Snuff is a confusing name – I’ll admit when I think of snuff, I think more of the urban legend of snuff films, or the movie from the late sixties of the same name, and thus it instantly conveys a negative image. Snuff is also a term used when you put out a fire, which as tobacco users, is the last thing we really want to do.

Snuff also has – for some – another negative connotation. Moist snuff, or chewing tobacco as it is more commonly called, is looked down upon by many non-smokers and smokers alike. I myself was traumatized as a child with moist snuff, a story I will keep as brief as possible. Basically I was riding in the back of a truck with an uncle who chewed tobacco and then spit said tobacco into a Coke bottle. After four hours in the back of a truck I was hot and thirsty (and eight years old and dumb) and I saw the Coke and took a giant swig, not realizing the real contents until it was too late. I have never been a fan of chewing tobacco since that time, though I still have fond memories of Big League Chew.

While snuff does refer to both the dry and moist varieties, for the purpose of this article, when I say snuff, I mean the dry form.

Snuff comes in several different varieties including plain, toast, medicated, and scented. The vast majority are made outside of the United States in countries such as the UK and Germany, though there are some US based manufacturers.