Traditional Smokeless

Parts of the Model

1. Bowl The bowl, the vivid green colour and the separated ingredient wedges are illustrative; they do not show standard packaging or measured proportions. Nasvay is sold in bulk or in small packets, and a small amount is held under the tongue or between the lip or cheek and the gum before being discarded; portion sizes and retention times vary.
2. Tobacco Leaf Dried, ground tobacco, often Nicotiana rustica, supplies the addictive nicotine, whose concentration varies between products. In Pakistan, naswar use is associated with oral cancer and gum disease; IARC classifies smokeless tobacco as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), causing cancers of the mouth, oesophagus and pancreas.
3. Slaked Lime Slaked lime (calcium hydroxide) is an alkaline ingredient used in many recipes. A higher pH increases the share of nicotine in its unprotonated form, which crosses the lining of the mouth more readily.
4. Plant Ash Wood or other plant ash may be added as an alkaline ingredient. Lead, chromium, arsenic and other metals have been detected in tested nasvay samples, but those analyses do not show which ingredient they came from.
5. Flavouring and Colour Some recipes include flavourings such as cardamom or menthol and colourings such as indigo. Whether they are used, and how much, varies; the colours in this model are illustrative.
6. Vegetable Oil Some regional recipes contain a vegetable oil such as cottonseed or sesame oil. The drop shows a possible ingredient, not a standard amount or one found in every product.
7. Water Water is added to moisten the mixture, and measured moisture varies widely. High bacterial loads have been reported in some tested samples, but that does not show water to be their source.