Snus Addiction and How To Deal With It

The negative impact of smoking is nothing new, but other tobacco products can have the same addictive effect. While snus is a safer option than cigarettes, continuous use can pose health risks, including a snus addiction.

Is Snus Addictive?

Yes, continuous consumption of snus can lead to addiction. That doesn’t mean that you will become addicted upon your first session, as the habit builds over time. Frequent consumption can also increase your tolerance to snus and make you seek stronger products.

What Causes Snus Addiction?

While any activity you regularly repeat can become hard to cease, snus has one ingredient that makes you physically and psychologically dependent on it—nicotine. Nicotine is found in tobacco and is the primary reason people develop addiction to tobacco products like cigarettes, vapes, or snus.

When your body absorbs nicotine, this substance travels to your brain and increases dopamine release, temporarily making you feel good. As nicotine levels drop, so does dopamine, triggering a craving, which is your body’s attempt to get more of the feel-good substance.

How Addictive Is Snus?

Several factors determine how snus affects you and how dependent on it you will become. Your genetic disposition determines how the receptors in your brain react to nicotine, but your behavior is also significant. The more often you use nicotine, the higher the chances for dependence.

The amount of nicotine and absorption speed are significant factors in determining how addictive snus is, and they depend on the type of snus you use. The following five categories influence how much nicotine you absorb from each snus pouch:

1. Nicotine content—The more nicotine there is in a pouch, the more your body can take from it
2. Moisture level—More moisture leads to a faster and smoother nicotine release
3. pH level—Higher pH values result in easier absorption and stronger kick, while lower values lead to a less efficient absorption and a weaker effect
4. Pouch size—Big pouches typically, but not necessarily, contain more nicotine. They also have a larger surface area in contact with the skin, which helps nicotine delivery
5. Pouch shape—Besides giving users more comfort and allowing longer usage, the shape also dictates an even distribution across the surface of the pouch

Source: StingFree

What Does Snus Do to You?

The pleasant buzz you feel when the nicotine rush hits you is the reason you like using snus. The buzz can last anywhere from a few minutes to an hour. Snus gives you a mild burning sensation in your mouth and has an energizing effect.

Snus can also have a calming effect and make you feel happier by stimulating dopamine release. That pleasant feeling caused by a nicotine hit is what makes snus psychologically addicting. Users even experience improved focus when they pop in a pouch, although this effect only appears when they have only started using nicotine and wears off with continuous use.

Prolonged use of snus can also build your nicotine tolerance. When your tolerance is higher, you need larger amounts of nicotine to feel the kick.

Is Snus a Stimulant?

Snus acts as a stimulating substance. When your body takes in nicotine from the pouch, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, which creates a sensation similar to an adrenalin rush. It’s one of the reasons why football players use snus—to feel more energetic.

What Are the Health Risks of Snus Addiction?

Every substance that influences your body and mind has some negative effects. While smokeless tobacco products are safer than cigarettes—for you and for the environment—they still pose various health risks.

The overuse of snus can lead to nicotine poisoning, which can include the following side effects:

• Rapidly increasing heart rate
• Abnormally high blood pressure
• Dehydration
• Headache
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea

After the initial symptoms of nicotine poisoning subside, the heart rate and blood pressure drop too low, sometimes leading to a coma. If you feel any of the symptoms and they don’t subside within a few hours of removing the snus from your mouth, seek medical help.

To reduce the chance of health problems, check how to use snus properly.

When it comes to physical health, the nicotine in snus is not as harmful as tobacco, which contains various carcinogens. While you can avoid the side effects of nicotine by following the instructions for usage, consuming tobacco always increases the risk of cancer.

Other health risks for snus addicts are:

• Diabetes
• Oral health problems (gingival disease, tooth loss, oral mucosal lesions, etc.)
• Pregnancy complications (increased risk of stillbirth, neonatal apnea, preterm birth, and oral cleft malformation)
• Heart diseases (heart attack, etc.)

Source: Berzin

Snus Addiction—Withdrawal Symptoms

A long-time user can experience withdrawal after discontinuing snus consumption. The discomfort happens several hours after you stop consuming snus, and they may get progressively worse in the following days.

The withdrawal symptoms include:

• Strong nicotine cravings
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Difficulty concentrating
• Struggling to sleep
• Increased hunger and weight gain
• Anxiety and mood swings
• Dizziness and light-headedness

How To Overcome Snus Addiction Withdrawal Symptoms?

The withdrawal symptoms are the worst in the first week after you stop using snus, but you can feel some lingering effects for up to a few weeks. Headaches and cravings can even last for a few months.

Try some of these tips to ease the discomforts of the withdrawal phase:

• Providing enough fluids, salt, and sugar to your body can help with light-headedness, nausea, headaches, and lack of focus
• You will feel mental cravings even after your body stops craving nicotine. To deal with those, try reminding yourself why you wanted to quit
• Since nicotine no longer suppresses your appetite, you will have intense food cravings. Keep small snacks with you and maintain a healthy diet
• Keep reminding yourself that increased irritability and anger are caused by withdrawal and it’s not worth ruining relationships with people around you
• Introduce a rewarding system—every time you resist the urge to pop in a pouch, give yourself a small reward to stay motivated

Source: lil artsy

How To Deal With Snus Addiction?

Quitting snus is similar to quitting smoking, so you can use the same techniques to help you fight your snus addiction.

Here are three methods to try:

1. Ripping off the bandaid
2. Small steps
3. Less harmful replacement

Ripping Off the Bandaid

Immediate snus cessation works for some people. The most difficult part is going through the withdrawal phase, which is the roughest in the first few days. It takes a strong will to endure it, but most of the physical symptoms subside after a week.

Small Steps

Another way to deal with snus addiction is to take baby steps. Try reducing the number of pouches you use daily and extending the breaks between pouches. You can also switch to different pouches with lower nicotine content and keep reducing the usage over time. When you no longer need as much snus as before, try ceasing entirely.

Source: Hans

Less Harmful Replacement

If you are not ready to quit completely or you want a less harmful nicotine hit, try tobacco-free nicotine products. That way, you will be able to experience that pleasant buzz without most of the health risks associated with tobacco.

The four most common smoke-free nicotine products that don’t contain tobacco are:

1. Nicotine pouches—A safer version of snus that doesn’t contain tobacco
2. Nicotine gums—An FDA-approved method of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) used to help you quit smoking
3. Nicotine lozenges—Another FDA-approved NRT method. They are shaped like tablets that dissolve in your mouth and release nicotine
4. Nicotine patches—Patches resemble band-aids and release nicotine when attached to your skin. They are an FDA-approved method for quitting smoking

Snus Alternatives—Nicotine Pouches

Nicotine pouches, also known as all-white snus or nicopods, are 100% tobacco-free. They look similar to regular snus and are used in the same way. All-white snus is available in various nicotine strengths and different flavors.

Why Are Nicopods Better Than Snus?

Unlike snus, nicotine pouches don’t contain tobacco, so there are no carcinogenic substances in them.

Source: SnusBoss

While nicotine in the pouches can still make you addicted, the danger to your physical health is significantly lower. With proper use and without exceeding the recommended dose, nicotine pouches will curb your cravings with a much lesser impact on your health.

See how snus compares to nicotine pouches.

Top Nicotine Pouches

Nicopods offer a variety of strengths and flavors, so you can find a tobacco-free product that gives you the same feeling as snus pouches.

Explore some of the white-snus brands that could be an excellent replacement for traditional snus:

Where To Get Nicotine Pouches?

To enjoy nicopods safely, get them from a respectable vendor. That way, you’ll avoid consuming low-quality products or those that were not made according to industry standards.

SnusBoss is a reputable online store that offers various nicotine pouches. The company is run by industry experts who are focused on reducing the negative impact of tobacco by providing the highest-quality, 100% tobacco-free products.

What sets this vendor apart is the selection of nicopod brands manufactured in the EU. The EU-made nicotine pouches are superior to those made in the U.S. due to the fine-tuned moisture and pH levels with top-quality medical-grade nicotine.

To get your pouches from SnussBoss, follow these steps:

1. Visit the online store
2. Select your preferred strength and flavor
3. Enter your billing and shipping details

If you choose the express delivery option, you will receive your order in 2–3 days. Shipping is free for all orders over $249.

Check out the entire catalog in the following table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Using Snus To Quit Smoking Good?

Quitting smoking with snus is tricky. While snus is a safer habit and pouches can curb your cravings, the nicotine in them will maintain your dependence, thus replacing smoking addiction with snus addiction.

The same applies to using snus to quit vaping. Also, don’t resort to snus to quit dipping because dip pouches have similar content to snus, with the only advantage of snus being that you will no longer have to spit the excess saliva produced during dip usage.

Is Snus Approved for Nicotine Replacement Therapy?

Snus is not an approved method of nicotine replacement therapy. The only FDA-approved products are nicotine gums, lozenges, nasal sprays, patches, and specific medicines.

Is Snus More Addictive Than Smoking?

Nicotine content and absorption speed are two main points for comparing the nature of smoking and snus addiction. Depending on what tobacco product you use, you will absorb different percentages of the nicotine in it, but never the full amount.

With a similar average amount of nicotine per serving, the most significant difference between cigarettes and snus is the way you absorb nicotine from them. Typical users of snus and cigarettes absorb almost the same total amount of nicotine daily but at a different speed. 

Inhaling smoke transfers this substance to your brain instantly, while the absorption from snus is more gradual. The faster you get the kick, the more likely you are to get addicted, which makes smoking more addictive than snus.

Is Snus Addiction the Same as Smoking Addiction?

Being addicted to snus will have similar effects as a smoking addiction. The nicotine cravings are the same, as well as the withdrawal symptoms. The difference is in the level of health risk your body is exposed to. Unlike cigarettes, snus doesn’t release smoke, so the risk of having respiratory or cardiovascular issues is much lower. 

Featured image source: hjartstrom