What is Swedish snus?

Snuff Snus (Swedish snus)

Snus is a moist to semi-moist, ground, oral tobacco product,. Snus exists in two packaging formats, loose and portion packed...

Snuff snus is a moist or semi-moist oral powder tobacco product. Snus is manufactured and mainly consumed in Sweden and Norway.

The most usual way to consume snus is to place it between the gum and the upper lip in the oral cavity, and keep it there for a time varying from a few minutes to several hours, according to taste.

There are two main packaging formats of snus on the market loose and portion packed:

Loose snus:

lössnus is a loose, moist powder which can be portioned and rolled into a cylindrical shape with the fingertips, or using a prismaster tool. The end result is often referred to as a pris (pinch) or prilla (slang for pris).

Pouch snus

portionssnus or pouch snus, is prepackaged powder in small bags made from the same material as teabags. It comes in smaller quantities than the loose powder but is considered easier to handle. Because it is easier to get out of the mouth, then the loose powder.

Both forms exist in different flavour varieties. Swedish snus is made from air dried tobacco from various parts of the world. In earlier times tobacco for making snus used to be laid out for drying in Scania and Mälardalen. Later Kentucky tobaccos were used. The ground tobacco is mixed with water, salt, sodium carbonate and aroma and is prepared through heating, generally via steam. Snus is pasteurised in a proprietary heat treatment process. This manufacturing process satisfies the hygienic requirements of the Swedish Food Act. All production follows strict procedural and hygienic standards. The tobacco undergoes several stages of rigorous analysis to ensure that it meets standards. Swedish snus is regulated as a food product in Sweden. Production and additive standards are the same as those for food products.

Snus is sold mainly in Sweden and Norway, but can be found in outlets in various other countries frequented by Scandinavian tourists (with the notable exception of countries in the EU; see below). It is sold in small tins, which in the earlier years were made of porcelain, wood, silver or gold, but nowadays come in compressed paper or plastic. They contain 50g of loose snus or 24g of portion bags. In Sweden portion snus is usually sold in plastic boxes and loose snus is sold in paper boxes, while in Norway they are only available in plastic, but paper boxes are being phased in.

The price for the 50g product is approximately €2.50 in Sweden and €6.00 in Norway, and the total production of Swedish snus, mainly for the Scandinavian market, has been reported to be in excess of 300 million units per year. After the Norwegian government in June 2004 implemented a strict indoor smoking ban in public places, sales of snus skyrocketed, and several new variants of the product were put on the Norwegian market.