Danish government caves in to EU call for ban on less risky tobacco product

The Danish government is capitulating in the face of EU demands that it bans all forms of snus, according to a story in the Copenhagen Post.

Although the sale of pouched snus is banned inDenmark, it is currently legal to sell loose snus there.

The capitulation comes following a formal notice in June from the EU Commission warning thatDenmarkwould be hauled before the courts in violation of the EU tobacco directive prohibiting the sale of tobacco for oral use.

“The Danish government noted the commission’s assessment and decided to submit a bill by the end of March 2013 banning the sale of loose snus inDenmark,” the health minister, Astrid Krag, wrote in a note to the European Affairs Committee.

Many people believe that the consumption of snus is at least 90 per cent less risky than is smoking, but the effect of the change will mean that this product is banned while cigarettes remain on sale.

According to Commission figures, inSweden, the only EU country where snus may be sold, the incidence of smoking stands at 13.5 per cent. InDenmark, that figure stands at 22.0 per cent and inIrelandit is 31.0 per cent.