Why are footballers addicted to Snus?
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- čas přidán 15. 04. 2023
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It’s a dangerous habit that’s rife within professional football. But it remains a taboo topic that nobody’s talking about and which few are aware of.
But what is snus? And why has it became so popular amongst footballers? Daniel Taylor writes and Marco Bevilacqua illustrates the shocking truth of the product that's circulating clubs.
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As a Scandinavian it's pretty wild seeing snus talked about as this "mystery" product. In Norway it's about twice as prevalent as smoking in the general population.
As a german too. But with you Scandinavians it's another matter. With you, it's already a cultural commodity. I used to buy a lot from you because it was forbidden in Germany. But I never noticed it in the Bundesliga. In ice hockey in Germany, however, you see players all the time taking a snus on the bench.
i quit smoking and took up Snus after spending time in Trondheim!
It seems ridiculous for me too and I’m from Finland edit for context: this kind of short documentary should be made from elementary school children using snus not adults 😁
As an Aussie I have only ever seed it as a black market product being sold, or from working along side Euro's in the maritime industry, plenty of Ukrainians, Poles and Germans bring it over here that I work with.
Meanwhile 130 kr for a dosa. I guess people go to Sweden to buy snus?
"A bit of Cancer" is a wild phrase. Just a smidge you know, a little spot of Cancer
“Just gonna get a little cancer Stan, tell your mom it’s ok” -Randy Marsh
Well it wasn’t a big bit
@@gibsonhooper1157 “Mom said stop trying to give yourself cancer”
It's not really if you think about it. People get inconsequential spots of skin cancer all the time.
@@librarygary1618 people also get very consequential spots of brain cancer.
As a Swede hearing snus being talked about as a scandalous thing that people don't want to talk about publicly is really strange. Imagine being from the UK and watching a Swedish documentary about tea, with the narrator saying things like "In Sweden an alarming trend of people drinking a dangerous drug called tea is on the rise, with some Swedish people even drinking tea in public. Recently, a Swedish football player was seen in public holding a bag of Earl Grey. Tea drinkers were afraid of appearing in this documentary for fear of losing sponsorships." That's what watching this video is like for a Swede.
Lmao
100 % agree on this. And it's not more performance enhancing than a cigarette. It has actually been shown to reduce your sense of balance, but it has also been shown to increase you reaction time. So for a footballer I would doubt it has any performance enhancing benefits.
Also what it's like for an American snuser watching this.
Honestly it’s the same as an American lol
better compared to alcohol or caffeine which are both terrible over used drugs.
As a swede I find it very funny when people talk about snusing as something only done within athletics, it's so common in sweden that you can find it more easialy than cigarettes, because any place that sells food sells snus.
In Sweden it's also very widespread, about half of my friends including me do it.
is it good?
@@bassofd00mDepends on what you mean with good. It is obviously bad for your health but it makes u relaxed in the beginning but the more frequent and longer you take it you will not get that feeling anymore. Only the feeling of wanting to take it regularly.
Why are u acting like ur proud of it
@@Abcdefg-rk8jk how does it make u think im proud of it?
It is very popular here in Sweden but i have seen it online that it seems like they use in America too but they call it "Dip".
As a swede I find snus quite fascinating. I never tried it because I saw my dad use it daily when I grew and I realized how hooked he was, then I also learned to dislike the smell of it. But it's very normalized here in Sweden and for many people seem as a great substitute for smoking.
Strange.. I never imagined a root vegetable would be interested in the use of Snus?
@@YIDARMY08 ?
@@MrBadlandabad in UK English, the term “swede” is used to refer to what is also called a rutabaga or sometimes “Swedish turnip”
The person was saying that the original comment said “As a swede” (no capitalization) and that made them think of the term for a rutabaga instead of Swedish people
@@patrickmccormack3209 Thanks Pat - you’re far more articulate than me and I couldn’t have said it better....
Visst är sättet de säger snus irriterande😂
as an American who grew up in baseball and ice hockey, you saw chewing/dipping tobacco constantly and they are very similar products. Mainly, most athletes (that I know) who use it just do so as a way to satisfy the nicotine craving, but not hurt their lungs/breathing.
To quote an old teammate, "it's a lot easier to get new teeth" and I would bet a similar attitude is real prevalent elsewhere
It’s similar in the way that you use it, yes. However the dip is way worse health wise.
@@morre6894 a nicotine addiction is always terrible for you though
@@bigfish3846 Yeah, if you got that hooked ofc. Just clarifying since it seems to be a widespread misconception that they are the same.
@@morre6894 your relative risks of cancer are roughly the exact same with snus as they are with chewing tobacco and dip. Stop spreading misinformation it is not safer
@@bigfish3846 Yeah but this argument you're trying to make is equating a nicotine addiction with a nicotine addiction that also kills you. There's an insanely huge difference
Snus helped me quit smoking and eventually nicotine altogether. I went from smoking, to using snus then eventually started using "all white" tobacco free snus (nicotine pouches). Eventually I was able to buy ones with less nicotine and quit completely. I will say though, for a portion of that time though I was using very high nicotine snus because it's easy to build up your tolerance. This was mostly due to the fact that snus can be conveniently done in most places that cigarettes cant which make it easy to overuse and build up a nicotine tolerance with. Compounding this since you put the pouch in your upper lip instead of lower it stays dry and you can even eat and drink with it in without any issues. Overall I have quite a positive opinion on it for people who already smoke but if you aren't addicted to nicotine already then there really is no point to begin anyways.
Snus is readily available in Denmark and I used it for a couple months before I had enough. It's super easy to get addicted to and escalate usage since it's so easy to very quickly put a pouch under your gum and continue about your day instead of having to go outside to smoke or vape.
Tifo Football keeps asking and answering questions we all never thought of. What a channel!
It’s literally in the news cycle and has been for the past 2 weeks
@@Alphoric well I follow football news generally and I just found out through this channel
@@zainyardo1136 then you’re not following the news very well if you someone missed this
this video is misinformation tho
I'm English but currently live in Sweden and even though i'm used to seeing it now, Snus addiction is pretty crazy. I know people who use Snus when they sleep and they will wake up in the night to change it, plus it's also not uncommon to see people pop a pouch in their mouth *the second* they've finished their last mouthful of lunch/food. One moment i'll never forget is when I was at an afterwork at the office with my boss and he had run out of snooze, he turned and looked at me and said "ok, don't judge me for this" and proceeded to roll up a small ball of kitchen roll and placed it under his top gum, "this will help for the moment" he said.
So is coffee, so is sugar. I took a look at the big study in Sweden about throat cancer, the side with no snus use was like 30k participants and 8 or 9 throat cancer cases. The side with snus use was like 30k participants and 13 or 14 throat cancer cases. They then said it 30 or 40% more likely to have cancer, nah, its not, its in the variance of that case. Big misunderstanding how statistics work or how many things make you dependent of something, and this video is proof of bad journalism...
@@matthiasblum6555 final opinion on snus?
@@matthiasblum6555 source would be appreciated
@@ivy8483 Not as bad as other tobacco/nicotine sources. Some snus taste really good aswell, unlike cigarettes and people won't be affected by your addiction unlike cigs.
börja snusa du med
It's been quite a big thing in the last few years in Switzerland as well. I used to buy one box per week and I was really addicted many times consuming 4-5 a day (I am aware that some people consume much more). I still consume snus sometimes when I'm offered a bag but I stopped buying full boxes about 2 months ago and I have to say it's not that easy not having the nicotine flash
Using snus is really normal here in Norway. It’s very popular amongst teens and lots of my friends use it daily and gets desperate if they can’t get their hands on it. Seeing it portrayed as a mysterious booster for professional footballers is wierd
If Snus had any enhacning athletical effect then Sweden would have dominated the world cup for decades by now.
Correction: without snus, Sweden probably wouldn't qualify for world cup.
Same with Norway 😂
Source: a 12 year old with low IQ trying to science
@@dt8101 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
True 😂
Giving a new meaning to the phrase "Death by Snus Snus"
Ah a fellow man of culture. Great episode of Futurama that.
God that's an old episode
Snus seems to have the side effect of crushed pelvises
You beat me to it! 😄
Awesome Futurama reference! ****5 STARS!***
When I was in Norway virtually everyone was using them and now they are also available here in Poland, even in the strongest form
In Slovakia you can buy it everywhere. Also lot of football players and hockey players use it.
It’s like chewing tobacco/dip in American baseball/football. Just became a culture thing and it’s a stimulant.
The difference is that swedish snus isn’t nearly as bad when it comes to potential cancer risks etc.
Yeah, I remember growing up in the 80's and 90's, chewing tobacco was just considered normal for baseball players.
@@morre6894 that’s a complete misconception actually. They have less trace contaminants, but that doesn’t translate to harm reduction. Studies have been done on this. Also either way all tobacco is bad for you
@@davidshatto7604 They actually had to change the labels here in Sweden becuase they couldn´t prove that the SWEDISH snus and cancer was correlated. However the research on that gets updated all the time, my point wasn´t about it being good but to highlight that the american "version" is way worse.
@@morre6894 or simply put one is pasteurized and the other goes thru fermentation
As a Swede, I have to point out that I would assume a lot of footballers use the nicotine only pouches and not snus with tobacco and nicotine. Since the tobacco ones are illegal in all EU member states except for Sweden (maybe some other exceptions also). And the nicotine ones aren’t as bad for a persons health. That said, these are nowhere near as bad as cigarettes etc. But they could be bad for the footballers physical fitness/conditioning.
It's illegal to sell it in the UK but it's not illegal to use it. I'm not sure what the restrictions are exactly on importing it on your person (for personal use) however i've had it in my luggage on numerous occasions (when travelling from Sweden to the UK) and have never had an issue. But yes it's easier for them to get the tobacco free pouches so they probably use them.
Vast majority of ‘snus’ in uk is synthetic. Very legal and sold in major supermarkets. Things like VELO and killa are most popular
There are still ways to get it in the UK- I've come across some Twitter accounts that advertise that they have some to sell in the UK (and this is the tobacco based stuff, not the nicotine pouches). Also it's not illegal to buy it from non-EU sources- there's an Israel-based website that ships snus back to the EU.
I live in the Channel Islands and the Sweden-based snus sellers are happy to post their stuff to me. I need to stop using it though... going to this year.
@@exsandgrounder it’s very addictive apparently
@@kylek814 VELO is a Swedish brand mate- also VELO isn't snus, it's just nicotine pouches with no tobacco.
As a Swede I've been using snus since I was about 11-12, it's bad on paper but in my case I've always dealt with much heavier addiction so the snus has almost become ok and I've never really thought of quitting.
11-12? Fyfan 😂
Recently went to Turkey on holiday and met some really lovely Swedish people. As a Brit and a long term vaper, they introduced me to snus. Since using it my breathing and cardio has improved by a substantial amount. Also it isn’t a banned substance in the uk anymore, you can buy it freely. Also the medical research around causing any cancer is pretty loose with a lot of journals using terms such as ‘possibly causing’ ‘can cause’ etc. all in all, for me personally, it’s been brilliant to wean me off vapes, feel healthier and it’s more cost effective.
Tobacco is the worst kind of psychidelic tho. Worse than nicotine and much worse than vapes. Tobacco can cause a lot of problems.
@@memestrous tobacco IS nicotine...
There are snus that has no tobacco in it which have had a rise in Sweden for the last 4-5 years. Its much cleaner for the teeth but I think it is to new to say if it's better from a health perspective. But all of my snusing friends have change to the "white snus" without tobacco. @@memestrous
Lol@@Pingwinho
I've used snus for roughly 9 years. It hasn't done my health any service, but it has helped me through episodes and long stretches of time of high stress. Snus isn't a preformance enhancing drug, it's cigs you can use without bothering anyone else with smoke or smell. The health issues that may come are for you and you alone to bear, unlike second hand smoking.
What we’re some of the health issues you faced due to your usage of snus?
"The health issues that may come are for you and you alone to bear"
Also, for our health care systems dealing with more unnecessary cancer and other health problems because of its use. This will only perpetuated further by feeding societal acceptance of harmful products. It's basically 1 step backwards for getting people to quit smoking.
@@RefnResthat can also be said about people stuffing themselves with sugary drinks or eating high calories meals everyday. are we going to shame people who are obese just as we are to smokers? Where does it end?
@@RefnRes As far as I understand there hasn't actually been proven how cancerous it is, although users seem more likely to get cancer in their throat or gums. It is nevertheless much less harmful than smoking.
Not entirely true, yes there are no ‘second hand’ smoke sufferers to those who snus, however, it is a substance that contributes (at least here in sweden where I have worked within the healthcare sector for the last 15+ years) to the ever growing burden placed upon the healthcare system due to complications associated with prolonged exposure to nicotine (patients with diabetes suffer more than most). Where individuals have the attitude that it is a much better alternative to smoking so it’s ok (=false). Not to mention the other unspoken point about just how much littering/harm is caused by those little pouches of used snus that people will simply flick out from under the lip out onto the ground. It is rife and disgusting.
People don’t realise just how much this stuff is used within football, you watch a game on TV easily at least a 3rd of the players on the pitch have one in right there and then
I’m shocked by this. I have been using them for around 6 months to quit smoking and I find my cardio ability with one in is significantly worse than without (obviously) but to be playing a football match with one in is crazy, it’s like trying to cycle whilst smoking a cig.
@@ibraheemmonks8866 yeah their (footballers) very high levels of fitness somewhat mask the problems of nicotine use
If anything, that can mean that they use it in greater amounts because some of the side effects are diminished by being in tip-top shape
Being very fit will do nothing for preventing the possible effects of cancer, sleep deprivation, and increased risk of mental breaks from its use
Really? I'd be afraid of it falling out or even swallowing it
In football, I think maybe 10 per cent in the top leagues. You rarely see a player spit out something brown. First you spit brown spit and then you spit the snus out. Never saw this in football on the pitch. And nobody leaves a snus inside for 45 minutes. And if they did, they would be spitting brown juice the whole time. That would be noticeable. In hockey there are always changes and interruptions where you can dispose of it. In hockey, 85 per cent use it in Europe, especially Scandinavia. You see players on the bench all the time shoving snus in their mouths. All the good brands come from there, too. I used to order there often.
I’ve always wondered what they (or looked like) they were chewing on..now I know haha
You can buy this openly over the counter in everyday shops in most eu countries. It was young lads using it in work that it first came to my attention, they were supposedly fitness fanatics that’s why I found it interesting.
As a Finn, using snus is super common, and we don't use theese mild 4mg snuses, we use 20-40mg toxic waste-like snus
What brand of dip do you have available there? Copenhagen Grizzly Cougar Stokers?
@@MattFuller-eh6cw oden's and siberia, if u google about them, i think u'll gonna be terrified:DD
Very popular in ice hockey and baseball in North America too. At all levels, amateur and top professional
not only North America, any country with ice hockey or baseball
We call it “dip” this one kid on my high school’s baseball team did it all the time. The coaches knew it too but didn’t say anything because he was a top prospect
Here in Europe I think 90 percent of the Scandinavian hockey player use it. It’s very huge in Scandinavia. Also in Germany I know many people who use it
I run a pub in a smaller US hockey town. The urinals probably have as many snus packets in the screens as anything else they're used for. 😂
don’t know about baseball but I would imagine that since ice hockey is extremely popular in Scandinavia, all the Scandinavians who come to the NHL or even for college or high school in the US bring it with them and show their teammates. I have a conspiracy theory that John Guidetti, failed Swedish wonderkid, brought it with him to Man City around 10 years ago when they signed him and it’s never left since.
I remember going to Sweden a few years ago and bringing back a few pots to the UK. I liked it back then (not now), but none of my mates were interested in trying it. So I'm surprised to hear that there are a quite few players in the various leagues using it, given it's not something a lot of people usually do. Still better than drinking or gambling though.
It's not better than either of those things.
All of them can be incredibly dangerous for your health
It’s because it gives you a buzz akin to a cigarette or vape, without affecting your lungs which are crucial for footballers
@@l_b_xd5313 Snus really isn't. Literally 25% of the population use it here in Sweden and we have had decades of research on it showing little correlation to things like throat cancer while having one of the most healthy populations in the world. If 25% of the population meanwhile where alcoholics or smoking the life expectancy would have dropped by several years. This whole video is just bad journalism. Heck, he doesn't even know the difference between nicotine poaches (what is actually being used by these football players) and snus.
I'm swedish and both my father, auntie and youngest cousin (23) and many more people i know or have seen are users of Snus. It can be bought in almost every store and some big places like big trainstations, shopping centers and airports will probably have nicotine shops stacked with mostly Snus. Its basically a part of Swedish culture and I myself haven't noticed any side effects, but maybe you have to be a viking to handle it :)
It’s already been in Germany since about a year or two and many of my friends take it.
Must be said that this stuff is very strong
There are versions with way less nicotine
Nah, that stuff has been around for quite some time, but only recently has become something young people use, who are bringing it into the mainstream.
here in Denmark, floors are littered with these little things all over the place. it's crazy popular here
Its actually been available (a very similar legal product) in mainstream shops in britain for about a decade but it never really took off, it was mainly scanidnavians who used it
There’s different strengths to it so that’s s a generalization.
I've snused and played football myself and it never makes you better. Only increases your heartbeat unnecessarily
I use it when I'm bored at work, that's the proper way to do it! //From a Swede
@@bengtsondanilo snusa på min vän
@@bengtsondanilo Yes, you're right, it's good for boredom. I have always ordered from Sweden here to Germany. Is there actually any country that even comes close to you in terms of snus production? Your neighbouring countries?
its wild seeing comments like this talking about it like its something new. mate its just tobacco in a pouch. dip, vapes, cigarettes, cigars. they all give you the same effect in a different form. i really dont get why people are treating it like its something different.
@@newp0rt You mean my comment? If so, of course I realise that it is a normal nicotine product that has been around for ages. Only in the video it is presented as if it were a new phenomenon. That's why I wrote that it doesn't helped at football because it increases the heartbeat unnecessarily. Of course, the same applies to all other tobacco products.
I'm from Sweden and my doctor recommended snus as a way to quit smoking - and it worked! Not had a cigarette in 8 years. My doctors reasoning was that cigarettes is linked to increased risk for 30+ diseases, many of them fatal. When it comes to snus he said that it increases risk for a handful of diseases. So by switching from cigarettes to snus I decreased my risk for 25 diseases! It's very addicting though, but god I do love it.
There is more nicotine in snus
Congrats, 8 years strong, keep going man 💪
@@alexandersamson5866 nicotine in an isolated environment is not that bad for you and research isn’t clear on if it’s carcinogenic at all. It’s many, many times better for you than cigarettes. Cigarettes have dozens of carcinogens beyond nicotine
now you just need to quit snus and then its good
@@chicagogamer420 That's great and all but actual snus contains nicotine and tobacco, it isn't just nicotine.
As a Norwegian who regularly uses snus, I can say that it will not increase performance, but can help to relax better and will not have an impact on health like crisps, chocolate and soft drinks. Which I think is why it is popular with football players.
It is very common in Scandinavia (especially Norway and Sweden, where its fully legal to consume and selll). I saw a picture on Elneny's story once of Martin Ødegaard who obviously used it on the plane.
In Norway, it is also not allowed to write that snus "is harmful to health and carcinogenic" on the box, because research cannot prove that it is actually carcinogenic. Instead, it says on the box "it can(!) be harmful to health and addictive".
Good point but does the snus used in your country have tobacco?
@@kb4432 snus has tobacco. The snus that doesn't are nicotine free.
@@UncrownedRapKing this is wrong. Snus with tobacco existsnin sweden. Snus without tobacco does have nicotine, just not tobacco. So its not carcinogenic. This is legal in some eu countries. There is a large difference in the tobacco free ones and those with tobacco. This video should have discussed this
@@wnwkrodb3b I was kind of joking. Snus was never meant to be nicotine free or without tobacco. That's something that has come much later.
@@kb4432 yes it has tobacco. weird but its actually not allowed to sell snus without tobacco in norway.
Oh man. I lived in Sweden for a year and got hooked on this stuff it's brilliant
I love the instrumentals used in your videos
Here in Scandinavian countries, snus for footballers is like regular chewing gum. Don't be surprised if you see Ødegaard and Haaland using it, just saying. It's no big deal for footballers who grew up in Nordic countries. English media likes to make it look like it's the new dope to be worried about. Same league that threw a fuss over a neck warmer and got it banned. Now imagine trying to ban a neck warmer in colder countries like Norway, Iceland, Sweden or Finland. Never happening here. 😅
Haaland, sure, Ødegaard would be a bit of a surprise, considering how much of a "good boy" he is.
I wouldn't put a neck warmer on the same level as putting highly concentrated nicotine right onto your soft tissue and membrane, surely you must see that it could be problematic, especially for top level athletes that are extremely challenged every week on a physical level
It's a literal health issue, why would any player willingly subject themselves to high risks of cancer?
Yeah cos nicotine products being sold to children and cancer being cut out of peoples gum due to snus is no big deal, just the English media overreacting of course, wish we could be as perfect as your scandis
Drug addicts be drug addicts
Pretty sure Trippier was using it in an post match interview back in January
😂🤣
yeah trippiers always got one in ahaha
Ziyech is the other footballer mentioned in this video I think, has been spotted and filmed quite a few times with snus.
Nah, he’s just ugly I think
Jamie Vardy also has been seen often using snus
As a swede I find snus quite fascinating. I never tried it because I saw my dad use it daily when I grew and I realized how hooked he was, then I also learned to dislike the smell of it. But it's very normalized here in Sweden and for many people seem as a great substitute for
I've heard that it's tecnically not quite legal to sell snus here in switzerland, but you can still buy them at pretty much every shop that sells other tobaccoproducts as well.
Here in Sweden and Norway it is very common, but I had no idea that is was so common among football players. In the elite youth team where I was playing when I was around 15 we where discouraged from using it, but I have never seen it being discouraged anywhere else here.
I didn't even know it had made its way into football. I went to a winter sports school and athletes from basically all kinds of sports use it. From skiing/snowboarding (all freestyle, alpine and cross disciplines), to ski jumping, cross country skiing and biathlon, skeleton, luge and bobsledding. Almost every athlete used it...
That's ironic since nicotine is terrible for your circulation.
I do hope that this report from the PFA actually looks into the underlying causes of this rise in usage (regardless of harm level of snus) and helps support the players more. Also it's a bit laughable that the medical staff that's pumping these players full of PEDs to keep up with the pace of the game and power through minor injuries are telling them that snus is dangerous.
There might be a bit of confusion about it's illegality. There is snus and there are nicotine pouches - in the EU, one is illegal while the other is completely fine. Only difference is that snus contains actual parts of the tobacco plants while the pouches have either synthetic or clean extracted nicotine. Both have the same effects. Most europeans including footballers usually use the legal variant from my experience.
Fun fact: Moomin character Snufkin is called Nuuskamuikkunen (Nuuska = Snus, Muikkunen is a surname) in Finnish and Snusmumriken (Snus = Snus, Mumrik(en) is a type of troll in Moomins) in Swedish.
Also: it doesn't matter whether or not Chelsea fc will hire him as their next manager - he will leave in the autumn anyway.
Snusa is also a word for snoring/sniffle/sleeping/relaxing/the period of time before you fall asleep back in the day. I even heard people saying it when i was younger to refer to a sleeping child. "Olof ligger och snusar" . When it comes to mumindalen there is also a character named "sniff" so i think it's more likely that the connection isn't from the tobacco product and more to do with the "sleepy" "sniffle" "snort" meaning. Finnish and Swedish has a lot of shared vocabulary stemming from the fact that it has basically been the same country for hundreds of years.
It's funny you made this video. A friend of mine got addicted to Snus through all the Scandinavian players playing for the Dutch pro club he worked for.
Im from Switzerland and here it is in every store. During my military service i heavily uesd snus, almost a can a day at the end. Luckily i had no problem to stop because i noticed that my gum has gone back where i put the pouch. I still do it from time to time when im offered one(every other month or so) but i would recommend everyone that uses it to stop.
I'm Swedish and an avid 'snusare'.
I play football and I find it to give a boost both mentally and physically.
American here, I can remember kids in school using these in the locker room during gym class. Some would put as many as 4 or 5 pouches, then pass out on their desk in the next class. I had no idea it was so rampant in professional soccer.
"I was out in *Manchester* with some of the England players. I tried it and I liked it *to be fair* "
Player X is Gary Neville!
Thought maybe rashford.
@@saints4life55 the hint is "to be fair"
'I liked it at that moment in time'
Or Clinton Morrison to be fair...
@@Zonaverdi_ he's Irish
In Hungary snus is actually legal to sell if you're of age of course. Athletes and highschoolers are the main buyers of snus, since it doesn't produce smoke, and is less noticable then smoking a cigarette or a vape. If you go to any highschool here, even if it is the most prestigious in the country, you'll find snus in the tables, or if you ask someone who goes there, they'll probably give you snus, or know someone who can give you. Of course it is forbidden to use it in schools, but its so unnoticeable and easy to hide that teachers can't do anything about it
So brought a product called Nordic sprit and it is a type of snus. I have brought it to quit smoking and I thought I would just drop a comment to clear something up. This video says it is a illegal product in the uk. However I brought mine from a Tesco (big supermarket chain) and I have seen this product in every shop I’ve used over the last month in England. So it would seem it’s now legal for sale in the uk. And I carnt speak for the US market however I have seen a lot of tv presenters and podcast presenters talk about there use of this product openly implying it is legal to buy and sell there aswell. However this was a interesting video thanks for the info 👍🏻
Here in Algeria we do have a kind of snus it's called "chemma" it's made mainly of tobacco and many other ingredients but it's sold not like tea bags but in small bags and you add tobacco paper before, many football players here use it and it's quite bigger than the snus the most famous player was Rafik Saifi!
This is by far the most interesting topic in a whole. Had no idea what snus even was. 😮
Ive seen rashford and greenwood stuffing loads of these in a couple years ago in a club in Manchester. Always wondered why no one talked about the rife use
Here in Finland the dark market for snus is big since you need to go to Sweden to buy it, i've tried it couple of times is smooth you feel light and energetic but i noticed some colleagues at work that use it all the time get in a gloomy mood when they can't get their fix, some have theet's that are starting to root.
I used to be good friends with someone at Leicester, I won’t say who. They told about snus years ago and I started to use it as well as many players in their dressing room. Didn’t realise how many people used it until you go on the odd night out or even see players using it in games
Wow, this is very interesting and has a dillema with it. On one hand it is an addicting stimulant which may help players at the highest levels to feel calm and less nervous, with all the stress that comes with using somehting like this. But on the other hand these players may not have had the guidance when they started it (Loanees, academies and such). Hopefully players could be given guidance on such products and help them understand the short term benifit they think they are getting alongwith long term sideeffects.
~1:42 , the ban on snus is true- though here in Denmark (and Norway I think) "Nicotine pouches" which do not contain tobacco, though is the exact same concept, can be freely bought in any supermarket or kiosk. (As long as the intended buyer is over 18 of course)
Wow, hearing my favourite lofi beat of all time Osoku-Vapour at the start of the video ❤
I started using it in the Finnish army. Among conscripts the rate is slightly less than smokers, but among professional soldiers, it is probably over 80%.
as a norwegian it is strange seeing snus talked about like a serius issue in england and other nations when it is so common in all areas in scandinavian culture.
well in North America its taken more so as an issue because several years ago Tony Gwyn who was baseball players and one of the best of his generation died because of cancer stemming from dip which is another form of chewing tobacco
@@qwertyuiop123453993 Dip is a lot more dangerous than snus though since it has way more carcinogens. There were warning labels for cancer on snus cans in Sweden back in the 80s but they had to be removed since it wasn't clear that snus causes cancer to a significant degree. Carcinogen levels in Skoal and Thunder are like 7 times higher than something like General or GR. Dip is also generally weaker than snus so you need to use more of it.
@@qwertyuiop123453993 dip is dried, snus is steamed, dont you have to spit with dip?
@@lommelykt5 yes
@@noha7688
It's also worth noting that while dip is certainly more unhealthy and risky than snus the number of long-term dip users who experience serious health problems is still so tiny that it's basically statistically insignificant, especially when researchers control for concurrent combustible tobacco use (a phenomenon much, much more common in the US than any Scandinavian country, probably a consequence of our long history of cigarette advertisement and consistent representations of combustible tobacco products in US media).
Started using snus at 19 when i had to serve in the military in Norway. Quit 2 years ago at 36. Hardest battle I've ever fought.
As a swede this is actually hilarious
🤓
Same. Atleast 1/3 of all known swedish footballers last 50 years probably used it. And also like 1/3 of all swedish men for over 100 years. So is it an explosion of throat cancer and mouth cancer in Sweden? No!
Största skämtet
@@ryanoreily5402
They're never going to stop spreading the lies; no amount of facts/statistics are going to change their minds on this. Even otherwise intelligent people can be remarkably ignorant about issues outside of their expertise and the "experts" are bought and paid for by public health organizations who are themselves acting in bad faith.
Helt underbar 😅 det har ju bara funnit i våran kultur sen 1600 talet så man kan absolut kalla det för en ny fluga!
I’m going to take a wild guess that footballers are addicted because, nicotine is addictive.
Who knew? 🤷♂️
This
Nah, must be something else.
Of course, but there is a reason why it's especially common in sports which was the point I guess
“Why are footballers addicted to snus at a disproportionately high rate compared to the general population?” wouldn’t be the snappiest title would it?
@@buckokid5930 “Footballers Are Druggies”
Snappier 👍
I started smoking 2 years ago, switched to vape because it was more convenient, then completely moved to snus because I had troubles breathing during my runs. Glad I've come across this video as it helped me realise the health risks, but man would it be hard to quit nicotine entirely. It makes boredom less boring and excitement more exciting
Don't even watch football but I'm subscribing because the videos are really well done.
Snus is quite common in Finland. Selling it here is illegal but many people can easily travel to Sweden to buy lots of snus and then sell it onwards to their friends. It is especially common amongst ice hockey players and conscripts here.
It's also really popular among combat sports folks
I remember when a snus brand called Lyft started selling in Kenya. Everybody got hooked such that the government had to intervene. I couldn't handle the nicotine high so I never got hooked on it but almost all my friends were on it. Crazy.
I used to go through a 4-dot Lyft Freeze container a day until it got to the point that it made me physically unwell. Well done not getting hooked on that stuff.
Lyft is not snus, thats nicotine pouches.
Snus is a traditional product since hundreds of years in Sweden, which we are very proud of as it is a part of our cultural history and a common sight in most families since generations back.
I'd like to add that most probably the "Snus" discussed in this video is not actual snus made from tobacco, but a tobacco free alternative containing only nicotine and plant fiber material with flavouring. As by EU-law, tobacco snus is not allowed to sell in the European Union except Sweden.
Tobacco free snus however is legal to sell and that is what we see the footballers use. Plenty of shops and distributers in England, France and recently southern europe as well.
The tobacco free snus has few studies of it's health risks, but personally I doubt it is more dangerous than regular snus, which itself has very, very slim health risks compared to smoking.
Thanks to Snus and tobacco free snus we have the lowest amount of smokers in the EU region, showing as 5% in 2019.
Snus for the people!
Have you tried the tobacco free stuff? I find it really burns my mouth and i haven't had that with actual snus lol
I started with snus at fifteen when I started to train with the adult team of the handball club I was playing for lol I think most (at least the men) professional Swedish athletes use it.
Kalle Matsson would be the snus equivalent of Sarri and his cigarettes. I don't think I've ever seen him without one in.
In India we have it from long back it's Khaini which is raw form of tobacco, snus is packeted one. It has very minor rush.
Well if you do the research Swedish snus doesn’t cause cancer and have never been related to death. Swedish tobacco is curated with water stem unlike American tobacco which is curated by burning with causes tarr to release which causes cancer. Also snus and nicotine pouches are totally different
It's been quite a big thing in the last few years in Switzerland as well. I used to buy one box per week and I was really addicted many times consuming 4-5 a day (I am aware that some people consume much
never knew snus was a thing outside of Sweden, kinda interesting to see it being talked about this broadly
even in africa we use it
@@lw4ng4better then cigarettes, honestly it’s the best thing out of Sweden
If the players are not getting warned of the health risks with snus there is a problem. In Sweden snus is used by most footballers and theres no big deal, but here everyone knows the health risks.
i am living in europe (Poland) and snus are normally in every grocery store, they are not very popular but they are legal to sell
Important note is also that tobacco-free nicotine pouches that are inserted under the lip (like Zyn for example) and snus are two different things. They work the same way, look similar and often get mixed up in conversation. Tobacco-free nicotine pouches have skyrocketed in popularity in the last years, are legal and available for purchase in UK shops. I suspect that many UK footballers use nicotine pouches but call them snus, since they are way easier to get your hands on. Something to keep in mind.
Seeing this as a swede is really interesting as like 75% of adult males use it here
Way to bring awareness
I seen tubs of snus being sold in tesco in Northern Ireland so it isn't illegal in the UK because its a regulated amount of nicotine same with the remainder of Ireland and has been given the name nordic spirit
I always thought that they do it because they can't use the snooze button on the alarm, because of all the self discipline stuff they need to do, get up real early to run etc. So they substitute with the closest sounding thing.
"No doping rules are broken by it"
well no obviously not - it's not a performance enhancing drug. It's a relatively healthy alternative to cigarettes albeit a highly addictive one.
It's just tobacco, table salt and water.
My son plays for a under 15 side.. He said his striker kept putting something in his mouth before games. Now we know. And it's everywhere. Even at lower level footy. Jheeze. It's still bloody tobacco. And baccy causes problems.
Snus is gaining a lot of traction in central and eastern europe especially in teenagers , it´s getting even more popular than smoking .
On the topic of nicotine content and uptake.
You say that 1 pouch of snus contains more nicotine than one cigarette, which is somewhat controversial. One cigarette may contain 10-12mg of nicotine, snus ranges from 3mg to as much as 45mg per pouch. But in either case it is estimated that you take up about 10% of the nicotine, propably more for the cigarette.
The thing is, smoking gives you a much more direct response, compared to snus which slowly creeps up and stays for longer.
In my experience, having been addicted to both cigs and snus and stopping, l would say the way cigarettes affect you makes for a much harder habit to kick.
With nicotine addiction it is mostly not about the physical, but about mental addiction. You will likely crave the instant relief of smoking much longer, aswell as the ritual of it.
With snus there is less of a ritual and often the use is less regular (since you don't have to go outside to smoke for example) and therefore I found it easier to quit.
Both are horrible. But if you need nicotine, and don't feel like you can quit completely snus is surely a saver alternative
Oh man. I lived in Sweden for a year and got hooked on this stuff it's brilliant. Completely got me off smoking
Same, after 10 years of smoking/vaping, nicotine pouches made me quit!
@@easy94883 snus is definitely not the same as nicotine pouches
tiden i sverige gjorde dig gott, välkommen tillbaka
More videos on these “low key” things players do. I never knew about this until now
its not only legal in sweden, its legal and sold in stores in the whole of Scandinavia. don't know about other places outside Scandinavia tho
Snus and nicotine pouches are quite distinct from each other. In the UK, nicotine pouches are widely available at supermarkets and are generally less harmful than snus since they are tobacco-free. The nicotine content is crucial as well; if players use low-concentration products infrequently, it should be fine. As with anything, moderation is key.
Very important to distinguish between the two!
NP's are much harder on the gums than actual snus and any health risks from snus come from the nicotine anyway so why wouldn't you just use the genuine article with those fantastic MAOI's still intact instead of using the cheap, unsatisfying imitation. NP's make me feel sick to my stomach and cost more.
@@seth5143 are you saying there’s zero negative effects of tobacco?
@@kooldude123
Not at all, as that would be a fantastically high standard to apply to any drug. There are health risks but I think the scientific literature clearly demonstrates that they're very minor concerns, similar to the ones associated with moderate caffeine consumption which few people discourage.
I get Swedish snus from my local dodgy middle eastern shop in the uk. Prefer it to nic pouches
Has been commonly available in norway/Sweden for decades.
Much, much more common than sigarettes here in Norway.
Probably around 1/3 young adults snus regularly
The same in Denmark we have kids who start when they are 12
In Hungary and Romania snos is legal and sold at all tobacco shops.
I'm from Norway, and the use of snus has exploded the last 20 years. In line with the de line of smoking. Everybody knows it’s not healthy, but the health problems are not that well documented. As an example, here in Norway, the government has very strict rules against anything bad for your health. As one of the first countries in the world, we forbid smoking in public places like pubs and restaurants in the early 2000’s. All our cigarette (and snus ) boxes are all the same. Plain text with the brand name. And all have the same green color and warnings. On smoke packs it simply says “smoking kills”, but on the snus boxes it said “this product may be a health risk”. If there was any conclusive studies that said it was dangerous, the government would mark it faster than you could say Erling Haaland 😂
I'm Swedish and I finally quit it after 15 years on the 1st of june last year. I still use the placebo no nicotine/no tobacco alternatives though XD. Snus is like a friend in the dark as an old friend of mine used to say.
congrats
i'd never start on anything addictive, struggling with obesity for life though
@@JabbarTV1 Not saying you should start, but snus can actually help you lose weight. You become less hungry for sweets and food in general. After I started consuming snus I almost never eat unhealthy anymore.
@@JabbarTV1 sugar is one of the most addictive substances after all. good look with your obesity mate.
You never really quit snus, you just ‘take a break’ from it.
I live in Liverpool and used to work in Chester and the office I was working in had a few people that had played academy football for Manchester United and they were using Snus heavily in their day to day life. It's honestly an epidemic in football.
You see players all the time with it, Tyrone Mings is the one that always comes to my mind when thinking of Snus. He's probably the player stated in the video as being a "high profile England international" that's always seen with it.
I think one was Vardy, he's a known user of it
I was thinking the same. He's always chewing something whenever i see him on the pitch
i thought it was kyle walker or keiren trippier
Sterling and Foden and Leroy Sane aswell as Kyle Walker from the City bunch I think.
Yeah I'd prefer that everyone smoked cigarettes instead!
Its reasonably common here when working in the offshore industry, mainly fishing. Im in northern scotland
I hear British junkies are severely addicted to a similar hard drug. Just like snus, it's ground up leaves commonly stored in small pouches. These are then but in boiling water to extract the harmful and addictive chemicals. Drug users say it has a calming effect on their nervous system.
Most addicts can't start their day without this horrifying drug, and the use is so prevalent that every workplace allows the junkies to take a break from work to get their fix.
The wealthier Brits look down on the variant that comes pre-packaged in pouches, and instead prepare their drug in a complex ritual requiring special pots and strainers (as if this doesn't make them just as bad as the construction workers who gulp it down from thermos flasks). Even the royal family does this, and the upper classes have special ritualistic afternoon gatherings where they partake of the drug.
Some addicts can't stand the horrible, bitter taste, so they add milk, sugar and even lemon to make it drinkable. Reportedly a majority of Brits are addicted to this awful, foul-tasting drug!
1:47 you got that wrong mate, it's legal in Poland and Austria at least.
It's popular among hockey players (Swedish players were the trend setters I guess). My friend who played hockey introduced me to that, but thankfully I quit already. 😅
No, snus is illegal in all of EU. I think you are confusing snus with nicotine pouches (which are legal).
@@therealcsing oh, my bad! I didn't know that. I thought snus = nicotine pouches. Thanks for clarifying that
South american here. I had never heard of them. In some regions in and near Bolivia it is an ancestral habit to use leaves of 'coca' in similar fashion to SNUS, mainly to help with altitude problems and, in the plains, just to stay awake or traditional practice.
My mate started using snus to quit smoking and vaping. I tried some of it last night and it just made me feel light headed, sick and nauseous. It’s probably because I rarely ever use nicotine so my body isn’t used to having it.
In the Swedish handball top flight, coaches walk around with boxes of sugar substitutes and snus during games. Everyone does it and during games as well. It’s very normal for athletes.
All the Swedish and Norwegian players use Snus.
The effects of nicotine tightens the vains and hinder bloodstream.
Expect from that it's no big deal.
Not healthy, but no big deal
Everyone and their mothers use it where I live (norway), but its weird seeing how its being talked about abroad. Throughout the years Ive seen plenty people I know struggle with alcohol misuse or struggeling to breathe due to being long time smokers, but never once has someone Ive known had a health issue caused by snus.
Snus isnt "healthy" ofc not, but I just hate it when its being talked about as if its this mysterious and dangerous drug... when in fact its way less harmfull to you than alcohol, cigarettes and even sugar.
Snus 🇸🇪🤝🇳🇴
It’s definitely healthier, but its still a killer at the end of the day. Not only are there obvious health risks, but the mental damage it causes is arguably even more serious. I honestly believe its just yet another proof that kids these days aren’t getting anywhere near enough mental training and footballers being left to stumble about with money and fame. No drug is necessary if you have a healthy mental state, but with the expectations on these young players its not surprising at all