Skruf Snus: Lowest Levels of TSNA's?

[sm0ke42o]

I was reading some articles on snus when I came across a website claiming Skruf had the lowest levels of TSNA's of any snus on the market according to the Swedish National Food Association. They gave no references to back this claim up but I was intrigued nevertheless. This may be common knowledge but it was new to me so I thought I would post here asking if anyone else had heard this. I am not a huge skruf guy but I may start trying to become one if this is indeed true. Apparently Wise is also making this claim about their snus so I'm not sure who to believe.

The article I read this info in can be found here.

http://www.snusus.com/skrufsnus.html

[justintempler]

I saw a quote from 2003 from the partners that stated Skruf saying that their TSNA levels were 15% lower then the leading brands. That doesn't mean the lowest and with the push to lower TSNAs, data from 6 years ago is already obsolete by now.

Everybody has been lowering TSNAs,
TSNAs in snus are already low, so being the lowest of the low doesn't mean much to me.
I consider most talk about TSNAs to be marketing hype.

[RobsanX]

For some reason I thought Gotland's was the lowest, but it's been a long time since I looked into it...

[simon]

I read on Northerner that Oomph had TSNA levels lower than nicotine gum.. Don't know how true that is.. But that's pretty damn low..
And yeah, I don't know how much of the TSNA talk is just hype, TSNA may have nothing to do with why tobacco causes cancer at all. Don't think they really know what causes it. It just happens.

[paulwall9]

I actually read somewhere that Tsna's have nothing to do with it at all I will try to find the article and get back to you!

[paulwall9]

American moist snuff products in the 1980s and 1990s had higher TSNA levels, yet epidemiologic studies found that there was little risk for oral cancer. Most American and virtually all Swedish products now meet the Swedish standard for low TSNA levels, which is 10 parts per million (ppm), based on dry weight of the tobacco. Levels in Swedish products are generally around 4 ppm. Some American products are around 5 ppm, while others are in the range of 10 to 15. However, two American smokeless products, available as dissolvable pellets (Ariva and Stonewall), have TSNA levels of only 0.1 to 0.2 ppm. There is no scientific evidence supporting any measurable difference in health effects from using products with TSNA levels of 10-15 ppm versus those with 0.1 ppm. Demands on manufacturers to push TSNAs below current levels, which are the lowest in history, ought to be based on a scientific rationale incorporating some health endpoint. Otherwise, eliminating TSNAs from tobacco makes no more sense than eliminating traces of the 21 carcinogens in roasted coffee, which have not been demonstrated to confer any health risks.

[simon]

So if TSNA has never been actually linked as the cancer causing substance in tobacco, then what exactly makes snus any less dangerous than dip?

[paulwall9]

Simon I have repeatedly asked myself the same question! The only thing I can think of is that snus is pasterized and as suck kills most of the micro organisms that probably contribute to other dieases and maybe cancer as well! Besdides that, I can't give you any definitive answer!

[aj01]

TSNA's

The idea that conventional fermented dip causes widespread lip/pancreatic cancer due to regular use is now largely considered to have been a "scare" tactic. Who here remembers the rumor that Skoal has fiberglass inside the blend to pierce the inner lip? Untrue.

TSNA's rear their ugly head in combustible tobacco. When burned, cigarette tobacco and the chemical compounds in the sticks create a toxic brew. So does barbecuing meat with charcoal briquets, by the way.

Best to stick with the rule that, if it's Swedish snus, it's safe.

By the way, last I heard, the Taboca products had the lowest levels. And what do you know...Ingvar who runs the factory in Roma came from Skruf.

[simon]

I think it may have been scare tactic too, I live smack in the middle of redneck central, everybody here dips, young and old, I have yet to see a guy walking around without a bottom jaw. Never seen it in almost 33 years on the planet, not once. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen though I guess. But I see people with oxygen tanks everyday, and people do die of cancer everyday, but I find it hard to blame it all on tobacco, and not the environment, or genetics. Bad shit happens to good people. So I say sure, lower the TSNA's, it couldn't hurt, but it wont do any good until the other hazardous materials are eliminated as well.