![]() ![]() ![]() And so, a culture has developed whereby Johnson talks about snus being part of a “starter pack” for professional footballers, many of whom keep the old-fashioned tins in their wash bags. No doping rules are broken by footballers who use it. It is illegal to sell snus in the UK and every European Union country bar Sweden, where it originates, and it has been that way since 1992. Nicotine pouches are also increasingly prevalent among Major League Baseball baseball players, particularly in the wake of the governing body’s 2016 partial ban on chewing tobacco, a substance long synonymous with the sport. In the United States, snus can be freely bought subject to age restrictions and in 2019, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permitted the marketing of smokeless tobacco products as being less harmful than cigarettes. It can cause mouth or throat cancer, just for starters, but there are also a number of other side effects. The problem, in the words of Dr James Malone, a senior lecturer in coaching science at Liverpool Hope University, is that it can be “terrible for your body”. What is increasingly clear is that snus has become part of everyday life within modern-day football, used by players from elite clubs such as Manchester United and Manchester City all the way down to non-League and semi-professional levels. It’s the same amount of nicotine going into the body, it’s just hidden.” “If I walked into the training ground with four or five cigarettes between my fingers, people would look at me and say, ‘How unprofessional, how bad does that look?’. But it really bugs me, particularly when I see young lads, aged 16 to 21, on it. They’re big lads and, in the end, you give up. “It’s not on the banned drugs list, so you can’t stop them doing it. “I don’t know how to fight it,” says Johnson. However, the PFA’s involvement is a clear indication that people within the sport are concerned about whether the relevant players fully understand the implications. That snus has created this level of scrutiny might seem curious to all those who have never heard of the stuff, let alone experienced the sense of calm it is said to induce. The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) is to undertake a research study as part of a new campaign, starting this summer, to warn players of the potential risks.One player at a League Two club had “a bit of cancer cut out of his gum” because of heavy use.Players at a League One club have been selling snus to 13- and 14-year-olds in the academy.Another big-name Premier League player weaned himself off snus after a long period of struggling for form.One high-profile England international is “fully reliant (on snus)… rarely seen without one under his gum”.Today, an investigation by The Athletic reveals: I don’t feel they understand the true threat of it over the long term.” It’s getting worse and we need to educate these lads because it’s highly addictive. “It’s a bit of a taboo subject nobody is talking about it,” says Johnson, the manager of Hibernian and, before that, Sunderland, Bristol City, Barnsley and Oldham Athletic. They just don’t want you to know about it. If anything, he says, the numbers are probably higher. Lee Johnson, a manager who has seen its effects close-up, has told The Athletic that from his experiences he estimates 35 to 40 per cent of players are taking snus. Stronger variants can involve a physical spark, which many footballers clearly feel is advantageous when the sport has never been quicker than it is now. Users talk of it giving them a calming effect and a sense of well-being. Snus is a tobacco product that comes in small parcels, similar to a teabag sachet, and is placed alongside the gum to release nicotine into the bloodstream. ![]() Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore (left) and Newcastle’s Mark Gillespie were both seen appearing to place something in their mouths during recent Premier League games ![]()
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