How To Use Snus: A Plain Guide For Australia

To use snus, lift one pouch from the tin, slide it beneath your top lip so it rests against the gum, and leave it there without chewing. Most people keep a pouch in for somewhere between 30 and 120 minutes, then lift it out and drop it in the bin. If you are new to snus, the closest everyday comparison is probably a small teabag, because it sits somewhere warm and gives up its flavour slowly instead of all at once. There is nothing to light and nothing to charge.

We are an 18+ only shop, you can buy snus from us, and we deliver to Australia. This is the hands on page of our Snus Guide, and it covers placement, timing, reading the numbers on a can and handling a used pouch at the footy, on the train or in a meeting.

Where Exactly Does A Snus Pouch Go?

A snus pouch goes under your upper lip, pressed flat against the gum, usually a little to one side of centre. There are numbers behind this. In a telephone survey of 2,914 Swedish snus users carried out in 2007 and 2008, 96% of pouch users kept the portion in the gum and upper lip area, and the figure for loose users was 99%. The upper lip has been the home of snus for a very long time (we cover where did snus come from on its own page), and it is still where most pouch users keep it.

How do you actually get it there? There are two common ways, and neither needs a mirror. The first is to hold the pouch between thumb and forefinger, lift your lip slightly and slide it in lengthways. The second, which is handier on a packed Melbourne tram or in the queue at the servo, is to place the pouch on your tongue and push it up and across with the tip until it sits high on the gum.

Which side should you pick? Either works, and plenty of people alternate, a bit like moving a lolly from one cheek to the other. In the same survey, 36.5% of pouch users said they moved the portion around during use, so shifting it is an ordinary part of the routine and not a sign that you are doing it wrong.

How Long Do You Leave Snus In?

Most people leave snus in for 30 to 120 minutes, and about an hour is the middle of the road. The Swedish survey found a median of 60 minutes per portion, with an average of about 65 minutes for pouches and 69 minutes for loose snus. For an Australian sense of scale, an hour is roughly a half of footy once the time on is added, or a decent train commute into the Sydney CBD and home again.

Does that mean you must sit through a full hour the first time? Not at all. Those figures come from regular Swedish users, and nobody is holding a stopwatch over you, so a first pouch can be shorter. You can take it out whenever you have had what you came for.

A simple habit is to glance at the clock when you tuck the pouch in, so you have your own reference point. After a few sessions you will have a feel for what suits you, whether that is a short one on a lunch break in Adelaide or a longer one across a quiet Sunday afternoon. The 30 to 120 minute range is a description of what other people do, and your own timing is the one that counts.

What Does A First Session Look Like From Start To Finish?

A first session is simple: seat one pouch under your upper lip, leave it for as long as you like, then take it out and bin it. Among Swedish users the range is 30 to 120 minutes, with a median of 60 minutes, and a first pouch can be shorter than that.

There is nothing else to do while it sits there. You do not need to chew, suck or spit, so you can carry on with your arvo while the pouch stays where you put it. When you are finished, lift it out and drop it in a bin.

It helps to pick an unhurried moment for the first go, such as a weekend morning at home or a stroll along the Brisbane river, so you can pay attention to how the pouch sits. Read the label first, check the pouch weight and the mg/g, and start with a single pouch. Notice where it settles, how the flavour comes through over the first few minutes, and whether you would rather nudge it a touch higher or to the other side. Those small observations are what turn a first session into a routine that suits you.

Do You Need To Spit, Chew Or Suck On Snus?

No, you do not need to spit, chew or suck on snus, because it is made to sit still under the lip. The product is not chewed, so spitting is not part of the routine either. The pouch itself is never swallowed, so when you are finished it comes out whole and goes in the bin.

The nicotine in snus is absorbed through the lining of the mouth, which is why placement matters more than effort (the detail is on our page about how snus works). If you are curious about what is actually sitting under your lip, we also have a page on what is in snus? ingredients explained, which is worth a read before you choose a flavour. The practical lesson is simple enough: seat the pouch, leave it alone and get on with your day.

Is Loose Snus Used The Same Way As A Pouch?

Yes, loose snus goes in the same place as a pouch, under the upper lip, but you shape the portion yourself. Loose is a moist ground tobacco that you pinch from the can and press into a small plug with your fingertips before tucking it in. The portions are also bigger: in the Swedish survey, loose portions were roughly three times heavier than pouches, and loose users went through about 29 to 32g a day against 11 to 12g for pouch users.

A quick word on names: traditional Swedish snus contains tobacco, and the placement, timing and binning steps on this page are the same for pouches (the full comparison is on our snus vs nicotine pouches page). For the wider family, see what types of snus are there.

Does Pouch Size Change How Snus Feels?

Yes, portions come in three broad sizes: mini at about 0.5g, normal (often called regular) at 0.8 to 1g, and maxi or large at up to 1.7g. The bigger the portion, the more product sits under the lip, so size is the first thing to look at when comparing cans.

Moisture is the other difference, and the two classic styles behave differently. Original portion, introduced in 1973, has a moistened sachet, so it drips sooner. White portion has a dry sachet, a milder taste and a slightly slower release, and with no added moisture it drips more slowly too. Most snus is steam pasteurised instead of fermented, and you can read more in how is snus made.

What Do mg/g And mg Per Pouch Mean On A Can?

The mg/g figure is the nicotine content in each gram of product, and mg per pouch is how much sits in the single pouch you are about to use. The two are linked by pouch weight, and the sum is easy enough to do in your head while you wait at the bottlo: multiply mg/g by the weight of one pouch in grams. Take Pablo snus as a worked example, where Pablo Exclusive is 50mg/g, each pouch weighs 0.60g, and 50 multiplied by 0.60 gives 30mg per pouch.

Why does this matter? Because two cans with the same mg/g can hold different mg per pouch if one has mini pouches and the other has large ones, which makes the per pouch figure the one to compare. Our shelf runs from 3mg to 150mg per pouch, sorted into Light (1 to 8mg), Medium (8 to 16mg), Strong (16 to 25mg) and Extreme (25mg and over), and our page on choosing strength and flavour helps you pick. Read the pouch weight as well as the headline number before you load one.

Why Does My Snus Tingle, Drip Or Slip?

Moisture and size shape how a pouch drips, and placement decides whether it stays put. Original portion has a moistened sachet and drips sooner, while white portion has a dry sachet and drips more slowly, so switching style or choosing a mini at about 0.5g is the simplest adjustment.

If the pouch feels livelier than you like, nudge it a little way along the gum or move it to the other side, or take it out. A pouch that keeps slipping is usually sitting too low or too central, so push it higher and further to the side until the lip holds it. If a white pouch feels dry at the start, remember that it has no added moisture, or try an original portion, which has a moistened sachet.

Change one thing at a time so you can tell what made the difference. If you adjust the placement and change size on the same day, you will not know which helped. Try a different spot first, then a different size, then a different style, and keep a quick note on your phone of what worked. That small bit of tinkering is how most people end up with a setup that feels easy by the second or third can.

Can You Eat, Drink And Talk With Snus In?

Most people take the pouch out before a meal, and then start a fresh one afterwards if they feel like it. The pouch sits under the lip and does not need your attention, so it fits around a meeting in Brisbane or a long phone call.

This is also where the routine differs from ciggies and vapes, because there is no device to hold and nothing to light, and the pouch fits around your day.

Talking is straightforward, since a pouch tucked high on the gum and a little to one side stays out of the way of your speech. A sip of water or a flat white is a matter of preference, and if you would rather have your mouth clear for a coffee at a Melbourne laneway cafe, simply take the pouch out and bin it, then use a fresh one when you are ready. There is no rule about it, so do whatever feels comfortable.

How Do You Take Snus Out And Bin It When You Are Out?

You take snus out with a clean finger and thumb, or by easing it forward with your tongue, and it goes in a bin and never on the ground. That makes it easy to swap a pouch at your desk, on the train to Newcastle or halfway through the third quarter.

A few small habits keep things tidy when you are out and about. Wrap a used pouch in a tissue if no bin is close, and put it in a bin as soon as you pass one. Do not flush pouches or flick them into the garden.

Many people tuck a few tissues or a small spare bag into the same pocket as the can, so a used pouch always has somewhere to go. That works just as well at a Sunshine Coast beach car park as it does at a Perth train station. Wash or wipe your hands afterwards if you have been handling the pouch, then close the can again so it is ready for next time.

How Should You Store A Can Of Snus?

Keep the can closed and somewhere cool. Click the lid fully shut each time you use it.

Heat and direct sun are best avoided, so a car dashboard in a Perth summer or a beach bag left out on the Gold Coast is not the place for it. A desk drawer, a jacket pocket or a cupboard at home does the job nicely. If you carry a can day to day, choose a pocket where it will not get squashed, so the lid stays snug.

Pouches are moist by design, and a lid that closes properly helps keep them the way they were when you opened the can. When you start a new can, take a moment to read the pouch weight and the mg/g on the label, and keep the can label side up so the figures are easy to find again.

How Many Snus Pouches Do People Use In A Day?

There is no set number, and daily use varies from person to person. In the Swedish survey, pouch users went through about 11 to 12g of snus a day and 89.2% of them used a single pouch at a time. That describes their routine, and it is not a target for yours.

On price, a typical can from us is about A$9.71, and if you buy 5 or more you pay 10% less per can (Zyn excluded). For your first week, pick one can, note what you liked, and change only one thing (the size, the strength or the time) before you open the next.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Snus
• Patterns and behaviors of snus consumption in Sweden (PMC)