That stuff you put under your lips is called 'snuss'. I use it and it is far healthier than smoking tobacco. It doesn't cause mouth cancer and isn't very bad for vascular system (like tobacco).
A case of carcinoma occurring from snus use. Snus isn't harmless. It may be far less harmful than other tobacco products, but it isn't perfect. See following case report:
"Oral cancer after using Swedish snus (smokeless tobacco) for 70 years - a case report.
CASE REPORTS
Oral Diseases. 10(1):50-53, January 2004.
Zatterstrom, UK 1; Svensson, M 1; Sand, L 2; Nordgren, H 3; Hirsch, JM 2
Abstract:
Whereas the smoking habit has declined significantly in Sweden in recent decades, there has been a marked increase in the consumption of 'snus' (oral moist snuff). The use of this smokeless tobacco, exposing the user locally to carcinogenic nitrosamines, raises the question - will the increasing use of snuff eventually lead to a greater incidence of oral cancer? We report the case of a 90-year-old man who developed a localized squamous cell carcinoma in the gingival fold under the upper lip, at the exact place where he had regularly placed loose oral snuff for 70 years. Although this is a reminder of a prevailing cancer risk, the time frame indicates that the risk is slight. This is consistent with recent epidemiological reports regarding the minor risk of snuff-associated cancer in the Scandinavian countries.
(C) 2004 Munksgaard International Publishers Ltd."
I am not arguing the fact that you say the snus is 'healthier' than smoking tobacco, but to say that it flat out DOES NOT cause mouth cancer isn't true.
One should also rotate pockets (the spot in your mouth where you place the snus) to avoid inflammation and risk of carcinomas.
Also, 70 years ago when this man started using this product, I'm sure snus was made differently and older ways of manufacture could have been the reason for his -oma, but nobody knows for sure.
In sweden there is less mouth cancer than any other EU country despite they use the most snuss...They had to even remove the warning label "snuss is dangerous to your health" (or similar) from snuss boxes and put there only "it can be harmfull to your health" because of lack of evidence.
"Snus: Less Harmful, But Not Safe.
Cigarettes are the world's most efficient nicotine delivery device. They are also the most deadly. Many of the most dangerous byproducts of cigarettes are created during the burning process.
Smokeless tobacco products obviously don't burn. But smokeless tobacco is a major cause of oral cancer, pancreatic cancer, and esophageal cancer.
Much of this risk comes from cancer-causing chemicals called nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). And snuff products actually deliver more cancer-causing nitrosamines than cigarettes do.
But nitrosamine content is far lower in snus than in snuff, says Stephen S. Hecht, PhD, professor of cancer prevention at the University of Minnesota.
"Snus are made with a special process to help control nitrosamine levels," Hecht tells WebMD.
There's a catch, of course. Carcinogen levels in snus may be lower -- but they are not low.
"Nitrosamine levels in snus are still 100 times greater than levels of nitrosamines in foods like nitrite-preserved meats," Hecht says. "This is not a harmless product."
And there's evidence that these nitrosamines -- or something else in snus -- are causing cancer. In Sweden and Norway, where snus originated, snus users have a significantly higher risk of pancreatic cancer.
Snus are also linked to mouth sores, dental cavities, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes risk. And they do deliver nicotine -- an addictive drug."
"Snus: Harm Reduction or Multiplication?
OK, so snus isn't without harm. But if it's so much safer than cigarettes, wouldn't it be good for smokers to switch to snus?
In Scandinavia, there's some evidence that snus contributed to a decline in smoking. Whether that happens in the U.S. depends on young people, says Michael Eriksen, ScD, director of the Institute of Public Health at Georgia State University and former director of the CDC Office on Smoking and Health.
"If we see that existing smokers are the primary users of snus and go from smoking to snus, that would be a public health success story," Eriksen tells WebMD. "But if kids start out on snus and then grow into smoking, that is going to be a disaster."
t's a huge public health experiment -- and the results already are plain to see, says Terry Pechacek, PhD, associate director for science at the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health.
Pechacek notes that more than a fourth of white, male high school students report having used smokeless tobacco products in the last month. Overall, nearly 7% of all U.S. high school students already use smokeless tobacco.
And they are not using snus inststead of cigarettes.
"The overwhelming pattern is to smoke cigarettes along with smokeless tobacco -- and two-thirds of this is among young adults," Pechacek tells WebMD. "Over half of teens using smokeless tobacco are also using cigarettes. … It is of great public health concern."
This isn't an accident, says Michael Steinberg, MD, MPH, director of the tobacco dependence program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
Steinberg notes that in 2006, major U.S. cigarette companies bought the major smokeless tobacco brands. And the two major brands of snus? They're from leading cigarette makers Altria/Philip Morris (Marlboro Snus) and RJ Reynolds (Camel Snus).
"Snus is being co-marketed with cigarettes," Steinberg tells WebMD. "The companies are not shy in saying, 'When you can't smoke, use snus.' But when you can smoke, it is clear they want you to smoke cigarettes. They make more money from cigarettes sales than anything else on the planet."
Steinberg also notes that U.S. snus deliver less nicotine than do cigarettes."
"Snus: An Aid to Quitting Cigarettes?
Data from Sweden show that snus users don't always progress to cigarette use, and that it's possible to use snus to reduce dependence on cigarettes.
One Swedish study, for example, found that there were more ex-smokers using snus that there were ex-snus users using cigarettes.
However, Steinberg notes that this study fails to account for significant anti-smoking efforts taking place in Sweden at the same time, such as indoor health programs and government assistance to smoking cessation programs.
"Other countries, such as Norway, have not seen the same outcomes in terms of health benefits of snus as in Sweden," he says.
Steinberg points to studies showing that snus isn't any more helpful than nicotine replacement products such as nicotine gum and nicotine nasal spray.
"The real question is who do you buy your nicotine from?" GSU's Erickson says. "Do you buy it from a tobacco company that can put anything on the market with no testing … or do you buy it from pharmaceutical companies that have to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of their products as a drug and demonstrate they actually work?"
"Snus and Nicotine Addiction
It's right there in a big black box on the home page of the Camel Snus web site: "WARNING: Smokeless tobacco is addictive."
Snus users get hooked on nicotine. This means that if users try to quit, they will go through the unpleasant sick feeling known as withdrawal. Many will find it very difficult, if not impossible, to stop using nicotine in one form or another.
"Those who sell nicotine would like to keep people hooked on nicotine forever. That is a question, whether lifetime nicotine addiction is acceptable," Erikson says. "There are 50 million people in the U.S. who are regular nicotine users. The sooner we can get them from relying on smoked nicotine to not-smoked nicotine the better. The sooner we can get them all off nicotine entirely, the better."
All of the experts who spoke with WebMD agree: Snus clearly aren't as deadly as cigarettes, but they pose a significant risk to your health.
"The bottom line is
there is no safe form of tobacco use," Pechacek says.
source: webmd
Just trying to say that snus isn't innocent.
And it gives its effects more gradually over half hour compared to cigarette which hits you immediately. Snus gives larger plasma levels of nicotine but it raises more gradually as long as kept under lips (it can release nicotine maybe even hour).
I never got anything noticeable from nicotine, except a terribly annoying an regretful 25 year addiction, which I've now thankfully beaten! It's a total waste of time, good health and money.
