Doctors warn of a new phenomenon. They notice that more and more young people are being seduced by snus, a kind of powder that is placed under the gumline. It does not contain tobacco but on the other hand a lot of nicotine and this makes you very dependent.
They are on sale in small boxes in the night-shops next to chewing gum. It takes eighteen years to get it. The box costs five euros and contains twenty small sachets that must be wedged between the gum and the lip. In twenty minutes, the nicotine they contain is found in the blood… The problem is that nicotine is an extremely addictive product, especially when it acts on a young brain. A few takes are enough to become addicted.
“The Nicotine binds in a very simple way to the brain on receptors and releases endorphins. We have a feeling of well-being, of relaxation and therefore these young people can become independent and appreciate. They become addicted after experiencing withdrawal symptoms that manifest as restlessness and nervousness. It’s behavioral issues.” explains Adrien Meunier, tobacconist nurse at the CHR from the Citadel to Liège.
The SNUS comes from the Nordic countries. In Sweden and Norway, young people smoke much less, but these little bags contain tobacco. The advantage is that there is almost no lung cancer there, but the disadvantage is that there are many more cancers of the mouth or tongue.
In Belgium, the SNUS or “chewing tobacco” is prohibited. By removing the tobacco from the bag and leaving the nicotine, the ban is circumvented.
“In these sachets, we have different dosages and therefore we can go from three milligrams to doses of twenty milligrams of nicotine per sachet. By way of comparison, when you smoke a cigarette, you have between one and two milligrams of nicotine per cigarette smoked”, developed Adrien Meunier for comparison.
A single one of these small sachets can therefore provide the amount of nicotine of a good ten cigarettes… The lack effect will happen very quickly. There is a big risk of switching to the much more harmful cigarette. Several famous footballers consume SNUS tobacco-free and promote it on social networks, such as TikTok or Instagram. A strategy of tobacco companies to gain new followers. If not, it looks very similar.