Well, that time of year is upon us again, when we are all flued up, sniffling around and feeling pretty sorry for ourselves in general as the weather draws in a the nights just get darker.

Over the last few days I have two examples of how snuff can really help you out when you are flu-ridden.

Firstly, a family friend visited my Mum and Dad the other night and was a bit under the weather and his nose was quite blocked up. This was obviously a little annoying for him so my Dad kindly offered him a pinch of my finest Gawith Apricot snuff (the bill is in the post by the way!). Now the friend was previously a snuff virgin, but being a little on the adventurous side, decided he may as well give this a go at the tender age of 67.

I believe he initially took just a small pinch, which made him sneeze gently a couple of times and didn't have much of an effect on his blockage. So like Son, like Father, my Dad decided to ply him with a bit more and a slightly larger portion! No from what I have been told, this not only cleared his blockage instantly, but the resulting sneeze shook the very foundations of the house he was sitting in and sent earth tremours that could be felt as far away as the Outer Hebrides!!! Still, at least he could breathe easy after this.

Now, on the opposite side of the equation I have been suffering from man-flu all week and have been feeling particularly rotten. What I found most frustrating thing about the whole being ill thing was the constant sneezing, streaming nose and eyes and the feeling that I was going to sneeze at any time. After a few hours of this I was really starting to get crazy with it all so I thought that a pinch of snuff couldn't exactly do me any harm.... and I was right.

I thought that I would probably sneeze everywhere and this would make me even worse, but actually a pinch of a nice strong menthol snuff, completely cleared my sinuses and stopped me sneezing and streaming for an hour or two. What a result!

After this detailed research, I think that snuff should be prescribed by the NHS for all sorts of ailments!

Happy Snuffin'
the Snuffman