Britain's oldest tobacco product - snuff - is making a comeback. Sales of McChrystal's medicated snuff - one of the UK's top two brands - are up 10 per cent to 1.3 million units.

Ian McChrystal, third generation head of Leicester-based family firm McChrystal's, says smokers are switching to snuff as their habit is outlawed in more public places. Snuff is also cheaper than smoking at £... for a medium tin, the usual day's supply.

The top-selling McChrystal's brand is a medicated blend invented by Ian McChrystal's grandfather in 1926. Medicated blends currently dominate the UK market with annual retail sales of £5 million. Although the exact ingredients remain a closely-guarded secret, medicated snuffs typically contain menthol or eucalyptus.

But Ian McChrystal believes future growth lies in non-medicated snuff, pure tobacco blends that may appeal more to smokers.

"I think people who are used to smoking and enjoying tobacco will more readily accept the raw flavour of a plain snuff than a medicated one which can seem sweet like menthol cigarettes," he says.