REDUCED HARM TOBACCO: Swedish Snus versus American Snus

What is Reduced Harm Tobacco?

Since in today’s litigious society, using the “safest” would be the quickest way to being on the receiving end of a lawsuit, the term “Reduced Harm Tobacco” was invented. It simply means if a specific tobacco product is significantly less harmful than other specific tobacco product. We use the word SPECIFIC for a Very Important Reason:

Not All Products Labeled or Called Snus ARE Reduced Harm Tobacco Products!

“Snus” is just the Swedish word for “Snuff”.

The biggest concern of any tobacco user is cancer. Snus does not cause lung cancer because it has no tar and is not inhaled. But there are naturally occurring substances in tobacco that are carcinogenic. They are called TSNA’s.

The lower the TSNA level in a tobacco product, the less harmful/risky it is concerning cancer. Oral and throat cancer is most associated with American Chewing Tobacco or Dip. Here are some products and numbers to make this real for you.

• Copenhagen has a TSNA level of 41.1
  Skoal has a TSNA level of 64.0
  Silver Creek has a TSNA level of 127.9

OK, nice numbers, but compared to what? Snus is an oral tobacco product too.  Here are two Scandinavian Snus’s and their TSNA levels:

• Ettan Snus made by Swedish Match in Sweden has a TSNA level of 2.8
  Offroad and Phantom, two brands with multiple flavors of Snus made by V2 Tobacco have TSNA levels of 0.7

The Difference is HUGE: remember, the lower the TSNA level, the better. There are numerous studies in the Snus and Tobacco Research Studies and Resources Section here on SnusCENTRAL.org that conclude that Swedish Snus does not contribute to oral or throat cancer (among other types of cancer).

The Problem here is that there are only two sets of numbers.  Where and What are the TSNA levels of Camel SNUS, Skoal Snus, Klondike Snus, Nordic Ice Snus, Marlboro Snus, and all the other American Snus’s either being mass-marketed or test-marketed?

Aside from the obvious Health reasons, we have the right to be Informed Consumers.  We have the right to know the Comparitive Risks on a level playing field of what we are putting into our bodies; be it tobacco, potato chips, or alcohol.  As Americans (if you are one), we even still have the right of personal choice when it comes to the use of legal substances.  But we need the FACTS to make an Informed Decision.

FACTS and SLICK MARKETING are not the same thing.

Until American Tobacco Companies producing their version of “snus” in the United States; either by voluntary independent testing or FDA mandate, release ALL the FACTUAL information in detail concerning their “snus” products, NO American Manufactured Snus Product can be considered Reduced Harm in comparison to Swedish Snus.