Thursday, September 04, 2008
Snoose
Just back from Sweden, I picked up a copy of the East Bay Express and a big Camel tobacco ad fell out of the middle. The glossy ad has the giant word SNUS on it, together with a stylized white version of the Camel logo.

For the uninitiated, snus is an extremely popular form of tobacco in Sweden, used by an estimated 12 percent of the population. (Camel's snus is manufactured in Sweden.) Portionssnus, which is what Camel is selling, consists of tiny pouches that you put between your cheek and upper lip, "where the oral cavity absorbs the nicotine," according to this wiki site. Unlike chewing tobacco, there's nothing to spit, and unlike cigarettes, you can use snus anywhere -- no need to worry about those pesky no-smoking laws!

So Camel is obviously investing a lot of money into making snus popular in the U.S. However, I wonder why they didn't decide to rename it. I must admit that when I took a quick glance at the logo, I thought it said "anus." (Insert "Beavis and Butthead" huh-huh laugh here.) Besides, will Americans even know how to pronounce it? It's "snoose," with a long "u," not "snuhs." Did anyone focus-group this?

Personally, I'm all in favor of snus -- anything that can stop people from puffing on their cancer sticks when they're out in public is A-OK with me, and it seems to be much safer than cigarettes (though there are still some risks involved). I'm sure my friends who live in less enlightened states where smoking is not yet banned in bars & clubs would love it if snus caught on with the folks who currently use cigarettes. But it's so tricky to market tobacco products these days, what with all the restrictions. Who will make snus cool? Maybe some of those Swedish members of the Detroit Red Wings can help introduce it to the American masses.
posted by 125records @ 1:25 PM  
4 Comments:

  • At 3:00 PM, Blogger Fowler Jones said…

    Welcome back. Your Stockholm travel diary was fascinating. If David Allan Coe was from Sweden, he might have sang this lyric about you:

    You've seen Stockholm's stadsteater
    and you've met Abba's Lyngstad.
    If that ain't Swedish
    I'll kiss your skottavlan.

     

  • At 7:49 PM, Blogger yellojkt said…

    Isn't snus just a fancy name for snuff? Not that I care since I abstain from all tobacco products.

     

  • At 12:01 PM, Blogger 125records said…

    My mom points out that "skottavla" means "target" (as in, "shooting at a target"), but it is also listed in the dictionary with the definition, "the butt of a joke." If you were trying to find the Swedish word for "butt," it's "häck" or "bakdel." This has been your educational moment for today.

     

  • At 6:44 AM, Blogger Fowler Jones said…

    That makes me a hack in more ways than one.

     
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