By By Stewart Edelstein

Copyright berkshireeagle

Snus in the news. Massachusetts legislators are considering legislation (S.1568/H.2562) that, if it becomes law, will make Massachusetts the first state to ban future generations from buying tobacco or nicotine products.

For context, a little history.

Use of nicotine in tobacco dates back as early as 1400 B.C., based on evidence of tobacco cultivation by Mexicans and Native Americans. They chewed, smoked, snuffed and drank tobacco, taking it for medicinal, spiritual and communal purposes.

In 1561, Jean Nicot, French ambassador to Portugal, sent tobacco seeds and powdered tobacco leaves to Queen Catherine de’ Medici in Paris to treat her migraines. Tobacco had been known to be used by the Portuguese for various medicinal uses.

Returning to France, Nicot promoted tobacco as a remedy for a variety of ailments. such as headaches, tumors and skin conditions as well as a ward against the plague. The French royal court quickly caught on, using tobacco for recreational as well as medicinal purposes. To this day, the botanical name of this plant is named for him: “Nicotiana tabacum.”

The health risks of smoking have been known at least since the 17th century. In 1604, King James I of England published “Counterblaste to Tobacco,” describing smoking as “a custom loathesome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs, and in the black, stinking fume thereof, nearest resembling the horrible Stygian smoke of the pit that is bottomless.”

Nicotine in tobacco has been chewed, snuffed and smoked in pipes, hookahs and, as of the late 19th century, in cigarettes. About 20 years ago, vaping became another delivery method. Meanwhile, those trying to quit use nicotine patches and nicotine gum.

Snus (from Swedish, “snustobak,” snuff tobacco) is the most recent way to get a nicotine hit, which can be addictive. Within seconds, it is absorbed into the bloodstream, causing the release of dopamine in the brain. With use, the brain craves that feeling, and over time more tobacco is required to get that same feeling. Nicotine can also give some users a surge of energy and focus because it releases adrenaline into the body.

Snus is a type of smokeless tobacco (plus salt, an alkalizer and flavorings) in a pouch placed between lip and gum, allowing nicotine to be absorbed through the lining of the mouth. Although less carcinogenic than smoking tobacco, use of snus may increase cardiovascular risk, deteriorate gum tissue, cause mouth lesions and might be linked to various forms of cancer.

Even so, sales of snus in the U.S. rose about 50 percent in 2024 compared with a year before. To increase market share, makers of snus promote flavors, including some especially enticing to teens such as cola, whiskey, licorice, mint and even various herbs and fruits.

Despite stomach issues, insomnia, racing heart rates and excessive mucus, snus users find it very difficult to stop. If you use snus and need help to stop, go to rogelcancercenter.org for help.

According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, worldwide there were “about 100 million deaths from tobacco in the 20th century. … If current smoking patterns persist, tobacco will kill about 1 billion people this century …. About half of these deaths will occur before 70 years of age.” Add snus to the many ways people get their nicotine hit while hastening their deaths.