Via the New York Times:
Snus (rhymes with loose) is a moist ground tobacco that a user tucks between the cheek and the gum. Unlike chewing tobacco and moist smokeless tobacco — commonly known as dip — snus requires no spitting. Thanks partly to its popularity here, Sweden has the lowest smoking rates in Europe. It also has fewer incidences than its neighbors of smoking-related diseases, including lung and oral cancer.
I’ve never smoked a cigarette in my life and I’ve never put a dip in my mouth. I’ve only smoked the occasional cigar. But snus to me sounds like the best alternative to more disgusting and nasty habits for some people. The best thing about snus to me is that it doesn’t affect other people around you while you get your fix.
But can this Swedish product catch on in America? The article mentions the two giant American tobacco companies are having a hard time in their test markets. Plus, add the difficulties and complications of how to market a “safer” tobacco product and jumping through regulatory hurdles and snus might never his the States in a big way. And to me that would be a shame. If even just 10% of tobacco users were to switch permanently from cigarettes to snus, I would be a happy camper.
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