Snus & Sports: Smokeless Tobacco Set for Massive Growth

Snus, the smokeless tobacco product, is set to explode in value, the industry buoyed by the smoking alternative’s popularity amongst sports stars. According to a recent study by Grand View Research, Inc, the snus industry will be worth $3.7 billion by 2027, up from $2.01 billion in 2019.

The product, which is consumed, as this article on how to use nicotine pouches shows, by ‘dipping’ from a snus pouch and placing the substance against the gums, has long been popular in its native Sweden. But now it seems the rest of the world – and particularly the US – are starting to take notice. Sports stars across many different disciplines have been seen to favour snus; no doubt giving its profile a massive lift in the consciousness of consumers.

In football, Celtic coach Neil Lennon has long been a fan of the product, while Jamie Vardy and Ashley Cole are just two high-profile players to have been seen consuming snus in the past few years. Elsewhere, it’s particularly popular amongst esports stars, while NFL and baseball players in the US are known to be big users of smokeless tobacco products in general – including snus.

But why is snus so popular, particularly amongst sports stars – and why is it set to get even bigger? There are a couple of suggestions as to why that may be the case. First of all, is the matter of convenience and discretion. Smoking cigarettes has long been seen as a bit of a social taboo, particularly for professional athletes, while public health measures such as the UK’s stadium-wide ban on all forms of smoking have limited players and coaches alike in terms of being able to light up before or after a match. Snus, being completely smokeless and dipped from a pouch, provides the user with a much more discreet experience, while there’s no need to go outside, or even leave the arena, to enjoy the product.

Moreover, admittedly limited studies into snus usage suggest that the product, as a stimulant, provides a boost to the user’s mental alertness and coordination – vital traits for professional sportsmen and women to possess. Meanwhile, a study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports suggests that the consumption of snus increased a subject’s TTE (time to exhaustion) significantly.

With these considerations in mind, plus efforts by public bodies and governments to push smokers towards alternative forms of tobacco consumption, it’s not too surprising to see that the future of snus looks to be a positive one.