Just Another Habit!

Try as I may, I am unable to find any graphic of a Viking attacking while smoking. Even Columbus was never seen on his deck with a cigar.

But there was  a show of violence from  the famous ‘Berserkers” who must have been inhaling mushrooms or perhaps an herbal-type plant to increase their battle-courage. No tobacco from anyone!

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And speaking about Columbus, one can only imagine Christopher’s reaction when he was first offered the Indian greeter’s ‘peacepipe’ in 1492 after he  inhaled his first breath of tobacco. It might have caused glee to the welcoming group as Chris coughed at the new sensation. He was introduced to tobacco and later presented with a gift of tobacco leaf. The Indians knew about tobacco.As early as 1 B.C., it has been suspected that American Indians began using tobacco in many different ways, for example, religious and medicinal practices.It is believed that tobacco began growing in the Americas about 6,000 B.C.!

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Tobacco was a plant believed to be a cure-all, used to dress wounds, as well as a pain killer. Chewing tobacco was believed to relieve the pain of a toothache! Soon, sailors were taking tobacco back to Europe resulting in the plant being grown all over Europe.

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Cigarettes became popular  in WWI when soldiers brought it back to England from Russian and Turkish soldiers.

Cigarettes have become very popular amongst smokers since that time, but health issues, combined with the increased prices of the product to $5.50 per pack upwards to $12.85 has caused some to find alternatives. Smoke became a problem for non-smokers and smoking became banned in public places.

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Vipe-pens became  the rage for the ‘serious users’, but the tobacco was missing. To avoid the “Tobacco banned” problem, tobacco-users  turned to “No-smoke", but still  used "tobacco” products that remained legal to use. An alternate  to the cigarette was needed

   and the product came from Sweden.

Europe found chewing-tobacco to be the favorite habit-quencher. Sweden called it “Snus” (pronounced "snoose," like “loose”) which is a smokeless, moist powder tobacco concocted in Sweden. A little ‘pinch’  is placed under the top lip, and available in several flavors.There are not many things more Swedish than snus,  the popular tobacco product used by almost a quarter of the population. It's widespread use among Swedes is something of an oddity due to a EU ban preventing it from being exported to the rest of Europe.

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“Snus is more dangerous for blood health than what we previously thought. It looks worse than we believed.” researcher Eli-Anne Skaug of NTNU commented to Norway’s TV2. Swedes don’t like being told what to do when it comes to their peculiar tobacco habit, but they took the study in good humor. Uppsala county in central Sweden attempted to prevent council employees from coming into work smelling of it, however the council was forced to quickly backtrack when the proposal faced huge public opposition, including loud objections from the leader of the national Left party.

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Being unable to export their product to the US, an alternative was developed and the result became a hit in The New Country.

 Instead of “In the Mouth”, how about  “In the Nose”?

Luktsnus ("smelling snuff") in Swedish became “Snuff” (pronounced like ‘snuff’) in the USA. The the word "snuff" is often confusingly used in English to refer to both the nasal form and both the oral forms of snus and dipping ( lip) tobacco. Regardless, the US became an eager and important market. Americans have a choice!...

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In Norway in 2008, approximately 17% of adult men used snus daily or occasionally, while 4% of adult women used snus daily or occasionally. In secondary schools in 2000-2004, 21% of boys and 4% of girls used snus daily or occasionally. Many people both smoke and use snus.

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 But there is governmental opposition! In a drive towards a smoke-free society by 2035, the Norwegian Medical Association (NMA) is pressing the government to back its proposal for a ban on tobacco sales to citizens born after the year 2000.In Norway, snus has helped cut down on smoking . People there have either used it to help them quit cigarettes or as an alternative to cigarettes if they hadn’t successfully licked the tobacco habit completely.

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Marit Hermansen, the president of the NMA, told Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten that "access to cigarettes was not a basic human right".

"We have long had the policy of phasing out smoking by 2035. This is a measure to achieve this goal. We want a tobacco-free generation," she said.

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 The smoking-ban may be easier than phasing out the sniffing variety. Here, at home, Copenhagen is a popular brand of dipping tobacco made by the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company. It is available in mouth pouches, much like tea-bags, and there are different cuts of tobacco available at the check-out areas of our American  grocery-stores. Currently, while still popular with those craving smoke-free tobacco, warnings of health issues and cancer-causing have caused a decrease in the numbers of female users, but ‘habit-hooked’ users remain loyal to ‘their brand’.

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 But to be clear, when you request your snuff choice  at the check-out display, remember, snuff used in the nose is referred to as luktsnus ("smelling snuff"), while the moist form placed under the upper lip is simply called snus .

Snuff and snus are distinct products.Then, there’s choices of Wintergreen, cherry, mint, etc. from which to choose. Your cashier should be impressed.      Maybe not.

Bad habits are hard to break.