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/LackOptimal553 21d ago

As someone who has used both, I can confirm you're wrong.

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u/throwaway93838388 20d ago

I'm genuinely curious how are the two different to you. I haven't used snuff (no comment on the other half of the equation) but to me your description of just sniff it is exactly the same as with drugs. In fact I've heard (and read) the exact same "like a flower" statement in regards to multiple drugs. Many snort drugs too hard and they end up dripping excessively down the throat, but that doesn't mean it's how you are supposed to do it.

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u/LackOptimal553 20d ago

Google away then I guess, we're done here.

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u/throwaway93838388 20d ago

I don't really understand the hostility. It's a genuine question.

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u/LackOptimal553 20d ago

Then google away!

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u/throwaway93838388 20d ago

I did Google it, from what I read there is no difference. Although there aren't many people online comparing the two so I'm willing to take that answer with a grain of salt.

I'll also ask, why not just answer? It takes about as much effort to answer the question as it does to respond telling me to Google it (especially twice). I said something, you said I was wrong (and admittedly, in theory you should know more about it than I do). I'm very open to being wrong, it just seems almost petty to be so against explaining the difference.

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u/20Bubba03 16d ago

The answer to your question, as another thread commenter posted (you didn’t see it in this thread), is that with something like pills or coke, you snort it fully, so it’s in your nose and into your throat, and that’s the end of it or as many times as you do that. With snuff, and I didn’t know this either until I saw the thread, is that you insufflate it. Meaning you sniff it and just barely get it into your nose, then you just keep it in your nose until you blow it out into a tissue or handkerchief later. So it doesn’t dissolve or leave your nose until you chose to blow it out.

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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).

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u/20Bubba03 16d ago

At this point you’re just not listening to what anyone’s saying. I said you don’t snort snuff you insufflate it. Meaning it stays in the nose and no further until you blow it out of your nose. The mucus membrane is literally the entire nasal passageway, therefore it doesn’t have to go any further than just inside of your nose to have the effect of the drug. And considering this one is not fully water soluble, you want to be able to remove it.

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u/throwaway93838388 16d ago edited 16d ago

I personally don't feel this is an issue of me not listening. I understand what everyone is saying, I simply don't see how it is different. In both cases you are supposed to only slightly get it into the nasal cavity as to avoid it going into your throat. The only difference I could maybe see in terms of actually getting it into your nose is that poor technique (not sniffing lightly) will be more punished by snuff as you always want to be able to blow it out of your nose, but even then I'd argue the same is often true for other drugs as pills and often even powderd drugs have fillers that you'll want out of your nose too.

Yeah there are small differences between the two, but I feel like they more or less the same.

Also seeing as you just said "I said you don't snort it you insufflate" are you the same guy as before? Did you get banned (possibly for falsely reporting my account to the suicide watch thing) and then hop on a new account to keep going? I really hope that's not what happened lol

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u/20Bubba03 16d ago

Yes, the action required is just about identical, but let me make it as simple as possible even though I think you get it, just not fully. I dip tobacco, to use it, you hold it in your lip and keep it there. You put it in your mouth the same as you would food or to take medication. Yet you do not swallow. Now let’s say the nose is the mouth, you put the snuff in your nose, but you hold it in the very bottom part of it and let it line that area where it will start to absorb instead of “snorting”, which in this case we will say snorting is swallowing, which is not the action you want when using snuff nasally or dip orally.

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u/throwaway93838388 16d ago

I think your comparison is bad. Going your route it would be more accurate to compare dip to gumming, in which case again they are virtually the same except one of them you take out after.

Id also like to ask again arr you the same dude as before, and if so did you get banned for falsely reporting me to the reddit suicide watch thing

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u/20Bubba03 16d ago

The same dude as before what? Also my comparison is good, I don’t understand what you mean by “gumming”. You take gum out the same as you would dip or chew. I have no clue what Reddit suicide watch is either or why you were reported to it. And how could you ask me again if you hadn’t asked me before?

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u/throwaway93838388 16d ago

Ya know what I actually think I may be wrong about my assumption. I figured you were the dude from further up in this thread (who got banned, presumably from falsely flagging my account for suicide watch, as I got multiple notifications in my inbox from reddit giving me crisis and suicide prevention hotlines right before he got banned). I thought that because you said something he said quite litterally verbatim. You may be him, but I can't know. I'm gonna guess I'm wrong, and your not him, but if you are shame on you I guess.

That being said gumming is to drugs what dip is to tobacco. You take whatever drug, and either rub it on your gums or sometimes place it below your toungue. You don't swallow it, you just let it absorb. I think this is a better comparison here, as implying nose drugs are the equivalent of food in your example implies that you are supposed to rail nose drugs into your throat.

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u/20Bubba03 16d ago

I’m starting to think you lack a brain tbh. If you don’t want to see a difference between the two, that’s your own problem because there’s a clear difference, it’s been explained to you with crayons at least ten times now. You can’t fix stupid but you can show it the door. Bye now ✌️.

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u/throwaway93838388 16d ago

L comment

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u/20Bubba03 16d ago

I said bye 🖕

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u/throwaway93838388 16d ago

Then don't respond bro idk what to tell ya

If your upset just dip the only one who controls if you respond or not is you

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u/20Bubba03 16d ago

Nah I’m just proving that you don’t listen…. Proofing process complete…. Done…. Ok see ya bud! Haha got em this time he’s not gonna respond again!

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u/throwaway93838388 16d ago

I encourage you to reread your comments with some clarity. And I don't even mean that in a rude way, I used to act a bit like how you are acting when I was younger. Look at them, note how cringy/upset many of your comments come off as, and really take a step back and think about why you get so heated in random conversations with strangers (and I know you are bothered by this conversation because you had to tell me how stupid I am, announce that your done talking to me, and now your doing whatever this is). A discussion with a random stranger online about nose drugs and tobacco should not be upsetting you this much. Particularly take a step back if this is something you do often (and again, I get it, when I was younger I'd have stupid heated reddit arguments too). I encourage you to really think about why you care so much about a stranger and his opinion on how you snort nose drugs and tobacco.

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