Marlboro "snus" vs Camel "SNUS". Wait, what? Really? 30 December 2010.

Disclaimer: Granted, I do write about American "SNUS" and "snus" from time to time, but the focus of my blog/website is introducing people to REAL Swedish Snus. When it comes to snus, REAL Snus comes from Sweden. There's a difference, and the difference is big. Please read this article to learn the difference for yourself.

Some of my long time readers may be asking, "Why, Chad, Why?" Why would I devote a whole article to write about two attempts to bastardize REAL Swedish Snus? Speaking of these two in a head on head is about as useless an argument as the ultimate question itself - "Which is a better mascot? A turd sandwich or a giant douche?" To explain, I track keywords which bring people to this website. Most of them include things like "Camel Snus Reviews, Marlboro Snus Reviews, Camel Snus, Marlboro snus, Robust, Winterchill, Frost, Mellow, Rich, Spearmint, Marlboro Snus vs Camel Snus", etc. etc. Well, to satisfy those looking for an answer to the battle of Marlboro "snus" vs Camel "SNUS", this article is just for you. Be prepared - I'm not nice when it comes to these two topics.

In October 2009 I wrote about Marlboro "snus" for the first time. In April 2010 I wrote about the National Release of Marlboro "snus". In November 2009 I wrote about the first release of Camel Robust & Winterchill and then followed it on August 2010 with the National Release of Camel "SNUS" Robust & Winterchill. I've written about BS articles by RJR that say they "revolutionized snus", and I even wrote a full length article comparing American "snus" vs Swedish Snus. So I haven't been silent on the subject of American knock-offs. But this being a site/blog about Swedish Snus, maybe 5% of my articles have been about these bastardized versions. When it comes to these American products, how different are they? Well, they both have one thing in common. They both fail at snus.





When you compare portion size, you can see that the Camel "SNUS" portion is much bigger than the Marlboro "snus" portion. The material is different too - with the Camel "SNUS" portion being a little softer in the lip than the Marlboro "snus" portion, which is much dryer. The packaging is much different. The Camel "SNUS" tin is easier to use/store your snus, the Marlboro "snus" tin is a clustermess when it comes to accessing/storing your snus. In this area, I give the advantage to Camel "SNUS". Though I will note that Camel "SNUS" potions are too damn big. Seriously.


One of the things I always like to mention when writing on this topic is just how dry these American "snus" products are. One of the things I love the most about REAL Swedish Snus is how moist and comfortable the portions are. It seems like the question Altria and RJ Reynolds asked themselves when it came to making snus is, "How can we get cigarettes in their lip without them eating them?" And the logical answer was "Unroll a cigarette, put it in a pouch, and re brand it as snus!" After all, looking at the picture to the left of the tobacco used in Camel "SNUS" shows you it looks a lot like cigarette tobacco. Both companies completely missed this point when attempting to release snus in America. After all, RJR, if you revolutionized snus, shouldn't your tobacco be moist? That's what makes a snus great. A good, moist product.





I will, however, give the advantage in this area to Camel "SNUS". If you look at the picture to the right of Marlboro "snus", you can see how much dryer it truly is than the Camel "SNUS". Marlboro "snus" has between 11%-12% moisture, while Camel "SNUS" has 33%, and Swedish is between 50%-55%. Though both are quite dry when you look at the them, the Camel "SNUS" is slightly more moist. What about nicotine strength? The nicotine content of each is listed as 7.61mg for Rich, 6.33mg for Mild, 6.45mg for Peppermint, and 6.45 for Spearmint. Camel "SNUS" (American) is listed as having 8mg. However, when you look at free nicotine (usable nicotine), that number drops dramatically, between 2-3mg. When it comes to Swedish Snus, nicotine levels are between 5mg and 19mg (estimated). Much higher than the American knock-offs, of course. I found remarks by David Howard of RJ Reynolds recently to be rather interesting. "A lot of adults make a decision to quit smoking this time of the year," Howard said. "For those making that attempt, but still wanting the pleasure of tobacco, we're saying, 'Here's an option.'" What's interesting about that is for a product they think can help people quit smoking, they sure didn't put much nicotine in it! The fact of the matter is this. Camel "SNUS" and Marlboro "snus" aren't designed to help people quit smoking. They're a product designed to supplement your cigarette use and to buy another product from their product line. That's the hard truth. Swedish Snus can, and does, help people quit smoking. That's a proven fact. People who have quit smoking with Camel "SNUS" have done it by finding Swedish Snus through Camel "SNUS" and quitting smoking with that. Trust me, I know hundreds of them. Check out GoSmokeless.org - we talk about it quite regularly.

Wait, this is an article about Marlboro "snus" vs Camel "SNUS", why am I bringing up Swedish Snus? Alas - I had my own motives! I won't go into full details, but check out my recent article about Swedish Snus vs American "snus". When it comes to Marlboro "snus" vs Camel "SNUS", well, they both suck. I hate to say it, but that's the cold hard truth. If you're finding this article and hoping to find an answer to that question - I don't have one for you. They're both terrible knock-offs of a great product in Swedish Snus. If you're using either one of these, or interesting in either one to help you quit smoking - don't bother. Get online at GeneralSnus.com to find a store near you that carries REAL Swedish Snus, or check out a webstore that carries snus and have snus shipped direct to you from Sweden and experience a product with a rich 200 year history that can truly help you quit smoking.

Comments

  1. Absolutely smoke free for over 9 months thanks to Swedish Snus.

    I am hopeful that marketing of Camel Snus and Marlboro Snus will raise the awareness of the word "Snus". Eventually people will find REAL Swedish Snus. It worked for me.

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  2. I use the Camel snus at work when I can't go outside. Works like a charm. I've never had Swedish snus though. I imagine it would be more expensive, especially here in Hawaii. I really don't see the point of buying the Marlboro snus though. Five bucks for six pouches? Get bent. LOL I get 15 pouches with the Camel, and for the same price. There's no contest in that respect.

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    1. (first of all I know this comment is literally almost 5 years after you posted it so you may already be well aware of this fact) the brand General Swedish Snus is about 4$ for 24 packets. Its the only snus I us. I'd imagine that it's a little pricier in Hawaii because of imports, but it's still probably a better deal since you're only getting 15 pouches with Camel.

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    2. Around me its $10 a container for camel. Completely overpriced. $7.99 for general. Do you recommend any specific flavor for general?

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  3. Ok I am getting very sick of this. You people like your sweedish snus I get it I cant find one review not comparing the american vs sweedish snus..maybe the american snus did not want to be exactly like the sweedish snus..maybe they wanted to be a product of their own I've personally tried sweedish snus and its flavor is so bland on the other hand american snus what I use (skoal mint) I love and many other americans do too..I keep seeing in all these blogs you say its so sweet compared to sweedish snus..what makes you think americans don't like sweet look at all the flavors of skoal that billions of people buy everyday the skoal berry is the sweetest chew ever and millions love it..-so why would camel marlboro or skoal snus not appeal to americans your blogs are so biased you really only think about what you like or what you think about the product (its like if some prefers soda over water its like you comparing sweedish snus(water)to american snus (soda) (sweet) so maybe american tobacco products designed their products to be specifically sweet.people I've tried various flavors of sweedish snus although nicotine content is much higher I think all the tastes I've tried are bland and very unsatisfying I go with skoal snus yes I said skoal SNUS good old american SNUS! Let people like what they want don't be biased just because you enjoy the sweedish snus so much that you can't let america have its own product without being criticized --sincerely kondash89...signing off--

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  4. Thank you for your comment. To explain. Many of us bloggers who write about snus have blogs because we started with the American stuff and wanted something better, stronger, safer. Am I saying American Snus is inferior to Swedish Snus? Yes, I am. I appreciate your viewpoint, however, I do have to disagree about a few things.

    Swedish Snus is by no means bland. There are so many varieties and I assure you, careful attention is paid to flavoring and not how many pounds of sugar they can fit in a can. Safety is another big part. I advocate harm reduction - it's one of the main reasons I started Snubie.com. American "Snus"'makers have yet to tell/show us how they make their snus. In Sweden, it's open. I've been to the factory. Snus is a food grade product in Sweden so if I'm going to advocate something to someone to help them quit smoking I want them to have the safest product available. Right now, American Snus can't hold a candle when it comes to safety.

    I could go on and on but I've written other articles about American vs Swedish Snus that say basically everything I could say here. I consider snus a passion, and it has a rich 200 year history. To see the American Snus products here I consider it to be an insult to real Snus. Sorry if that makes me sound biased but that's just the way it is.

    If you've switched from cigs to Snus I do applaud your efforts in making the switch as snus is much safer than other forms of tobacco consumption but at this point in time American Snus is still a mystery to me. I'm going with a sure, proven thing and I will continue to advocate Swedish Snus. My advice to you is to try other brands. If you want you can even email me at snubie.com@GMail.com and I'll send you some Snus that you may not have tried yet. I truly believe in it, and I know if you keep an open mind you'll be a fan too.

    Regards,
    Chad

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  5. Chad,
    My apologies. You had some very good points and I understand where you are coming from. I thought your statements where biased but you really do know what you're talking about. I've been searching all over the net to try to find out what is in marlboro snus camel snus and skoal snus....maybe they fear someone is going to try and steal the ingredients but who would want them ("LoL") but mostly-are the ingredients safe. The world may never know and since you've explained that I'm definetly going to be ordering swedish snus because as you said the swedish snus shows the ingredients on every can of snus and I've even took the time to research those ingredients in 5 different swedish snus products and by no means are they harmful. Studies have been conducted in a lot of places here in the U.S and in sweden and other various countries and all of the studies have shown swedish snus has no links to oral or mouth cancer. Maybe the U.S tobacco companies are just offering an alternative to smoking so people will do both of the products smoke and snus which makes no sense personally I think its all about the money for the U.S tobacco companies.--So untill the American snus companies release the ingredients in their product I will be switching to a swedish brand snus. I will be looking forward to those samples and once again thank you.(Listen to chad he knows what he's talking about)

    Sincerely,
    Kondash89/iampoker89

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  6. I really like American snus,(camel frost, wintergreen) but would rather use Swedish snus because of the safety factor you mentioned. What would be your recommendation for a sweet Swedish snus?

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  7. Terry -

    I would suggest General Mint, Offroad Frosted, or the new Skruf Fresh. Those are among my favorites. You can buy online from BuySnus.com or Northerner.com and have shipped directly to your door!

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  8. NEW SNUS USER here ~ I really want to like Sweedish Snus, but I've tried 2-3 popular types (right now i have General Mini Mint) ... but they all have a Real-Salty flavor - Any suggestions on non-salty type ? I "kinda" like Camel Snus but from what I've read the real Sweedish stuff is healthier. Thanks.

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    1. The salt is something you get used to. Americans use too much sugar in their stuff to mask the terrible flavor and low quality tobacco - but Swedish Snus uses salt to enhance the flavor of the tobacco. The longer you use it, the less you'll notice it - but at first, yes, it is rather salty! Just give it time. :)

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  9. Can you guys recommend a Swedish snus that tastes like the Camel robust?

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