Snus

Snus is a moist powder tobacco, a kind of snuff, that has gone through a fermentation process. Snus is manufactured and mainly consumed in Sweden, where it is pronounced {{IPA|/?sn??s/}}. The most usual way to consume snus is to place it beneath the upper lip, and keep it there for a time varying from a few minutes to several hours, according to taste. There are two main types of snus on the market:

Related Topics:
Tobacco - Snuff - Fermentation - Sweden

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• original snus or 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).
• portionssnus, 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.

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 smokedried Kentucky tobaccos were used. The ground tobacco is mixed with water, salt, sodium carbonate and aroma and is prepared through heating, generally via steam. Moist snus contain more than 50% water, and the average use of snus in Sweden is approximately 800 grams (16 units) per person per year.

Related Topics:
Scania - Mälardalen - Kentucky - Sodium carbonate

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Snus is sold mainly in Norway and Sweden, 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.

Related Topics:
Norway - Sweden - Scandinavian - Porcelain - Wood - Silver - Gold

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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.

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Snus: Health consequences ►