Snus is grown and consumed primarily in Sweden and Norway. It is now being test marketed in many other countries. Snus is an oral tobacco product that is moist or semi moist and ground into a particular type of ground variety. They are packaged in two ways, loose and portion packed. Snus is at present undergoing trial in the United States and South Africa among other countries. The Swedish snus is made from air fried tobacco from different parts of the world.
In places like Scania and Malardalen, snus was laid out for drying. Later Kentucky tobaccos were used. Snus is prepared through stream heating. Sodium carbonate, water, salt and aroma are used in the preparation. Most of the different types of snus contain more than 50% water. Sweden is one country where snus is consumed in great quantities. The America sold oral tobacco has gone through a process of fermentation while snus has not. This is the major difference between Snus and American sold oral tobacco. The thing is used by 1.1 million people in Sweden. This is 12 % of the entire population of the country.
The procedure said mainly in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The product is also found in many places where Scandinavian tourists are found. There is loose snus which is a moist powder and it can be portioned and rolled into a cylindrical shape. It is called prilla or pris. The pouch snus is prepackaged snus. It is considered easier to use. The Swedish snus is prepared from air dried tobacco brought from different parts of the world.
The process of manufacturing goes by the norms of the Swedish Food Act. The additive and production standards are the best in the industry. The product is sold in small tins made of compressed paper or plastic. Earlier it was sold in tins made of silver, gold porcelain or wood. In Sweden, loose snus is sold in paper boxes and the portion snus is sold in plastic boxes. IN Norway the snus is sold only in plastic boxes but the use of paper boxes are gradually beginning to start.
In Scandinavian countries it is consumed to a great extent. The total manufacture of snus in Sweden for consumption in the Scandinavian market is more than 30 million units per year. There were many new variants of the snus in the Norwegian market after the Norwegian government put in place a strict ban on smoking in public places. The Swedish government also did the same thing in June 2005 and the sale of snus increased dramatically after that. The price of snus in Norway if higher than that in Sweden as the taxes are higher in Norway than they are in Sweden. The portioned snus are mainly available in three varieties, mini, normal, and maxi or large. The portioned snus are usually sold in plastic tins of 24 gms. The loose snus are sold in tins made of compressed paper and have plastic lids. The weight is 45 gms.
The rules and regulations for buying and selling of snus is the same as that for other tobacco-based products. The most common to have snus is to place it under the upper-lip and just keep it there for a few minutes to several hours as the case may be. A snus are steam cured as opposed to fire cured like smoking tobacco and other chewing tobacco the snus contains lower amounts of nitrosamines and other carcinogens. If snus are stored in lower than normal temperatures then the possibility of the formation of nitrosamines is reduced. As a result, many people say that cold snus are better than warm snus. The European Union banned the user of snus in 1992 after the WHO published a study in 1985 that stated that the oral use snuffs is carcinogenic to men. But, it has been stated that the effect of snus on human health is still inconclusive. Most researchers are of the view that no form of tobacco should be used and snus also fall into this category. Some also state that the effect of snus are similar to nicotine patches. Current research aims at long term effects of snus on health.