Sniffing Snuff... Ye Olde Bad Habit

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

After hearing for years about snuff boxes, bottles and such and never quite knowing just what snuff was, I finally got around to looking it up. It was tabbacco, ground very, very fine. A bit of the stuff was pinched between the fingers and sniffed up the nose.

It would seem quite logical to me that snuff was probably popular among seafarers on ships, as fire was an ever-present danger. Am I right in this assumption? Or was snuff a bad habit of the elite?

[Darkmalkin]

Ye talk about it like it's a habit of the past. Me brother in law enjoys a pinch of snuff to this very day. I've tried it, but, well, ouch, and ew. It comes in a little red box with a pour spout.

[redhand]

Just taking an educated guess here.....

but I don't think snuff became popular

until the very early 19th century (not saying it wasn't around),

and I've always associated it with the gentry, the middling

class and poor were probably left to smoke their tobbacco

in their pipes.

I do know that smoking was allowed above decks on board ship,

but I suppose that also was left to the discretion of the captain.

That's my best guess, anyhow...great question tho,will have

to look into it further!

Cheers

Redhand

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

Darkmalkin,

I didn't know that stuff was still around! I read also that they scented it with various oils to make it more pleasant- what "flavor" did you try?

Redhand,

I associated it with gentry as well, which is why I got to wondering if it was a snooty thing (pun intended) or if pirates were into it.

Another question, I'm guessing that although it wasn't as potent as cocaine, the niccotine was absorbed in the same manner- I wonder if it was more addictive than smoking and when/why it fell out of popularity when smoking didn't?

[LadyAtropos]

I would think that sailors may not be as partial to snuff because it could blow away before it made it to their grateful and congested noses?

Just a theory.

LA

[Darkmalkin]

I don't remember that it was "flavored" at all, other than terbacky flavor. Me brother in law never smoked, but was a longtime user of that other great tobacco-related vice, chewin' terbacky. And he switched to snuff in an effort to wean himself from chew. (Didn't work too well, so must not be as addictin' as chew.) As an aside, he also liked snuff on his boat better 'n chew OR smokin' terbacky. You can probably get it in any tobacconist's shop, he used to get his in Omaha somewhere.

[Capt. Flint]

It was very popular with the middle and upper classes. According to what history I have read on the subject; it was used in part to help block the odors from others. Hence, the various scents and oils. Don't forget, bathing was still a seldom frequented sport. The oils and smells were also in part to be more pleasing to the person who snorts the stuff. I know it still exist today, but for the love of me, I don't know why. I have only seen a little bit about snuff in what books I have read. So I am sure there is more info. on it somewhere. Hope that helps....... me

[captweaver65]

I saw a feature on tv about a snuff contest in britain and that cured me of ever wantin ta try the stuff.

the contest was to get as much snuff up yer nose as you could.it was sick all these people with nasty black lookin terbacky bein crammed into their noses,some using spoons,funnels or just their fingers.A big,butch,older woman won.

[capnwilliam]

Aye, goode shipmate Capt. Weaver, what ye describe WAS vile: but snuff as it's meant to be taken, in small pinches from time to time, is quite enjoyable and exhilarating.

I have tried it, and can vouch that it is HIGHLY addictive; so much so that I haven't used it in years, and don't want to, fer fear that it re ignite an old addiction-in the-making!

Claire, yes, snuff is tobacco: but don't think of it like cut or leaf tobacco, or you'll have a wrong picture in yer mind.

Think of baby powder, yes? Now; think of that powder as brown rather than white. Then think of it as having a smell like tobacco, but not as strong. There's snuff fer ye!

Capt. William

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

right, that's what I was picturing- since I read that it was ground with a mortar and pestle.

[TalesOfTheSevenSeas]

....Which brings more questions up. Was it expensive? Couldn't sailors grind there own? Or was it just considered to prissy for manly men?!!

[capnwilliam]

Well, those be fair "enuf" (OOOHHH!!!) questions about snuff, Mate Claire. Old William admits he doesn't know the answers!

Whether snuff was ever popular among seafarin' men, I don't know. I have heard that in the 18th century, snuff was more popular than smoking.

If anything, you'd think that snuff would have been even more popular at sea than on land, given the risk of fire. (?)

Capt. William

[Jolie Rouge]

Fer me two bits, sailors tended towards quid. Quid was terbaccy leaf strips rolled wit molasses inta thick strands ('ence it sometimes bein' called rope terbaccy) which they chewed. Twere the best way ta get yer fix shipboard as it didn't blow away, as snuff did, an' it didn't burn yer boat down, as pipes did.

[Saber]

Ahhhhhhh Haaaaaaaaaa!!!!

*candle goes on over head*

I didn't think about the snuff blowing away!! That makes sense!

:)

[capnwilliam]

Aye, pipes'd blow out (besides the risk of fire), snuff'd blow away: chaw'd be safer (unless ye blew out the juice to windward!

But, I reckon ye'd not do that more than once!

Capt. William

[Deacon Frye]

A couple of snuff history sites:

A Brief History of Snuff

Snuff History

It's also called smokeless tobacco these days:

U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.

[Captain Sage]

I had a great-grandma what sniffed snuff and drank coffee straight from the kettle after perkin' on a wood stove. I reckon' she was more a man than I am.

I hurled after me first (and only) run-in wit terbacky, and coffee never seemed worth the trouble to get it tastin' decent.

Gimme' Key Lime pie and Blenheim extra hot Ginger Beer... yee-haw.. good for what ails ya'!

Captain Sage

PS- Where in the Sam Hill do ya' reckon all that sniffed snuff gets to? Gross!

[Animal]

Here is my tuppance on de matter. As a avid chewer, snuff is a very fine powder now a days. Back in the days, it would take a long time to get it as fine as it is now. As to the addictive nature, it would seem to be very addictive as it goes into the nasal passages. Much like cocaine, the effect would be very fast. The use of " rpoe terbakky " is one of convience as it can be easily stored for lengths of time and moisture actually helps it stay fresh to an extent. The stuff like Skoal Copenhagen and suck is kinda like snuff but much coarser. Me self I prefer the Cherwing terbakky as it last longer and the taste is better. Mine of Choice - Red Man. But I am very careful where to spit and when to chew.

Animal

[capnwilliam]

Now, that Skoal / Copenhagen stuff that's CALLED snuff is NOT the same thing as snuff that's inserted in your nostrils, as was the practice in the 18th century. "Skoal", et al. is inserted in your mouth - just a pinch. It's a type of chewing tobacco.

Me, I never used same, and don't have any desire to! Who wants to go around spitting out brown juice!

Nasal snuff is a great rush, and is the "neatest" and probably cheapest way to use the vile Injun weed. But it is highly addictive!

Capt. William

[Deacon Frye]

Now, that Skoal / Copenhagen stuff that's CALLED snuff is NOT the same thing as snuff that's inserted in your nostrils, as was the practice in the 18th century. "Skoal", et al. is inserted in your mouth - just a pinch. It's a type of chewing tobacco.

Me, I never used same, and don't have any desire to! Who wants to go around spitting out brown juice!

Nasal snuff is a great rush, and is the "neatest" and probably cheapest way to use the vile Injun weed. But it is highly addictive!

Capt. William

I guess that explains why it was a bit rough on our noses!

[Scupper]

If you go by what w see infilms. It would be the rich and famous that used snuff. It was always noblemen we see flourishing their wrists. I take you to The Crimson Pirate, when Ohho uses it when inpersonating a nobleman when trying to release El Libre. Or The Scarlet Pimpernel. I believe I saw it another time in a pirate film but can't recall. Just me observation.

Scupper

[capnwilliam]

Aye; but never confuse reel life with real life, Scupper!

Capt. William

[Scupper]

LOL with the mdeicine the sawbones gave me and me own concotion, sometimes the line be bleary.

Scupper

[capnwilliam]

I'm beginning to believe that our President has the same problem, Scupper!

:)

Capt. William

[Jamaica Rose]

A female re-enactor soldier (Lee Bienkowski) once introduced me to snuff.

She showed me how you spread your hand between your thumb and forefinger. In the joint between the fingers is a web of flesh that is called "nature's snuff box". You put a pinch of the snuff in the pocket formed by that web of flesh, then bring it up under yer nose, thumb alongside one cheek, forefinger along the other. Then "snuff" it up in one strong inhale.

Gawwwwd -- that stuff cleared my sinuses and gave me a real jolt.

It brings tears to yer eyes (or at least to my eyes).

The snuff she used was tobacco mixed with other stuff -- I think cinnamon oil and eucalyptus oil (something like mentholyptus).

I only tried it the once. Once was enough!

Here's a website I found with more info: http://www.snuffbox.org.uk/

You can find scented tobaccoless snuffs, if you'd like to engage in the practice without the bad health consequences. (But I can't find the website at the moment).

Here's another website I found on the history of tobacco.http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/print/exhibits/drydrunk/intro.htm

Anyone interested in writing an article for No Quarter Given on the history of tobacco, and what type of tobacco pirates would have encountered and used?

Good fortune to you all,

--Jamaica Rose

"The face is familiar but I can't quite remember my name."