The previous juice I tried was a bit weak, and my expectations were low.  But I read some reviews on various forums and decided to give eliquidplanet a shot.  I ordered a bottle of their “Turkish Blend” to see if it was similar to Camel at all.  I also ordered some “555″ just because I wanted to try something different.To my surprise, both are very good.  The flavor is smokey and “burned” rather than sweet.  What I found with the previous juices was that they tasted like a new, freshly opened pack of cigarettes… which is good except that cigarettes, when you’re smoking them, don’t taste or smell like that.  Both “Turkish Blend” and “555″ simulate the cancer stick pretty well, I think.

As an added bonus, they threw in a sample of their “Hilton”.  I look forward to trying that too.

As for smoke-juice, I first tried their “Flu-Cured Tobacco” and “Camel” flavors.  Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed.

I mostly wanted to try the e-Cig because, even with snus, I still had a heavy craving for cigarettes while driving.  And while the feel of the e-Cig took some getting used to, it satisfied that need of having something in my hands and mouth while cruising down the road.  On the other hand, the flavors were a bit too candy-like.

They both produced sufficient vapor.  The “Flu-Cured Tobacco” was stronger and produced a better throat-hit (that slight burning sensation at the back of the throat that simulates smoking) than did the “Camel”.  But neither of them were able to really fool me into believing it was a replacement for a real cigarette.

So… the e-Cig got very little use.

Ok… I have most everything worth keeping moved over (and some not worth keeping, but oh well).

The big news is that I have many more reviews to add as I’ve tried more since my last post back in April.  Also, I’ve expanded my nicotine horizons to include nasal snuff and an electronic cigarette.  I’ll be posting some updates on that front too.

Hence, the blog, while I’ll still call it the “snusblog” because I like the sound of it, will be expanded to talk about everything “smokeless tobacco”.  Fun, eh?

I finally tried loose snus.  Specifically, I opted go for the General Los.  I knew that I liked General, and from everything I read, the los was even better than portions.

I cracked open the tin and took a good look.  Loose snus looks like very fine, black potting soil.  I mean, it looks just like dirt.  On the other hand, it smells so clean, pure and fresh.  That, in itself, made my mouth water.

I pulled out the Prismaster and loaded it up.  As I’ve read elsewhere, I put my finger over one end and pressed the snus until a little bit of juice began to flow.  Rather than sticking it straight into my mouth, I ejected the pris into the palm of my hand to get a good look.  I rolled it around and reshaped it a bit, the stuck it under my lip.

The first thing I noticed was how HUGE the pris felt relative to portions.  The cylindrical shape, rather than the flat shape of a portion, and what I estimate to be three times as much tobacco contributed to this.  The next thing I noticed was that it felt very soft against my gums, with no hint of irritation that I sometimes feel from even the best quality portions.

It took only a minute or so for the pris to start to soften and conforming to the shape of my gums.  The juice and nicotine came on and it was great.  I realized then that I loved loose snus!

After about 30 minutes, though, I started to feel little bits of tobacco on my tongue.  I looked in the mirror and the snus was dripping and running all over my teeth.  There was no way I could ever use this in public.  I used my finger to scoop it out and found that no matter how hard I tried, the only way to really get it out was to rinse my mouth with water.  This is contrary to how I use portions, in that I sometimes leave a portion in for 90 minutes or more… as long as the flavor lasts.

So, I can’t wait to open up and try some of the other loose snuses I have.  The problem is that since I can only use it when I’m home alone, it’s going to take forever for me to work through this tin of General.  I guess I have something to look forward to.

Anyway, for this order, I was looking to go ’simple’. I have decided that I really don’t care much for the ‘flavored’ snus-es and instead much prefer basic tobacco flavor.  I have also determined that normal/regular portion snus doesn’t always give me the nicotine fix that I need early in the morning or later at night. So, I opted to go with a log of General Original Portion and a log of Nick & Johnny Strong.

Originally, I was going to get 5 tins of Pall Mall and 5 of Retro (2 of my top favorites), plus the Nick & Johnny’s… but doing the price comparison between Getsnus.com and Northerner.com, I couldn’t pass up the savings at GetSnus.  Plus, GetSnus had another sale going on that I will get to in a sec.

Unfortunately, GetSnus doesn’t carry Pall Mall or Retro. So I decided to get a log of Ettan Original.  Again unfortunate, but GetSnus didn’t have Ettan in-stock.  This time around I sacrificed and went with General… which isn’t bad either.  In the end, that’s the big trade-off. GetSnus is usually cheaper (when you consider shipping) and faster, but the selection and current stock isn’t so impressive.

But GetSnus had another deal going on where I could get 5 tins of loose (los) snus and a free PrisMaster.  The ‘deal’ gave me a tin of Gotlandssnus, Skruf Stark, GrovSnus, Offroad and General loose snus.  Plus, they sent me a free/bonus tin of GrovSnus Los.  I will fill you in on my first “los” experience once I get a chance to sit down and try to bake my first pris.

When you really… and I mean really… want a smoke… Nick & Johnny’s.

I was actually surprised the other night when I read that GrovSnus Svart (Black) was a “strong” snus and contains the same amount of nicotine.  I bought it specifically for that purpose.  But after using it, I was convinced that I read it wrong.  I didn’t feel near the nicotine satisfaction that I do with Nick & Johnny’s.

N&J’s is simple.  It has a pure, tho subtle, tobacco flavor with a smooth-but-immediate nic hit that satisfies the cravings. The pouch material is high-quality and doesn’t cause me any of the gum irritation that I sometimes feel with lower-quality portions.  The juice is mild and has yet to cause me any throat irritation or choking.

While I love it, I only use 1 portion in the morning and maybe one at night depending on my mood.  The nic hit is that quick and strong.  Though I haven’t smoked in 2 months, I still get some heavy cravings.  N&J’s is the cure.  After about 3 minutes I feel like I just chain-smoked 3 Camels.

This is now one of my ’staples’ that, though I don’t use it all the time nor even every day, I make sure I have a tin handy when I need a little extra.

WASHINGTON (AP) — However they satisfy their nicotine cravings, tobacco users are facing a big hit as the single largest federal tobacco tax increase ever takes effect Wednesday.

Tobacco companies and public health advocates, longtime foes in the nicotine battles, are trying to turn the situation to their advantage. The major cigarette makers raised prices a couple of weeks ago, partly to offset any drop in profits once the per-pack tax climbs from 39 cents to $1.01.