No study in Sweden (home of Snus) has ever shown it to cause cancer. They had to take away the warning about cancer and the text now reads: “This product may harm your health and is addictive.”
I kicked my smoke habit using it and don’t find anything about less useful/more harmful than patches, gum, spray or whatever.
As for what it is.
Ground tobacco, water, some salt and flavoring. There are about as many flavor of snus as there are for chweing gum, including cranberry.
What little liquid the puches contain is swallowed but it doesn’t upset my stomach more than smoking did. Mostly, the nicotine seeps through the mucous (sp?) in the mouth, the same way a patch works through the skin.
Yes, the mouth will become sore if one puts the pouch in exactly the same place and is a compulsive user. Put the pouch in different places to avaid that. My guess is that putting some kind of candy under the lip and letting it dissolve and keep putting another peice of candy there all day long, the mouth will become sore fram that.
Standard waiver: I’m not into cancer research, just going on what’s been written and said over here, where about 14 per cent of the population use the stuff. With such a large number using it, there would surely be studies linking it to cancer by now and the authorities would force the warning.