspired by a discussion I recently had with someone. He supposes that "people think snuff is harmless". Do you?

n9inchnails

I think its relatively harmless compared to other forms of tobacco. Technically nothing is truely harmless, think water is harmless then let me dunk your head underwater and hold it there for 10 minutes and we'll see how harmless water is.

rostanf

@n9inchnails I agree, 100%.

ar47

I don't presume it to be harmless. My county though is one of the worst in the US for air pollution. I do regard that as a more severe threat than the snuff. One of my grandfathers got cancer from oral snuff, so I don't regard tobacco across the board as low risk. For enjoying tobacco though I believe nasal snuff from guys like Toque & SWS is the least risky, and conveniently most pleasant, way to do it.

rostanf

@ar47. Thank you. I agree.

bob

yes, at least when compared to coffee. Or watching too much t.v..

SammyD13

Depends on your state of health and how much nicotine you are getting from your snuffing. Watch out if you have high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, or have a higher risk of stroke. Also if you have diabetes, nicotine can exacerbate circulatory issues. Despite the relative safety of snuff from a cancer perspective, nicotine can still be a powerful drug.

volunge

Next to obvious cardiac impact (I second SammyD13), I would be also concerned about carcinogen precursor nornicotine (one of tobacco alkaloids), which undergoes nitrosation in saliva and in the stomach and turns into NNN. One could argue that this risk is related with oral tobacco only and can't be attributed to nasal snuff. While theoretically true, I always get more or less of the backdrip, which is often gutted.

Another issue I'm quite worried about is a negative impact to teeth (still talking about nasal snuff).

Captainblackboogers

 My only concern with snuff is cancer...that's why i quit cigarettes, the fear.

  I'll take rhinitis or slightly higher blood pressure. I don't normally take enough snuff to raise my heartbeat much...I will take any of the side effects of this lovely hobby, as long as it's not cancer.

bob

safer then french fries.

rostanf

Thanks everyone for taking the time to answer.

Roderick

I have just been told that eating chicken is more dangerous and puts you at a higher risk of cancer than snuff.

Captainblackboogers

@Roderick. Who told you that? Your wife? Isn't she a cancer researcher?

rostanf

@roderick what if we snuff the chicken as well?

KortKant

I saw coffee mentioned here, and in other posts. Im a heavy caffeine user as well, mostly tea and coffee Id say, though I do drink energy drinks on occasion, which is a whole other topic of health. I was just curious however, why do we find coffee on the same level of harm as tobacco? Not isolated nicotine mind you, but tobacco. And I mean that to indicate NRT, not vaping. But even still, I dont know that Id classify even nic gum to be as safe as coffee. Ive heard the argument made, plenty of times. But when I hear it, and evaluate it for myself from my own experience, all I can think is 'Yea, my tolerance to both of those is about the same, feels about the same taking them.' But theres no science whatsoever to that thinking. And in this age of new nicotine addicts trying to convince everyone of their new habit, this is the type of unfounded reasoning that I personally believe dominates most peoples thoughts. An addiction driving reasoning, and then invoking individualism to prove one's point. 'Look man, Ive got a flower of life tattoo, so this is completely safe, its from the earth'
But maybe im wrong

ar47

@KortKant why not? My own assumption is the opposite of yours (coffee more harmful than nic gum). But I'm certainly not read up on the topic

aguineapig

For me caffeine has more significant withdrawals than tobacco. Everyone is different, and anyone who considers the matter of addiction to be cut and dry or well understood is fooling themselves.

Alcohol is an excellent parallel. It can be extremely addictive, and for many people it is. Others can pick it up and put it down.

To speak as if one understands someone else's contrary idiosyncratic experience with a substance rubs me the wrong way. My anxiety got worse over the winter so I stopped alcohol, caffeine and tobacco. I sleep in a room that houses 50 pounds of tobacco, 10 of snuff, and a few hundred stogies. I wish I felt better and could partake like I used to on occasion but it just doesn't appeal to me. Stopping caffeine yielded a headache for three days. Nothing else really happened except less exacerbation of anxiety since I wasn't chronically raising adrenaline and cortisol.

We need to get real about how individual, circumstantial, epigenetic, and environmentally influenced a person's relationship with substances can be, and not project our own experiences on others. I would never decree tobacco non addictive based solely on my experience. But it's almost humorous to be oft labeled an addict in denial giving my experiences. And likewise, people around us consume addictive substances all the time with various outcomes. Like alcohol. It's a wild world out there.

Roderick

I remember a few years ago we were told eggs were dangerous. 

Go back a few years and we were told doctors choose Winston to ease your throat.

Next they will be telling us that vaping is dangerous.

KortKant

I think, personally, that vaping is dangerous. Not inherently perhaps, but due to uncertainty. I get my snuff from McChrysyals, one of the original companies. If I put that in my nose, even if I have personal concerns that it may be unsafe because its tobacco, I understand that its at least a known and quality controlled formula. A formula the effects of which have been well documented. This is even the case for cigarettes. This is not the case for vaping. No one knows yet what is going to become problematic about vaping. Something has been a problem however. That much is clear

bob

because coffee is generally considered safe unless someone either over does it (which that the jury is still out on, basically lots of contradictory data that supports both sides) or is hypersensitive to some aspect of it. You know not a particularly serious concern after all is said and done.

Omgroma

My thinking is that the human nose is pretty good at letting air in, but keeping (and getting) impurities out. That is one of its main functions. We all know that tobacco is not harmless (what is?!) But setting fire to it and inhaling it seems particularly risky. I gave up snuff for a couple of years recently, due to frustration over a completely blocked nose; I took up vaping as my source of nicotine. But then I started coughing every time I vaped, so recently returned to snuff. I now realise that to avoid a blocked nose, I need to stay WELL hydrated ... giving my nose what it needs to function properly. So ... happy days again!!!

bob

also found being more gentle and slow about nose blowing also helps.

Omgroma

@bob Yes indeed.

thats_the_snuff

@volunge I'm curious to know more about the connection between nasal snuff and dental health. Can you say more?

volunge

@thats_the_snuff, well, my point is simple - upper deck is relatively close to the sinuses. While the distance varies from person to person, some have a sinus floor very close to their tooth roots.

Please take my worries with a grain of salt, buddy. I'm having a number of issues with my teeth, which all started in my childhood/early teen years, well before I got into tobacco. A classic case of dental fear and anxiety here.

ar47

When I enjoy quite a bit of snuff I can feel my heart beat in my front teeth, such as right now

thats_the_snuff

@volunge I feel you... That's why I asked ;P Have always found dental issues difficult to deal with, although recently after having found a great dentist, I'm comforted.

thatotherguy

Nothing is harmless. Something's gotta kill you someday, and I honestly doubt that snuff will be what does me in.

As far as tobacco goes, I believe snuff is less harmful than many other methods of consumption. In fact, I believe that non-combusted tobacco- smokeless- is much less dangerous than the public opinion seems to think. Is it harmless? No. It would be foolish to suggest otherwise. But it's a hell of a lot less harmful than cigarettes.

rostanf

@thatotherguy thanks! Agreed.

mycelium

I think snuff is relatively safe not only in comparison to dip/smoke/vape but also in comparison to a bunch of other things we come in contact with everyday. 

 Having a unhealthy diet is more dangerous than having a snuff habit in my opinion. 

 Drinking alcohol or sitting around a campfire probably causes more harm than snuff. 

Im not really worried about either of those (except unhealthy diet) so im not really worried about snuff either.

rostanf

@mycelium thanks! All good points.