LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Snuff
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Snuff-taking is one of the oldest customs associated with tobacco and today it is enjoying a welcome come back. The earliest knowledge of snuff dates from the second voyage of discovery by Columbus in 1494-96, when American Indians were observed sniffing a mysterious powder. Before long this practise was adopted by the voyagers, who, in a few years, introduced it to Europe. During the 16th century snuff-taking became fashionable throughout Spain and France and by the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First snuff had arrived in Britian, although it was mainly used in Court circles. The man in the street began to take snuff after the capture of a Spanish convoy in Vigo Bay. Among the loot taken was a large consignment of snuff, much of this found its way to London and the rest was distributed around ports and costal towns by discharged sailors.
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Snuff is tobacco ground to a fine, smooth powder, and, as it is known, is sniffed up the nose. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) is native to the Americas, and had been used there for hundreds of years by the native Indians before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492. It was brought to Europe only in the 16th century by Sir Walter Raleigh. Tobacco arrived in China in the late 16th century via Spanish and Portuguese merchants. At first, tobacco was part of the tribute given to the Emperor, due to its relative rarity, but later, after cultivation of the plant was started in the Philippines by the Spanish, it became an item of trade. It was both smoked and taken as snuff.In the very last days of the Ming dynasty, from 1638 to 1644, a number of edicts banning tobacco were issued but its use was permitted again with the rise of the Manchus in 1644.
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Snuff is made from the same high quality leaf thats used to make pipe tobacco and cigarettes. The tobacco leaf is first blended to give the desired colour, then broken up and fed into a disintegrating machine, which reduced it to a coarse powder. A further process is then required to grind up the powder to give the finished texture and moisture. After a period of storage, essential oils and medications are added to flavour the snuff and then it is left to mature and to allow the flavourings to penetrate throughout the blend. Snuff is used in industries where dust or chemicals in the air make smoking dangerous, as an alternative to a cigarette or pipe. In today's society where more and more places are becoming non-smoking, snuff can be used to give the same stimulating effect.
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Queen Charlotte, the wife of King George III, had such a passion for snuff that she soon earned the nickname "Snuffy Charlotte." It was in 1702 that snuff first reached the general population. The English navy had captured a number of Spanish ships and the sailors were partially paid with snuff seized from these ships. Shortly after their return to England, the sailors began to introduce snuff to the ports and coastal towns of England.
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Unhappy with what they were hearing on the BBC radio, Snuff got together in 1986 for the intentions of "taking the piss out of" mainstream music and to have a little fun. in 1989.
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The concept of a "snuff movie" subsequently reappeared and became more widely known in 1976 in the context of the film Snuff. Originally a horror film designed to cash in on the hysteria of the Manson family murders, the film's distributor tacked on a new ending that allegedly depicts an actual murder. In order to generate buzz the producer wrote angry letters to the New York Times posing as a concerned citizen and hired actors to stand outside and protest against the film. The concept of snuff films was further publicised by the Michael Powell Peeping Tom (1960), the Paul Schrader film Hardcore (1979), the Ruggero Deodato film Cannibal Holocaust (1980), the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Running Man, the Alejandro Amenabar film Tesis (1996), the
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