NOTE: I plan to pose this question to a qualified Rav. But first I am trying to think through the relevant issues to get a sense of how one might pasken this.
My question is regarding whether snus would be acceptable for use on Pesach without certification.
- Snus: Snus refers to a small pouch of tobacco that one puts between their gums and lip. A tin of snus contains 15-20 of these small pouches. The snus in question is produced in Sweden and the ingredients are regulated there as a food product. The standard ingredients are: tobacco, water, salt, propylene glycol, sodium carbonate, and "flavoring". By weight, the flavoring represents a minute portion of the total ingredients.
Despite the flavoring, only a long-term user would actually say that a snus "tastes good". Likewise, a tin of snus does not smell good, despite the flavoring - it gives off a musty tobacco smell. When someone used snus, they want the tobacco, the flavoring is just window dressing that makes the taste palatable or more interesting. Notably, "juice" from a snus pouch sometimes drips out during use and enters the user's mouth. This is typically swallowed because it is a very small amount, but this is done only for convenience sake, because the "juice" tastes quite bad. A snus pouch is typically discarded when this begins to occur.
The closest I can find to my question being addressed is via the CRC's position on chewing tobacco during Pesach. They hold that chewing tobacco "contains flavors and other sensitive ingredients" and thus requires certification. I believe the OU's position on chewing tobacco during Pesach is essentially "no comment". Chewing tobacco and snus are not materially that different. One important difference would be that chewing tobacco is produced in the US, and almost anything goes in terms of what ingredients/flavors get put in. In Sweden snus is regulated as a food product and its ingredients are much more limited and "pure".
Relevant to my question is that for the user, abstaining from snus during Pesach would be detrimental to his Oneg Yom Tov and Shabbos. As such, the goal is not to be machmir if there is sufficient room to be meikil.
I am also curious about this question vis-a-vis the nicotine pouch product Zyn. This is essentially the same as snus except nicotine salt is used rather than actual tobacco.
