Now you can try Camel's "Snus", which is basically chewing tobacco for people who like nicotine, but don't like the chewing tobacco. It comes in little log-shaped pouches and saves the "chewer" from all of the yucky business of having tobacco stuck inside your mouth and gives the "chewer" the flexibility  to basically "smoke" it anywhere. Wow-that's wonderful! Fantastic! Now kids who are secretly texting during class can secretly use "chewing tobacco" with ease as well.

As an ex-smoker, I can see where "Snus" would have been useful. A NYT article also discusses the uses for adult smokers- perhaps in a restaurant in Seattle where smoking has been banned, or on a long flight to Sweden, where the product has been available for some time. But isn't there already Nicorette? Can't people put on the patch if necessary? Is there really a dearth of nicotine products? And is it safe?

The freaky thing is that, "R. J. Reynolds is also now test-marketing “dissolvables,” which include Camel Orbs, finely ground tobacco in the form of small mint pellets like Tic Tacs, and Camel Strips, which resemble Listerine breath-freshening strips and melt on the tongue. Test cities include Indianapolis and Columbus, Ohio."

Hmmmmm, maybe they will develop a new product that will combine teeth whitening strips with tobacco, so tobacco users who are worried about their yellowing teeth will have their nicotine, whiter teeth than their non-nicotine using counterparts and fresh breath, plus the added bonus of being able to do it anywhere. This would be what some would term having your cake and eating it, too.

According to the same article, Snus has none of the stigma that tobacco products have in the United States and is popular in boardrooms and with Swedish women, who use it more frequently than their male counterparts. To me, that sounds like the underlying theme is that if you want to be like the Swedes, you have to use Snus.

When I was a smoker, the joy of smoking was the actual act of smoking itself and the feel of the smoke going down my lungs. The single time I tried chewing tobacco, it was so strong I almost vomited, which I'm told is not an unusual sensation, which makes me wonder how strong Snus is relative to usual chewing tobacco. When I tried the patch to quit smoking, I put it on my left breast underneath my bra to keep it from view. If the patch wasn't on, I was more agitated than when I was smoking and missed a cigarette. I became addicted to the flow of nicotine to my body throughout the day and it never helped me quit smoking.

As a result, I'm dubious as to whether tobacco-alternatives are really effective in getting people to stop smoking.  This is why I am going to avoid Snus and the up and coming Orbs like the plague because I don't want to start smoking again.

Via Gawker, who always seems to get the weirdest stories exactly bang-on.