About Snuff

Snuff is, of course, nothing more than tobacco, ground or milled to a powder of varying coarseness from very fine to really quite coarse, and taken nasally. Once the most popular way of enjoying tobacco, snuff had been in a long slow decline for 150 years until just recently. The habit seems to be undergoing a renaissance now that smoking is becoming so publicly restricted not to mention socially unacceptable in some circles. Snuff has the advantage of not affecting others and also of being considerably less dangerous than smoking tobacco, as most of the toxins and carcinogens are only released when tobacco is burned. See the Toque Blog for more on the health aspects of snuff.

An 18th Century Snuff Taker

I have been snuffing on and off since the mid 70s, when I was living in Regensburg and was introduced to the marvellous snuffs from Gebr. Bernard. An earlier attempt at snuff when I was rather younger was less than successful! Here is a huge Bernard Schmalzler snuff bottle. Schmalzler is a uniquely Bavarian style of snuff, intended to be taken in large quantities. Hence the size of the bottle.

 Since the UK smoking ban came in I've been gradually reducing my other tobacco habits (pipes and roll ups) and increasing my snuff intake to the point where I now consider myself first and foremost a snuffer. I feel much healthier for it too! Curiously I seem to have turned to snuff from the other routes to the nicotine fix at roughly the same age as my grandfather did. Didn't do him any harm!

The last half-way decent tobacconist in Hull where one could buy snuff, both in tins and loose, has sadly closed so now I can only get my snuff fix online. At least there are some excellent online retailers out there. See the side bar for links to many of them.