In the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research, a recent survey study found that snus was more effective in helping people quit smoking than medicinal nicotine replacement methods, such as nicotine patches or gum.

The study, conducted in Norway, queried 1,775 former daily or occasional smokers and 1,808 current daily or occasional smokers, a total of 3,583 people.

The study showed that snus was the preferred method for quitting smoking for men in the age group 20 to 50 years. The researchers wrote that “those using snus were more likely to have quit smoking completely or considerably reduced their cigarette smoking than users of medicinal smoking cessation products, such as nicotine chewing gum or nicotine patches. ... However, the survey indicates that use of snus as a method for quitting smoking may result in continued use [of snus] after the attempt to quit.”

The study also showed that varenicline (marketed in the United States as Chantix) also was more effective than medicinal nicotine products in helping the Norwegian smokers to quit.

Read the full text of the study here.