snuff

snuff, powdered preparation of tobacco used by inhalation or by dipping—that is, rubbing on the teeth and gums. Manufacture involves grinding the tobacco and subjecting it to repeated fermentations. Snuffs may be scented with attar of roses, lavender, cloves, jasmine, etc.

Some of the first peoples known to use snuff were the natives of Brazil. In the late 15th century, members of Christopher Columbus’s crew observed indigenous Caribbean peoples inhaling a snufflike preparation of tobacco. The following century, the practice of inhaling tobacco powder was popularized in France, following the introduction of the tobacco plant from Portugal by French diplomat and scholar Jean Nicot. Nicot, who had been to Lisbon, where he learned of the plant’s medicinal properties, reportedly gave the queen of France, Catherine de Médicis, tobacco leaves and showed her how to prepare a medicinal powder from them. Inhaling the powder as a preventive became popular among the French court. Also in the 16th century, the inhaling of powdered tobacco was practiced by the Dutch, who referred to it as snuf, short for snuftabak (from the words meaning “sniff” and “tobacco”). Tobacco and the practice of snuffing spread rapidly throughout Europe, taking hold in England around the 17th century. During the 18th century, snuff taking became widespread throughout the world.

At first, each quantity was freshly grated. Rappee (French râpé, “grated”) is the name later given to a coarse, pungent snuff made from dark tobacco. Snuff takers carried graters with them. Early 18th-century graters made of ivory and other materials still exist, as do elaborate snuffboxes.

The adverse health effects of snuffing relative to other forms of tobacco consumption such as smoking were once considered insignificant. Similar to all other tobacco products, however, snuff contains nicotine and numerous carcinogens (cancer-causing substances). Hence, snuffing is not only addictive but also associated with an increased risk for certain cancers, particularly those of the oral cavity in persons who place moist snuff between the cheek and gums.