# What is snuff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 1, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531 "2003-07-01T07:56:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/1 "2003-07-01T07:56:43Z")
I keep reading references to the stuff from “the olden days”. Also, snuff boxes. What is the stuff? ---
**Author:** ![Tarantula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e274bd/32.png) [@Tarantula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tarantula)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/2 "2003-07-01T09:40:14Z")
Snuff is a tobacco by-product. It’s the nicotine that gives it a kick… Check out [http://www.skoal.de](http://www.skoal.de) - they call it “Smokeless Tobacco” Go figure… ---
**Author:** ![andy\_fl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@andy\_fl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andy_fl)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/3 "2003-07-01T09:42:08Z")
It is basically powdered tobacco people sniff for their nicotine addiction/fun/habit … [More here](http://www.cigarleaf.com/products/tobacco/snuff.htm) ---
**Author:** ![raygirvan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac91a4/32.png) [@raygirvan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raygirvan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/4 "2003-07-01T09:50:33Z")
… or sometimes taken [in other ways](http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/society/A0845726.html) such as rubbing into the gums. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 10:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/5 "2003-07-01T10:06:24Z")
Not really rubbing. Sticking it under the lip and keeping it there. More info [here.](http://www.gothiatek.com/templates/change_page.aspx) ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/6 "2003-07-01T14:47:30Z")
I used to use snuff. As **andy\_fl** ’s link relates, it (in its original form) is finely ground tobacco, often scented, usually with either “medicinal” scents (like mint or eucalyptus), or fruity ones, that one snorts, about a pinch at a time. Snuff was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, but seems to have passed out of favor with the rise of cigarettes. Snuff boxes are exactly what the name implies, small boxes used for carrying around one’s snuff. They were usually highly decorated, and many of them are quite stunning works of art. Snuff mulls are essentially large snuff boxes that sit on a tabletop, and are traditionally made from ram’s horn. What most Americans think of as snuff is actually snus, a form of chewing tobacco of Scandinavian origin that I never saw the appeal of. I still think snuff is the most inoffensive method of tobacco use, as it produces no smoke, nor does it require one to constantly spit gobs of brown spittle. This is probably why it was traditionally considered to be the “gentlemanly” method of tobacco use: very little mess. ---
**Author:** ![Peach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/7 "2003-07-01T15:40:44Z")
i snuff bad for you like cigs and chewing tabbacy? ---
**Author:** ![Peach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/67e7ee/32.png) [@Peach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peach)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/8 "2003-07-01T15:42:28Z")
IS ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/9 "2003-07-01T15:48:10Z")
There are really two levels of snuff. There is the good stuff, as was used in the 18th century, which is very finely ground tobacco that is meant to be inhaled through the nose, sometimes with menthol or other flavors added. Then there is the rubbish that gets foisted off as “snuff” by companies like “skoal”. ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/10 "2003-07-01T16:26:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Peach \* > i snuff bad for you like cigs and chewing tabbacy? Put it this way: taking snuff is a national pastime in Sweden and forbidden in the rest of the European Union. Sweden also have a much lower lung cancer rate (sorry, no cite). I assume that this goes for people using chewing tobacco as well. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/11 "2003-07-01T18:42:05Z")
Snuff is certainly bad for you. The earliest harm is white, receding gums and tooth loss. Then you get into cancer of the tongue, lips, gums, jawbone, throat, and larynx. Those who snort the stuff are courting cancer of the nose and lungs. If you think you’re safer using snuff, you’re a sucker. That doesn’t even count the folks who don’t want to be around somebody who gakky brown mud in a cup every coupla minutes. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/12 "2003-07-01T18:45:15Z")
That should be “somebody who \*spits[/] gakky brown mud…” ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/13 "2003-07-01T19:48:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AskNott \* > \*\*Snuff is certainly bad for you. The earliest harm is white, receding gums and tooth loss. Then you get into cancer of the tongue, lips, gums, jawbone, throat, and larynx. Those who snort the stuff are courting cancer of the nose and lungs. If you think you’re safer using snuff, you’re a sucker. > > That doesn’t even count the folks who don’t want to be around somebody who gakky brown mud in a cup every coupla minutes. \*\* I am not talking about chewing tabaco. ---
**Author:** ![Starbury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/14 "2003-07-01T19:53:19Z")
Maybe I’m misreading some of the posts here, but its always been my understanding that **snuff** is different from **dip**. Snuff is finely ground tobacco that you snort through your nose and get a buzz that way, while dip (like Kodiak, Skoal and Silver Creek) is longer grained tobacco that you wad up and put under your lip, spitting brown fluid out occasionally. Continued use of dip leads to the growth of polyps in your mouth and throat. Not sure what snuff leads to…deviated septums? ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/15 "2003-07-01T19:57:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AskNott \* > Snuff is certainly bad for you. The earliest harm is white, receding gums and tooth loss. Then you get into cancer of the tongue, lips, gums, jawbone, throat, and larynx. Those who snort the stuff are courting cancer of the nose and lungs. If you think you’re safer using snuff, you’re a sucker. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/16 "2003-07-01T20:05:05Z")
[This cite](http://www.quit.org.au/quit/FandI/fandi/c09s1.htm) has more information, but says it’s hard to know all the effects of inhaled snuff use because so few do it. (My grandmother used snuff - and my grandfather hated it!) ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2003, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/17 "2003-07-01T21:41:15Z")
I’m still waiting for a cite from **AskNott**. Especially since my little tin containing _snus_ has another warning nowadays. It used to say: “Causes Cancer”. Now it says: “This product may harm your health and is addictive.” You see, **DeVena** , a lot of people have been trying to prove the ill effects. And they’ve come up with nothing. So, I asked AskNott for a cite, considering that even the health board at the EU now has a hard time defending the ban. Maybe there is some scientific study these guys are not aware of? Mean while: [Cite](http://www.ash.org.uk/html/regulation/html/wsj030403.html) [Cite](http://www.geocities.com/swedensnus/cancer.html) [Cite](http://www.northerner.com/snus_info.html) The last one is quite biased, as they’re selling the stuff. It does contain good references though. And it was hard to find more cites in English. Not surprisingly, most are in Swedish. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/18 "2003-07-02T10:19:18Z")
Waiiiit… are you sure he was talking about snuff…? Or did he mean ‘snuff’? Cinematically speaking, snuff is pornography where death or permanent injury is inflicted for your viewing pleasure (see 8mm) ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/19 "2003-07-02T13:39:44Z")
[http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED\_10\_2x\_Smokeless\_Tobacco\_and\_Cancer](http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/content/PED_10_2x_Smokeless_Tobacco_and_Cancer) I’ve been grubbing around for about 45 minutes looking for just the right link. I need to go eat breakfast now. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531/20 "2003-07-02T15:17:08Z")
Again, even though they say “snuff” they are talking about chewing tabacco. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-snuff/185531.md?page=2)