Where is camel snus tobacco grown

From , the company sold snus in Sweden and Norway only. For more information see Nicotine Pouches. In their strategy review, Imperial announced they would stop expanding their oral nicotine market, while continuing to invest in their existing markets in Europe. However, in February , PMI said it was planning develop a nicotine pouch product. However, Swedish Match continues to hold the largest share of the Western European snus market.

Despite these TTC snus investments, smokeless tobacco use is not well established in Europe, other than in Norway and Sweden. This partly reflects the fact that the sale of tobacco-derived snus is prohibited in EU member states other than Sweden. Reynolds which produces Camel cigarettes have recently introduced snus lines. A wealth of research from Sweden shows that snus users are at far less of a risk of cancer than smokers and people who use dip and chew [source: Foulds et al.

Some experts even argue that snus can help people quit smoking. But like any tobacco product, it isn't without its health risks. Since , the sale of snus has been banned throughout the European Union, with the exception of Sweden.

In contrast, the sale of cigarettes has remained legal throughout Europe. Snus is so popular in the Scandinavian country that lawmakers there threatened to boycott the EU unless their favorite tobacco product remained legal.

This article looks at snus, the unofficial nicotine of Sweden, and why both American tobacco manufacturers and public health experts are so enamored of it. Tobacco first arrived in Sweden in the mids from New Sweden, the country's short-lived colony in modern day Delaware. It wasn't long after that snus was invented as a way to bring snuff to the masses.

Necessity was the mother of snus's invention, as tobacco was prohibitively expensive for most Swedes. Playing second fiddle to the world's colonial powers, Sweden found itself with less buying power in tobacco commodities markets, resulting in high prices for the import.

Sweden was also one of the first nations to tax tobacco as a luxury product. Snus, which mixes cheaper tobacco with salt and water, was introduced as an affordable -- and, without spit, cleaner -- form of snuff.

To make snus, the tobacco leaves are first cut into small strips, air- and sun-dried, and then ground into a powder. The ground tobacco is then treated with heat for 24 to 36 hours, reaching temperatures of around degrees Fahrenheit degrees Celsius. A "wet" snuff, snus tobacco contains 50 percent water and 30 percent tobacco. It's usually sold in tea bag-shaped portions that the user bundles under his or her upper lip. A heavy snus user may consume the product for 13 to 15 hours a day.

With high levels of salt, moist oral snuff produces less saliva than dipping or chewing tobaccos like Skoal, Copenhagen or Red Man, and the saliva byproduct is meant to be swallowed. The finished tobacco product is chilled below room temperature to keep its contents fresh. Expect to find American tobacconists installing refrigerators if they carry snus.

The process of heating ground snus tobacco below the point of combustion is called pasteurization , and it's what distinguishes snus from other types of tobacco. In most forms of tobacco production, the leaves are left to air-dry in order to bring out their natural flavor.

Air-drying tobacco leads to fermentation in which the plant's nitrogen microbes fuse with oxygen ions in the air. Fermentation brings out naturally occurring ammonia in the tobacco, increasing its acidity and allowing the body to absorb nicotine more efficiently. Because it's pasteurized, snus tobacco has less ammonia.

Snus users have to be more patient to get their nicotine fix. That's the trade-off for removing a cleaning product from your tobacco. One 2-gram portion of snus gives a boost in blood nicotine concentration of around 15 nanograms one-billionth of a gram per milliliter of tobacco within 30 minutes.

In contrast, a cigarette delivers about 23 nanograms per milliliter of nicotine in the first five minutes, but by 30 minutes the levels of nicotine in the body are comparable between the two products [source: Gartner et al. To substitute for the flavor that's lost in the pasteurization process, snus manufacturers add lots of salt and sodium bicarbonate, commonly known as baking soda. Baking soda helps release nicotine whereas ammonia helps release nicotine in other tobacco products.

This means that snus is just as addictive as cigarettes. But, as any heavy coffee drinker would argue, addictiveness alone doesn't necessarily make a product dangerous. Even opponents of snus admit that it releases "cleaner" nicotine than cigarettes. The pasteurization of snus tobacco kills off nitrites chemical compounds of one part nitrogen and two parts oxygen , especially tobacco-specific nitrosamines TSNAs.

TSNAs are one of the primary carcinogens found in tobacco, and have been correlated with cancers of the lungs, oral cavity, esophagus and liver from both cigarette and smokeless tobacco usage. When tobacco is fermented, higher quantities of TSNAs are present.

By refrigerating the snus after production, snus tobacco resists fermentation that tobacco stored at room temperatures undergoes even after its been packaged.

Storing tobacco at room temperature for six months increases TSNA levels by 30 to percent, whereas in refrigerated snus tobacco there's no increase in TSNAs [source: Foulds et al. According to tobacco researchers, a snus user is 90 percent less likely to get cancer than a smoker [source: Levy et al. Because there's no combustion when someone consumes snus, carcinogenic chemicals that lead to lung cancer like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons the byproduct of combustion of the tar in cigarettes , aren't present.

In fact, researchers report that there's no statistical difference in lung cancer rates between snus users and those who never use tobacco in any form [source: Foulds et al. Unlike dip and chew, which contain higher levels of TSNAs resulting from the fermentation of the tobacco, snus doesn't present a risk of oral or other head cancers [source: Gartner et al.

On the other hand, smoking doubles the risk of oral cancer and increases the risk of lung cancer tenfold [source: Gartner et al. When it comes to tobacco and safety, there's always a catch. One study found that almost nine out of every , snus users develop pancreatic cancer, compared to 13 out of every , smokers and 3. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most intractable forms of cancer; the majority of cases are diagnosed at a late stage once the disease has spread to other parts of the body, as there are no universal screening methods for earlier detection.

Pregnant women using snus gave birth to babies weighing an average of 1. Snus also creates greater risk of oral lesions and tooth decay. In spite of its risks, tobacco companies have been eager to point out that snus is safer than cigarettes.

Keep reading to learn more about how snus has been marketed and regulated. If you've never heard of snus, you're not alone. Both Altria and R. Reynolds have launched major national advertising campaigns to introduce the strange-sounding product to American markets. Products include snus, moist snuff and tobacco-free nicotine pouches all of which are placed under the lip so that the nicotine can be absorbed by the body.

In recent years, a new category of modern oral products has emerged. These come in the form of nicotine pouches that are placed under the lip so that nicotine can be absorbed by the body. Our modern oral products are white in colour and contain high purity nicotine, water and other high-quality food-grade ingredients, including eucalyptus and pine tree fibres, flavouring and sweeteners.

In a fast-moving world that continuously calls for improvement and variety, the demand for innovative oral products continues to grow. Responding to consumer demand, BAT has developed a line of products with different flavours and nicotine levels and has become market leader in this emerging category.

Originating in Scandinavia, Velo is now a leading global brand of nicotine pouches. These typically appeal to a broader audience than traditional oral tobacco, and because of their affordability and lack of batteries, they can be particularly popular in low to middle income countries. For example, our subsidiary in Indonesia has delivered great results from their expansion activities in Jakarta.

Following a promising performance in June , the test has been expanded to 5, consumers, which is being closely monitored to gain consumer insights. In , we consolidated our leadership position in Modern Oral outside the US, while strengthening our position in the US with an expanded portfolio.

In , total Group volume of 1. Our brand consolidation, which will see our modern oral products move to Velo, is set to be complete in With the acquisition of Reynolds American Inc. RAI in July , we significantly increased the size of our oral tobacco and products range with the addition of leading snus and moist snuff brands in the U.