What is Swedish snus?
Swedish snus is an oral smokeless tobacco product (a variety of oral moist snuff) which is used widely in Sweden although sales are banned in the rest of the EU. There are five main ingredients in snus: selected tobacco, water, salt, humectants and flavours.
What types of Swedish snus are there?
The two types of Swedish snus are ‘loose’ snus, and ‘portion snus’. To maintain the moisture, flavour and aroma both variants are packaged in cans.
How is Swedish snus manufactured?
It is manufactured using a heat-treatment process similar to pasteurisation, helping to minimise the risk of the formation of nitrosamines during storage and ensuring the highest possible quality and hygiene standards.
Is snus safe?
There is no conclusive consensus as to what might constitute a ‘safe’ tobacco product and, therefore, no tobacco product is completely free from risk, including Swedish snus. However, ESTOC supports the opinion of many in the scientific community that some smokeless tobacco product categories, such as Swedish snus, are far less hazardous than other tobacco products.
§What are the snus versus smoking rates in Sweden?
Approx. snus prevalence: men 23%, women 4%
Approx. smoking prevalence : men 13%, women 17%
§Does Swedish snus have high nitrosamine levels?
In Sweden, there is no regulation regarding tobacco specific nitrosamines (TSNA) levels although the limit set by industry standards is 10 mg/kg (dry weight). In 2002, the Swedish National Food Administration published the results of an investigation into TSNA levels in snus products on the Swedish market - a mean value of 1.1 mg/kg was reported, which the Administration considered a low level.
§Which snus is the strongest?
The best selling brands in Sweden all have similar nicotine contents. A mini portion weighing half as much as a normal portion of that brand will contain approximately half the amount of nicotine.
§Is Swedish snus less addictive than cigarettes?
Available evidence suggests that Swedish snus and cigarettes are equally addictive. Results from a scientific study conducted in the early 1990s showed that Swedish snus users and cigarette smokers experience similar levels of subjective dependence.* Another Swedish study has shown that it is not more difficult to quit using snus than to quit cigarette smoking.**
* Ref.: Holm, H., Jarvis, M.J., Russell, M.A.H., and Feyerabend, C. 1992. Nicotine intake and dependence in Swedish snuff takers. Psychopharmacology 108:507-511.
** Ref.: Gilljam, H., Rankka, M., and Langworth, S. 2003. Smokeless tobacco cessation with NRT: a feasability study. Poster at the Fifth European Conference of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco, Padova, Italy.
Does snus attract under-age people to nicotine and then into smoking?
Long-standing experience in Sweden shows that as snus use increases, cigarette consumption falls. Sweden has the highest consumption of smokeless tobacco per capita in the world and fewer than 20% of adults smoke.
§Who should not use Swedish snus?
The choice of whether to use snus or not is that of the informed adult. Children should not use snus. In Sweden, the legal age for the purchase of snus is 18. ESTOC also advises women to avoid using snus during pregnancy since it could have an adverse affect on the unborn child due to the effect of nicotine.
§Does Swedish snus have a health warning?
In 2001, the EU changed the health warning applied to smokeless tobacco products to "This product can damage your health and is addictive”. This is the health warning applied to all smokeless tobacco products sold in the EU today.
§Do ESTOC member companies report the ingredients used in their products?
ESTOC members are committed to communicating information about their products to consumers, regulators and other stakeholders. They provide details of the ingredients used in their products to the Swedish National Institute of Public Health on an annual basis.
Who is responsible for regulating smokeless tobacco in Sweden?
Since snus and chewing tobacco (manufacture, product chemistry and contents declaration) are governed by the National Food Act in Sweden, the Swedish Food Authority represents one governing body. Regulation of warning labels and EU reporting of ingredients are enforced by the Swedish National Institute of Public Health. The marketing regulation is enforced by the Swedish Consumer Agency.
§Why was snus banned in the EU in 1992?
The EU banned selected tobacco products for oral use, including Swedish snus, on the basis that it would be used by young people and posed a health risk. Sweden was granted an exemption when it joined the EU in 1995.
§Why should the EU ban on Swedish snus be lifted?
Because smokers should have access to alternative tobacco products where the health risks have been shown by independent research to be much lower than those of smoking.
§If the EU ban were to be lifted how should it be regulated?
Any regulation of Swedish snus should be on the grounds of scientific evidence, ensuring it is both fair and proportional and ESTOC would welcome contributing to the debate.
