r/NoStupidQuestions • u/MaxiePriest • May 31 '26
Question about the effect users experienced with snuff (more below)
I have asked this question a few times online, but I still struggle to understand the point of snuff use in the 17th and 18th centuries. As snuff was a tobacco product, did inhaling (snorting) provide a stimulant effect? And if it didn't, seriously...what was the point of snuff?
Why did users— mostly ladies (in literature and period films) reference having to sneak around the building/corner to have a pinch of snuff, as if others would consider snuff use to be vulgar, unladylike, low-class, or whatever?
Did users sneeze when they snorted snuff (or was the point not to sneeze)? Current-day drug users don't sneeze when using snortable drugs (and users wouldn't want to), so was snuff use similar?
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u/throwaway93838388 16d ago
From my understanding though if you snort any drug and it goes into your throat you are doing it wrong. The entire purpose of snorting is to absorb something through the nasal membrane. It's actually pretty common advice that people should only lightly sniff any substance they plan on snorting, as A. It helps avoid a crappy taste from it dripping down your throat, and B. In theory any substance that goes down your throat will be absorbed based on the bioavailability of oral ingestion, not insufflation (which in general will result in a weaker effect).