Snus....Tobacco without a Soul?

[Kaboom]

To me Snus smells like crap in the tin. Just about all of them save for the heavily flavored ones like Apple or Melon which do indeed smell and taste artificial, but hey, they're MELON FLAVORED. Do you seriously expect melon flavored gum, or candy to not taste artificial? The smell of general in the tin is OK...

But I really love the taste of some of them, and concerning the nicotine experience... I've smoked cigarettes, cigars and pipes for quite a few years now and for me the only thing that comes close to the SnusBuzz is a pipe packed full of Five Brothers. I hardly every use Sterks because I find the intensity of the nic hit downright unpleasant if sitting down doing nothing (they're great for when out and about though) and the 16mg thunder apples which are the strongest i've tried so far literally give me minor visual hallucinations. I know my nic tolerance is not that great but again, I don't get this effect from other forms of tobacco.

Cigarettes are a product of the devil, but I love them
Pipes are my favorite form of tobacco consumption, buy they're too much of a hassle
Cigars are the delicacies of the tobacco world, but the ones I like will empty my bank account fast if smoked daily.
Snuff is GREAT, love the stuff but the nic hit is mild and its a messy form of tobacco. Can't be used in public either...
Snus tastes great, is supposed to be safe, provides an excellent nic hit and it's descreet, can be used indoors and practically anytime anywhere, but I do miss the feeling of inhaling and exhaling smoke.
I haven't tried dip or chew, but I definately should although they'd be horribly impractical for me.

Tobacco's just ****in' awesome, and all of its forms have their appeal. That's why I use (almost) all of them!

[Burnsey]

I really look forward to the smell of a freshly opened tin of some brands. I guess, like tastes, it's different to each user.

Right, I have grown to like the Bergamot/tobacco smell, didn't starting out, plain tobacco smells are nice....some flavored snus not so much though....

[Polluted]

On one hand you have the taste and experience....and on the other you have safety. The snus industry tries to satisfy the taste and experience while not sacrificing AT ALL on the safety side of things.

Ya and that's basically why I use it. Luckily I have a few go to brands that cover all the important areas, still.....I guess something has got to give at some point. I can enjoy my snus career with Ettan or a few mint flavors I really enjoy without looking at their sins so to speak

[mattzq8sonoma]

When tobacco was first discovered the whole reason our founding fathers fermented, smoked, and sugared their tobacco was because it tasted like crap, however by their processing method they were able to turn it into an amazing flavor. Snus by modern standards eliminates all 3 of the prime methods used for hundreds of years. This leaves us with the problem our forefathers had but now we use science and artificial compounds to try and make it taste better.

On one hand you have the taste and experience....and on the other you have safety. The snus industry tries to satisfy the taste and experience while not sacrificing AT ALL on the safety side of things.

[Andy105]

I really look forward to the smell of a freshly opened tin of some brands. I guess, like tastes, it's different to each user.

[Burnsey]

I am not that crazy about how some snus smells in the tin, I know what you mean about the chemical smells, but the flavors in the lip make up for the smell.....

[Polluted]

My year anniversary with snus comes up at November of this year. I've gotten a chance to try many varieties and what a magical year it's been, but I gonna say I notice a few differences.

-First virtually all snus tastes very artificial. This should come to no suprise, artificial sugar, you need a billion dollar set up just to pasturize it and the flavorings are artificial as well. When tobacco was first discovered the whole reason our founding fathers fermented, smoked, and sugared their tobacco was because it tasted like crap, however by their processing method they were able to turn it into an amazing flavor. Snus by modern standards eliminates all 3 of the prime methods used for hundreds of years. This leaves us with the problem our forefathers had but now we use science and artificial compounds to try and make it taste better.

With a few exceptions, I have to say snus loses something because of that. I have only tried dip a handful of times and chew as well and each time I felt.....this is how the tobbacco experiance is supposed to be. Far to often with snus the flavor goes from a science experiment type flavor that rolls into the nasty bitter taste of pure, non fermented, non smokey tobbacco.

I also notice the snus, buzz literally feels different than their fermented counter parts. Odens snus actually captures the dip feel but all the pasturized stuff just lacks the soul of the nicotine experiance. Even stark portions never fully match that amazing glow one enjoys from the puff of an unfiltered ciggarete.

I don't know, I wish I was man enough to just use dip....I sit here with my discontinued General Smokey Oak portions and every time I open the can It smells like a chemically burned orange with an artificial smoke flavor one would find at a $1 kitchen section =(