There is no universal definition of smokeless tobacco products. Generally, the term "smokeless tobacco" applies to a wide range of products whose common feature is that they do not have to be lit before use.
The smokeless tobacco products can be distinguished into two main groups:
| Oral Smokeless Tobacco Products | Nasal Smokeless Tobacco Products |
| Scandinavian Chewing Tobacco | Bavarian Schmalzer (nasal snuff) |
| Swedish Snus * | German (nasal snuff) |
| American Moist Snuff * | English (nasal snuff) |
| American dry snuff | Algerian Makla (nasal snuff) |
| American chewing tobacco | South African (nasal snuff) |
| Russian Nass | |
| Sudanese Toombak | |
| Indian Gutka | |
| Algerian Makla |
* banned in the European union
These products represent some of the numerous different smokeless tobacco products to be found around the world and they all differ with respect to chemical composition and potential health effects.
