Professional football is often seen as a glamorous career, with players enjoying the rewards that come as a result of succeeding at the highest level of the sport.

The demands of the game can take their toll, however, with the pressure to perform, intense training sessions, and increasing mental strain often creating difficult circumstances away from the pitch.

Players are consistently looking for ways to manage those tolls, whether that be through rehabilitation, counselling, or changes to their general routine.

One particular substance, snus, has become increasingly common within football dressing rooms, though, with concerns raised on the impact it has on players.

Former Manchester United striker Fraizer Campbell, with this in mind, has now revealed that he was addicted to snus during his professional football career.

Opening up on his experience to the Sports Agents podcast, Campbell said that he started using the drug during his time at Crystal Palace after being introduced to it by a fellow player.

“Football is a stressful environment and after a game, with all that adrenaline in your system, it’s hard to get to sleep,” the striker said.

“So it started off after games and then after training sessions. That’s how it starts but then you get the addiction and you start needing them more and more.

“Before you know it you’re having them every half an hour or hour and it becomes a bit of a problem.”

Campbell’s time at Palace was largely unsuccessful with him scoring just eight goals in 50 appearances before leaving the side to join Hull City.

Fraizer Campbell admitted that the drug did affect him negatively and he stopped taking it due to the lack of benefits it was giving him.

“I got to a stage where I just felt constantly fatigued and I couldn’t put my finger on it,” he said.

“Obviously it was the snus. So, I packed it in, because it was giving me no benefits.”

A study from Loughborough University, commissioned by the Professional Footballers’ Association, found that 18% of male respondents (sample size = at least 628) were currently using snus whilst 42% said they had tried the substance at least once.

On the female side, the numbers were 22% and 39% respectively.

A desire to stop was found in the study, however, with 48% of the men indicating a desire to stop using snus within the next year.

Snus is not the only drug being used to aid footballers, though, with Scott McTominay becoming the latest example of players using alternative banned substances to help with their recovery.