Tag: Snus

  • EU Lawmaker Urges Snus Legalization

    EU Lawmaker Urges Snus Legalization

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Johan Nissinen, a Swedish member of the European Parliament, has urged the EU to legalize snus, according to  Snusforumet.

    “Swedish snus and nicotine pouches are better options than cigarettes,” Nissinen said. “We can get rid of cigarettes once and for all thanks to snus and nicotine pouches. We need to highlight countries such as Sweden, but also Great Britain, where both Public Health England and the NHS [National Health Service] have encouraged citizens to use e-cigarettes instead of traditional combustible tobacco products to advance public health. It’s a further step in an already multi-year government health initiative aiming to make the U.K. completely smoke-free by 2030.”

    “Sweden is proof of the public health advantages that come from embracing snus and nicotine pouches instead of cigarettes,” he said. “We need to do more to highlight the public health benefits. Sweden should also push to ensure the internal market is open for legal, equivalent products. If beer can be sold within the EU, wine should be too. If the sale of Coca-Cola is permitted, so must Pepsi, and so on. The same principle should apply to snus. If deadly cigarettes are permitted throughout the internal market, then a lower risk equivalent like snus should be as well.”

  • Smart Sachets

    Smart Sachets

    Photos: Amplicon

    Amplicon presents the first pouch with controlled nicotine release.

    By Stefanie Rossel

    All nicotine pouch brands presently on the market use a form of cellulose as a carrier material. Powdered cellulose is drenched in a mixture of pharmaceutical grade nicotine, flavors and a pH alignment to bring the product’s pH to the optimum level for nicotine uptake. Although the blend is moistened with polyglycol or glycerol, the pouches are slightly dry. This leads to the user feeling the nicotine effect and perceiving the taste within a few seconds after placing a pouch behind the lip. For some users, the sudden intense nicotine hit is too much—they react physically; sometimes they even get sick. Cellulose has another downside: During consumption, it may dissolve into a slimy lump in the consumer’s mouth, thereby quickly losing its flavor.

    Release of pouch nicotine is controlled mainly by the solubility of the nicotine, which means the size of the pouches also determines the release profile. In nontraditional snus markets, users prefer small pouches. These, however, release nicotine and flavor in a very short time.

    Hakan Engqvist

    A Swedish consumer products company set out to solve these issues. In June, Amplicon presented its Freee nicotine pouches, which it describes as the next generation of oral nicotine. While from the outside the pouches look like those already on the market, they are filled with a powder made of bioceramics. Under the microscope, bioceramic granules look like Swiss cheese, having a porous inner structure. The bioceramics used for the pouches belong to a family of chemically bonded ceramics. The substances can be found in nature. For example, hydroxyapatite, a bioceramic generated in the body by biomineralization, forms the basis of the hard matter of all mammals. For the past 40 years, bioceramics have been used clinically for hard tissue replacement.

    Amplicon’s Freee bioceramic platform also contains water, bulk and the active ingredients nicotine and flavor, which bind to that platform. Substance release takes place through diffusion and dissolution. This allows for a more constant, controlled release of nicotine and flavor and better absorption by the human body. The company uses nicotine salt in its pouches. Water-soluble flavors integrate best with the material, but oil-based flavors can be used as well.

    The technology allows manufacturers to produce pouches that are small but pack the punch of much larger products, says Amplicon founder Hakan Engqvist, who is also a professor in materials science at Uppsala University. “Our technology enables customized nicotine-delivery and a much-improved nicotine and flavor experience, and it allows for pH stability over time. It also maintains the consistency of the pouch better. Feedback from consumer tests has been positive.”

    Current pouch products, he explains, also have an issue with shelf life because their pH levels are less stable than they are in bioceramics.

    Tomas Hammargren

    Intelligence Inside

    The new pouch technology stems from pharmaceutical research. “We have been and are still working on an opioid-based pain relief formulation,” says Engqvist. “Through different routes, we started to work with solid vape to load nicotine into the ceramics and thereby reduce the use of e-liquid and instead just have a tablet. Controlled release of nicotine from pouches then became the next development, quite natural in a snus country such as Sweden.”

    Engqvist has lots of experience with bioceramics. Amplicon’s parent company, Emplicure, which he also co-founded, combines biomaterials with existing pharmaceutical substances to deliver drugs precisely and safely. Its controlled-release technology targets unmet medical needs, especially in opioid-based pain relief where its formulations offer not only improved therapy with less discomfort but also reduce the risk of opioid abuse, according to the company.

    Its patented bioceramic platforms are based on tunable nanostructures that enable the distribution of active substances in bioceramic materials. The active substance is then released to achieve the desired effect by controlled diffusion. The release and dosage of the active substances can be tuned by adjusting the size of the pores, the choice of biomaterial and the excipients.

    Amplicon was established to leverage Emplicure’s technology in the nicotine market. In June, the company filed for a trademark registration for Freee nicotine pouches at the European Intellectual Property Office. The company presently manufactures the pouches in-house at pilot scale but says it is able to scale up production from laboratory volumes to commercial volumes. Control over the making of the ceramic powder will stay with Amplicon, which has received a lot of interest in its technology from both established distributors and pouch manufacturers, says Tomas Hammargren, chairman of Amplicon.

    The product is scheduled to hit the market by mid-2023. Initial target markets will include both new, “non-pouch” geographies, such as Europe, Japan and Korea, and existing pouch markets, according to Hammargren. “To reach all important markets, such as Southern Europe or Asia, a pouch product needs to be as small as possible but has to provide a good nicotine and flavor hit, which is difficult to achieve with cellulose,” he says. “It’s hard to imagine an Italian woman putting a big pouch under her lip. The same is true for Asia. Our product is more urban, metropolitan and attractive to female and new users, hence we are confident that it will also be successful in existing oral nicotine markets. It will be the perfect complement for vapers and users of heated-tobacco products in places where smoking and vaping is banned.”

    Stefanie Rossel is Tobacco Reporter’s editorial contributor. An experienced trade journalist, she combines sharp reporting skills with in-depth knowledge of the tobacco and vapor industries. Prior to joining Tobacco Reporter, Stefanie was editor-in-chief at Tobacco Journal International, where she worked for a decade. Fluent in English, German and French, Stefanie covers tobacco news around the world. She is based in Germany.
  • Swedish Billionaire Invests in Sting Free

    Swedish Billionaire Invests in Sting Free

    Erik Selin (Photo courtesy of Sting Free)

    Swedish billionaire Erik Selin has invested SEK4.4 million ($434,247) in the Swedish nicotine pouch innovation company Sting Free. He has thus become the second largest shareholder in the company, which is now valued at just under SEK31 million. Sting Free’s other shareholders include Curt Enzell, inventor of the original snus pouch and Meg Tivéus, a former board member of Swedish Match.

    Sting Free has developed and patented a pouch for modern oral nicotine products and snus, where one side has an integrated protective shield for the gums ((also see “Patching the Pouch,” Tobacco Reporter, July 2017). The shield effectively reduces the burning sensation and gum irritation that is normally caused by these products.

    This is the third time Selin has invested in companies in the snus industry. He is already the largest Swedish shareholder in the snus giant Swedish Match and is also a major shareholder in Haypp Group, which is the largest e-trader of snus and modern oral nicotine pouches in Europe.

    “We welcome Erik with open arms and could not have found a better partner,” said Sting Free founder and Chairman Bengt Wiberg.

    “We are a tobacco harm reduction company whose technology has already received much media attention and an international award for removing the stinging sensation. The stinging sensation is often considered as being a deterrent for smokers and other nicotine users who have never tried smokefree oral nicotine products,” said Wiberg.

    Sting Free AB recently conducted a survey with more than 1,000 snus and nicotine pouch using men and women in Sweden. The results show that the patented technology is in demand, especially among women and those who have, or are concerned about, oral health problems linked to their use of these types of products. The survey results shows that 59 percent of users dislike the familiar burning sensation and 56 percent have worried about their oral health in connection with their use of the products presently on the market.

    The market for snus and tobacco-free nicotine pouches is presently worth approximately SEK9 billion per year in Scandinavia alone.

    Before the end of 2022, Sting Free AB will launch its first tobacco-free nicotine pouch with the unique integrated Stingfree shield. “In the future our goal is to license the technology and thereby create a new standard in the industry that is as familiar to consumers as light products are for soft drinks or Gore-Tex is for clothes and shoes,” says Sting Free CEO Daniel Wiberg.

  • Ramström: Tobacco Harm Reduction Works

    Ramström: Tobacco Harm Reduction Works

    Photo: Finn Bjurvoll Hansen

    A new study launched at the ninth annual Global Forum on Nicotine  in Warsaw shows implementation of the World Health Organization’s tobacco control measures known as MPOWER has no clear association with low-levels of tobacco-related mortality in Europe.

    Instead, the independent research, conducted by Lars M. Ramström, shows that switching from smoking to Swedish-style snus, a safer nicotine product, is a more effective strategy to reduce the harms caused by tobacco.

    In 2007, the WHO launched MPOWER, a process and monitoring mechanism to implement the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Comprising six measures, it aims to reduce the demand for tobacco. But, despite 15 years of MPOWER, there are still 1.1 billion smokers worldwide, a total unchanged since 2000, and 8 million annual tobacco-related deaths, according to researchers.

    To assess MPOWER’s effectiveness, Ramström compared the extent of implementation of these tobacco control measures with tobacco-related death rates across Europe by using figures provided by the Tobacco Control Scale (TSC), a tool that grades every European country’s level of MPOWER application, and data on tobacco-related mortality from The Global Burden of Disease.

    After analyzing his results, Ramström found no correlation between tobacco-related mortality and a country’s level of implementation of MPOWER measures for Europe’s women, and a very weak correlation for the continent’s men.

    Crucially, though, the two countries with the lowest tobacco-related mortality for men were Sweden and Norway. In both nations a large proportion of male smokers have switched from cigarettes to Swedish-style snus, a product that is freely available in both, but banned from sale in the EU except Sweden. Despite Sweden’s TCS score being below average, it has achieved a lower rate of tobacco-related mortality than all the countries that have higher levels of MPOWER implementation except Norway, providing further evidence in support of tobacco harm reduction.

  • Dalli: ‘No Evidence for Snus Bribery Allegation’

    Dalli: ‘No Evidence for Snus Bribery Allegation’

    Photo: Kirill Ryzhov

    Former European Commissioner John Dalli, who stands accused of trading in influence and attempted bribery to help lift the EU ban on snus, said that no evidence was brought against him in two recent sittings, according to a report by the Malta Independent.

    Dalli’s statement was in reaction to the decision on Friday by Magistrate Caroline Farrugia Frendo that enough evidence has been brought forward for him to stand trial.

    Dalli has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

    “Some media in Malta must have had a schadenfreude pleasure in reporting the decision of the court that there is a prima facie case against me and therefore the compilation is to continue,” Dalli said.

    “Anyone following the case objectively would know that in two sittings, not one shred of evidence has been brought against me. It must be said that it was my choice not to move for the prima facie dismissal of the case. I want this hearing to go through the full process and have the opportunity to expose the machinations of the Commission and OLAF officials about this case. This should start during the next sitting. I hope that there will be no attempt to stop this through claims of immunity.”

    The case dates from 2012, when Dalli’s aide Silvio Zammit allegedly tried to obtain a €60 million ($71.17 million) bribe from Swedish Match to reverse the EU ban on snus. The company rejected the offer as improper and reported it to the European Commission.

    Zammit who was charged in December 2012 for trading influence and complicity in the request, passed away earlier this year.

  • Guns N’ Roses Guitarist Lauds Snus

    Guns N’ Roses Guitarist Lauds Snus

    Popular Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash recently described snus as the “the best discovery in the world” when discussing his experience quitting combustible cigarettes.

    The Nordic rock station Rockklassiker interviewed Slash last month, and the musician responded to questions from fans, one of which was from Bengt Wiberg, founder of EUforsnus and creator of Sting Free AB and the sting free snus pouch.

    Wiberg asked Slash via social media, “Hi Slash, I think it is great that you quit smoking with the help of Swedish snus and love it! Do you support an end to the European Union snus ban, and do you support EUforsnus?”

    “I used to (use snus),” Slash replied. “I did it for years and years and years, and I finally quit a few years ago, but when I first quit smoking, which was in 2009, pretty soon after that I discovered snus, and it was like the best discovery in the world. My God, it’s the greatest! So I did it from probably 2009 until 2015 or something like that. I used to have General snus shipped in from Sweden.”

    Slash speaks further in the interview about his experience switching from combustible cigarettes to Swedish snus and eventually quitting nicotine completely in 2015. He visited Swedish Match’s flagship store in Stockholm while in town for a concert that year, where he stated that he received an “informative background on snus and how it’s made,” according to Snusforumet.

    Snus is currently banned in the EU with the exception of Sweden. Sweden has a 5 percent rate of daily smokers (close to the World Health Organization’s smoke-free goal), attributing the low number to the use of snus and tobacco-free modern oral nicotine pouches, such as Velo, Zyn and Loop.

    Slash did not specifically say whether he supports lifting the EU ban on snus, but Wiberg feels confident that Slash’s sentiments on snus speak for themselves.

  • Cerulean Debuts Snus Test Station

    Cerulean Debuts Snus Test Station

    Photo: Cerulean

    Cerulean has launched Orion, the world’s first automated test station for snus.

    The Orion can handle oral pouches of all commercially available size formats, including mini, large, maxi and slim.

    The instrument measures pouch weight, length, width, end seam width, longitudinal seam overlap width and pouch tensile strength. According to Cerulean, the Orion requires only a few minutes to configure and perform the test. The instrument is equipped with an intuitive user interface that provides key information, graphical representation of process capability and stores the data in a network accessible SQL database. A powerful vision system takes images of both sides of every pouch that are used to measure the pouch dimensions, seams width and longitudinal seam position.

    The Orion test station reduces the number of operators per line and provides fast, consistent and repeatable users’ independent testing process with real time visualization of the test results, configurable report generators and readily available connectivity to LIMS and MES systems.

    According to Cerulean, the Orion saves operator time and improves quality through independent, fast, consistent and repeatable testing of pouches. With a real time visualization of test results and configurable report generation, the Cerulean test station guarantees that the production process is always in control.

  • Snus Use at Record High in Norway

    Snus Use at Record High in Norway

    Photo: uskarp2

    Daily snus use in Norway has nearly doubled in a decade, reports Norway Today, citing figures released by Statistics Norway (SSB). Nearly 15 percent of the population consumed snus daily in 2021 compared with 8 percent 10 years ago.

    The proportion of daily snus users is at the highest level ever, jumping to 15 percent in 2021, according to SSB consultant Sindre Mikael Haugen.

    Figures show that 21 percent of men use snus on a daily basis while the figure was 8 percent for women.

    Meanwhile, the number of people who smoke daily decreased slightly. Some 8 percent of 16-year-olds to 74-year-olds stated that they light up daily compared to 9 percent in 2020.

    Women (9 percent) were more likely to smoke daily than men (6 percent). While Baby Boomers (55-year-olds to 64-year-olds) smoke most, this group also experienced the greatest decline in smoking rates recently. Only 14 percent of this age group smoke compared to 17 percent in 2020.

  • Immunity Waiver Clears Path for Dalli Trial

    Immunity Waiver Clears Path for Dalli Trial

    Photo: Kirill Ryzhov

    The European Commission waived John Dalli’s immunity from prosecution, allowing the court case against him to begin, reports The Independent.

    “The commission can confirm that, on the request of the attorney general of Malta, the commission has waived the immunity of former Commissioner John Dalli,” a European Commission spokesperson said.

    Dalli’s aide Silvio Zammit allegedly tried to obtain a €60 million ($71.17 million) bribe from Swedish Match to reverse the EU ban on snus (the company rejected the offer as improper and reported it to the European Commission). Dalli was the European commissioner for health at the time, in charge of managing reforms to the EU’s tobacco rules.

    The European Commission forced Dalli to quit in 2012 due to the scandal after the EU’s anti-fraud office uncovered the bribery attempt. Zammit was charged in December 2012 for trading influence and complicity in the request.

    Dalli insists the case is an orchestrated scheme created the “corrupt” media.

    The case is set to begin on Dec. 21.

  • Conny Andersson Joins Sting Free

    Conny Andersson Joins Sting Free

    Conny Andersson (Photo courtesy of Sting Free)

    Snus master blender Conny Andersson has joined Sting Free, a Swedish company that has developed a solution to eliminate the stinging sensation associated with snus use.

    Andersson is a skilled and experienced tobacco expert and “father” to popular snus varieties, such as vintage snus Kardus (2005–2012), Islay Whiskey Snus, Crafted Snus and Hop (e) & Glory snus.

    In recent years, Andersson helped produce several tobacco-free snus alternatives, including Infiniti, YoYo and others. Since 2015, Andersson has worked as a self-employed consultant for several Swedish and international companies, primarily in the snus and nicotine pouch industry.

    Sting-free may become a new standard in the global oral nicotine industry.

    Conny Andersson

    “Sting-free may become a new standard in the global oral nicotine industry,” said Andersson in a statement. “The reason is that the burning sensation on the gums is a big obstacle for almost all adult nicotine users to take up snus or nicotine pouches [for the] first time. This is especially true in countries outside the Nordic region where there is no snus tradition at all. The fact that the new technology may also help smokers to dare trying a smoke-free oral nicotine alternative to cigarettes is inspiring.”

    Andersson is a shareholder in Sting Free and a new member of the executive working group from April 2021.

    Tobacco Reporter profiled Sting Free in July 2017 (see “Patching the Pouch”).