The History of Snus
It was 1492 when Christopher Columbus and his men
stepped ashore on Hispaniola Island in the West Indies – what is today
known as Haiti. Native Americans greeted them with various types of
gifts, including 'a few dried leaves that they consider highly valuable'
as Columbus noted in his logbook. While there, the Spanish explorers
noted how the island natives would roll these dried tobacco leaves
inside corn leaves, light the rolls and inhale the smoke. These rolls
were called 'tobago'. Apparently, Christopher Columbus liked what he saw
and took several tobacco plants back to Europe.
1400 – 1500: The Early History of Snus
While the first contact Europeans had with tobacco was when Columbus
and his men witnessed the Native Americans smoking it in 1492, it was
their second journey that they attribute to the beginning of snus. A
monk in Columbus' party, a man by the name of Ramon Pane, noted how the
native Carib priests inhaled a tobacco powder through a reed. Modern-day
researchers agree that the powder probably contained more than just
tobacco, but, in any case, the idea for snus and snuff was introduced
and had a significant impact on the use of tobacco in Europe. Spanish and Portuguese sailors continued to bring tobacco plants to
Europe after the voyages of Christopher Columbus. By the mid-1500s,
doctors in Lisbon started to use tobacco medicinally, planting it in
their gardens, believing that tobacco could cure several diseases
including syphilis and cancer.
Snus Becomes Popular in Europe 1500 – 1600
During this period, Jean Nicot was the French Ambassador in Lisbon,
where the use of medicinal tobacco was growing. Jean Nicot developed an
interest in the plant and by the 1560s was cultivating it in his garden
in Lisbon. He is credited with spreading the use of snus to the rest of
Europe. The Swedish naturalist and doctor, Carl von Linné, used the
ambassador's name to give the tobacco species its scientific name,
Nicotiana tabacum.The story is told that when Jean Nicot learned that the French Queen
Katarina de Medici suffered from chronic headaches, he advised her to
crumble tobacco leaves into a powder and inhale it nasally. On following
this prescription, the Queen is said to have recovered fully. This
'miracle' cure soon became popular among French courtiers.
Snus Comes to Sweden 1600 – 1800
At this time, the French Court and Paris fashions were setting the
trends in Europe, so it didn't take long for nasal snus to become
popular throughout the continent. The earliest record of snus in Sweden
appears in a customs document from 1637 that lists snus being imported
from Borgå in modern-day Finland.By the 1700s, using nasal snus was nearly de rigueur among the ladies
and gentlemen of the aristocracy. The snus can was a required
accoutrement for any self-respecting upper class gentleman. It had to be
luxurious and handled with a carefully stipulated elegance. The cans
were small masterpieces in gold, silver or other exclusive materials,
and quickly became a popular gift.In Sweden, the tobacco industry bloomed in the 1700s. Tobacco was
grown widely in the southern region, where Jonas Alströmer, who was
credited with making potato use mainstream, even began large-scale
cultivation of tobacco. By the mid-1700s, tobacco was grown in more than
70 Swedish towns from north to south.
New Habits 1800–1900
The French Revolution brought about the end of the upper classes
which in turn led to the end of nasal snus. Napoleon, a heavy snus user,
brought it back for a while, but after his fall in 1815, snus quickly
became passé, and even politically suspect. The burghers that came into
power started smoking cigars.In Sweden, political developments coincided with changes to snus
habits in the country. By the 1800s, Swedes started placing a pinch
under the upper lip and many farmers grew tobacco for their own snus
production.This widespread use led manufacturers to begin larger production of
local varieties of the moist snus. Well-known firms included Petter
Schwartz with the Röda Lacket brand and Willhelm Hellgren with the
Grovsnus brand. But the most widespread brand was Ljunglöfs Ettan.
The factory that produced it, on Badstugatan (today's Sveavägen) in
Stockholm, had roots in the tobacco business dating as far back as
1695. In 1822, Jacob Fredrik Ljunglöf took over the company and
made it Europe's leading snus factory.Nearly all of the Swedish snus manufacturers in the 1800s arranged
their product assortment according to quality designations, such as No.
1, No. 2 and No.3. Strategically, Jacob Fredrik Ljunglöf launched
his number one as a separate brand, becoming the first to successfully
launch a nationwide quality brand product – Ljunglöf's Ettan (The
Number One) – which set its own standard.
Emigrants Take Tobacco Back to America 1846 – 1930
Over one million Swedes emigrated across the Atlantic in the great
migrations between 1846 and 1930. These Swedes brought with them their
own customs and habits, including their tradition of using snus.
Actually, snus was so common among Swedes that in the neighborhoods
where they lived, the main street was often referred to as 'Snus
Boulevard' by other Americans. Snus had become a part of the Swedish
identity.
New Era in Swedish Business 1915
By the beginning of the 1900s, the Swedish national government was
looking for ways to fund defense spending (as the First World War was
underway), as well as to finance the first pension system that had been
recently enacted. A decision was made to nationalize the lucrative
tobacco industry to raise their funds. After 250 years of open markets
for snus, the Swedish tobacco monopoly was introduced in 1915 and
operated by the company AB Svenska Tobaksmonopolet (which was later
dissolved in the 1960s).Snus consumption increased significantly, reaching its peak in 1919 –
when over 7,000 tons of snus were sold. This meant that for the Swedish
population of a little more than six million, annual consumption was
nearly 1.2 kilos per person!In the following years, additional tobacco products were marketed and
the popularity of snus suffered. In particular, American cigarettes
gained in popularity after the First World War.
Modern Day Snus 1970 onwards
As news reports began to focus on the health risks of cigarette
smoking, snus regained some of its popularity. Additionally, the
introduction of the first portion-packaged snus in the 1970s, was a
vital step toward expanding the consumer base of snus users. New
taste varieties and formats continue to add excitement to the growing
snus category.