Pouch Patrons #2: Slash from Guns N’ Roses

This week, we’ve got a nostalgic pick for Pouch Patrons in Slash from Guns N’ Roses. The lead guitarist’s snus journey illuminates both the power and potential of pouches and why it’s essential that snus or nicotine pouches are available to adults across the world.

It’s hard to describe just how big Guns N’Roses were when I was nine. To my older sister and me, they were the coolest band in the world. We played their double album Use Your Illusion 1 & 2 on repeat, and it certainly didn’t hurt that “You Could Be Mine” was feature during the end credits of the iconic blockbuster Terminator 2.

While most people favoured the frenetic, bandana and bicycle-short-wearing Axel Rose, I was more of a Slash guy. His tight mop of black curls, top hat, and shades made for a pretty iconic look. But what elevated his cool, at least to me, was the way he played with a lit cigarette either in his mouth or tucked at the end of the headstock of his Les Paul. The cigarettes would smoulder there while he soloed; I’d never seen anything like it.

Coincidentally, 1992 was the peak of both Guns N’ Roses and my liking of them. Kids move on quickly to new interests, and I rarely thought of them outside of Slash being wheeled out to play some technically adept but mediocre guitar solos on some pop records at various music awards shows.

Slash’s post-Guns N’ Roses might have symbolised a move from a counter-culture figure into an establishment darling. On reflection, it was just someone growing up. I mean, a lot of rock groups around that time were pretty hard living. Cigarettes were the least of the trouble for these characters. But once they’d kicked the sauce and the substances, cigarettes remained. So now, we get to the part where Slash called snus “the best discovery in the world”.

Slash on sus

In 2022, Slash was interviewed on a Swedish rock radio station called Rockklassiker. Snusforumet has the whole story, but in short, Slash gave up cigarettes in 2009 using snus. However, he had to import snus from Sweden until he gave up nicotine altogether in 2015.

Three things are interesting about this story:

1. Snus helped Slash stop smoking cigarettes

As described in this Pop Culture article, Slash got pneumonia; he went from patches to gum, and then settled on snus. Finding what works for you is vital when you’re giving up cigarettes. For example, vapes aren’t for everyone, but that doesn’t mean you should only have options like gum or patches. Nicotine strength is a determining factor, and snus and pouches offer control.

2. Snus helped Slash go nicotine-free

Quite often, you’ll hear people say that quitting with vapes or pouches is not really quitting. This argument is built on pure sophistry; in fact, it hinges, almost entirely, on deliberately misunderstanding what people say when they mean quit.

When someone says they’ve quit cigarettes, they literally mean that. It would take a churlish character—tobacco control has plenty of them—to pretend that accessing nicotine without the high levels of tar, benzene, carbon monoxide, and other toxins isn’t a big health win.

Additionally, as in the case of Slash, he eventually gave up snus, too. We’ve all met lots of people who’ve taken this route.

3. Access is important

While snus was legal in the US when Slash quit smoking, availability was uneven. However, it’s unclear whether his importation of snus was driven by scarcity or preference. Either way, it shows how vital legal access is across regions. In other words, the places that don’t make novel tobacco products available, or regulate them out of existence, can’t tackle smoking prevalence successfully.

Final thoughts

Slash is an ex-smoker and, more recently, an ex-snus user. His journey highlights the importance of finding smoking-alternative products that work for the individual. Nicotine gum, lozenges, or patches will help some people, but research shows their smoking cessation rates are lower than vapes, pouches, and snus.