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Tag: Sweden

  • Imperial Acquires Owner of Helwit Nicotine Pouches

    Imperial Acquires Owner of Helwit Nicotine Pouches

    Imperial Brands announced the acquisition of Swedish modern oral nicotine company Yoik Group AB, owner of the Helwit nicotine pouch brand, for an initial SEK 515 million (£39.8 million), plus a performance-based deferred payment over two years. Helwit has a 3.4% share of Sweden’s modern oral nicotine market and is sold online across Europe and in select U.K. retailers.

    The acquisition more than doubles Imperial’s existing modern oral market share in Sweden, where the company operates through Skruf AB. Yoik’s founders and employees will join Imperial, while the Helwit brand will remain focused on its flavor-led portfolio and Swedish heritage. The deal is part of Imperial’s strategy to expand its next-generation product portfolio through bolt-on acquisitions.

  • Swedish Election Threatens EU Tobacco Tax Talks 

    Swedish Election Threatens EU Tobacco Tax Talks 

    According to a Euractiv article today (Aug. 31), EU diplomats expect limited progress on the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED) at the September 14 meeting, as Sweden’s national election the day before could leave Stockholm without a firm position while coalition negotiations take place. The proposed TED would raise tobacco taxes across the EU and is linked to plans to generate €11.2 billion annually for the bloc’s next long-term budget. The file stalled after Sweden objected to proposed taxation of nicotine pouches, with Stockholm seeking to protect its traditional snus market. 

    Prolonged talks could also complicate Ireland’s efforts to secure a Council agreement in October and potentially lead Sweden to abstain from a key vote expected at the October 9 ECOFIN meeting. According to Euractiv, Ireland expects September discussions to focus mainly on technical issues rather than resolving political differences. The next Swedish government is likely to face continued pressure over snus and nicotine taxation, while EU officials remain focused on the bloc’s longer-term ambition to become both smoke-free and nicotine-free. 

  • Sweden Fights Against France’s Nicotine Pouch Ban

    Sweden Fights Against France’s Nicotine Pouch Ban

    Sweden has strongly opposed France’s ban on oral nicotine pouches, with Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa arguing the move violates EU single market rules and unfairly targets a key Swedish industry. According to Economie Matin, the Swedish Social Democratic Party sent a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, “to obtain clarifications on the legality of the French ban and its scientific basis. If there is no response within three weeks, legal action before the Court of Justice of the European Union could be initiated.”

    Stockholm is defending the products as a harm-reduction alternative to cigarettes, highlighting their widespread domestic use and economic importance, while criticizing the inconsistency of banning pouches but allowing combustible tobacco. The dispute has escalated politically, with Swedish lawmakers seeking EU intervention and warning of potential legal action, underscoring growing divisions in Europe over nicotine regulation and the balance between public health and market freedoms.

  • Sweden Nears Milestone as Europe’s First ‘Smoke-Free’ Nation

    Sweden Nears Milestone as Europe’s First ‘Smoke-Free’ Nation

    Sweden’s smoking rate is in decline this year, putting it on track to become Europe’s first smoke-free country, ready to eclipse the World Health Organization’s 5% threshold, according to Gulf News. Last year, its daily smoking rate fell to 5.2%, a sharp decline from 15% in 2005, credited to long-running public health campaigns and the widespread switch to lower-risk nicotine products such as snus and tobacco-free pouches.

    About 18% of Swedes now use snus or similar products, which, though not risk-free, experts say are far less harmful than cigarettes. Over the past decade, daily smoking has dropped 55%, accompanied by a 38% fall in tobacco-related deaths among men and a 41% decline in lung cancer cases.

    Public health specialists say Sweden’s blend of regulation, clear messaging, and safer alternatives—backed by high social trust—offers a potential roadmap for other nations working to cut smoking rates.

  • Sweden Rejects EU Plan to Fund Budget with Tobacco Tax

    Sweden Rejects EU Plan to Fund Budget with Tobacco Tax

    Swedish Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson called an EU proposal to use revenue from higher tobacco taxes to help fund the bloc’s next long-term budget “completely unacceptable,” saying the proposal threatens the sale of nicotine pouches and undermines national tax sovereignty. Sweden has positioned itself as a model for tobacco harm reduction, citing a smoking rate of just 5% and a decline in smoking-related cancers.

    The proposal, referenced in a document from Germany’s International Affairs Liaison Office in Brussels and submitted to the German parliament, suggests new EU revenue sources for the 2028–2034 budget could include levies on electronic waste and tobacco. Though not yet officially confirmed by the European Commission, the idea adds to growing pressure from at least 15 EU member states to raise excise duties on tobacco products.

    Euractiv reported the European Commission is considering a 139% tax hike on cigarettes, along with steeper levies on alternative products such as e-cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and heated tobacco. Sweden now joins Italy, Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria in opposing the move, primarily to defend nicotine pouches.

    In a post on X, Svantesson said the proposal would result in “a very significant tax increase on white snus,” and that the Commission wants the tax revenue “to go to the EU and not to Sweden.” 

  • UAE Points to Sweden in Approving Nicotine Pouches

    UAE Points to Sweden in Approving Nicotine Pouches

    The UAE approved the sale of synthetic nicotine pouches—subject to sellers meeting safety standards set out by the government—with the hope that the smoke-free nicotine alternatives entering the market would be helpful in helping people quit smoking. Smoking rates remain relatively high in the UAE and Middle East in general, with 12% and 20% of the people smoking, respectively.

    The UAE vaping market is expected to be worth $78 million this year, according to market analysts Statista.

    UAE officials pointed to the potential nicotine pouches showed elsewhere, particularly in Europe. With the help of alternative nicotine products, Sweden slashed smoking rates and transitioned toward harm-reduction public health policies on tobacco, reducing rates of lung, lip and oral cancer, as well as oesophageal, and stomach cancers considerably since 1980.

    “We have replaced cigarette smoking with alternative nicotine products, pouches, and that has really had a dramatic impact on the public health here in Sweden,” said Patrik Hildingsson, director of oral category communication at Philip Morris, producers of the globally popular Zyn nicotine pouch. “Cigarette smoking is harmful to health, there is no doubt about that. To reduce the harm, you need to quit, but many people just don’t, they stay with their cigarettes. For these people, we need to give them alternatives to get out of the combustions, the smoke process, and the chemicals that come with burning a crop.”

  • Sweden Wants Others to Follow its Harm-Reduction Success

    Sweden Wants Others to Follow its Harm-Reduction Success

    Sweden is boasting about its success with tobacco harm-reduction and is encouraging our countries to follow suit. Only 4.5% of Swedish-born adults smoke cigarettes which, according to the government, is owed to its policies that push safer alternatives like snus, nicotine pouches, and vapes.

    “Swedes have participated in a long-running harm reduction experiment, providing undeniable proof that replacing smoking with smokeless nicotine dramatically reduces smoking-related disease, disability and premature deaths – a net gain for public health, while reducing expenditure,” said Dr. Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden. “With harm reduction now policy in Sweden, every public health decision will reflect this approach. Other countries should adopt Sweden’s model without further delay.”

    Sweden’s Parliament formally adopted harm-reduction as a policy in December 2024, saying “Tobacco policy must consider the varying harmful effects of different products. Cigarettes pose a greater health hazard than smokeless nicotine… This must be reflected in taxation and policy goals.”

    Sweden has already applied risk-based taxation by lowering excise tax on snus while increasing it on cigarettes.

  • Sweden Achieves ‘Smoke Free’ Status

    Sweden Achieves ‘Smoke Free’ Status

    Image: Summit Art Creations

    Sweden officially became “smoke free” on Nov. 13

    Health data released by Sweden’s public health agency show that just 4.5 percent of the nation’s Swedish-born adults smoke—below the globally recognized benchmark of 5 percent for smoke free status.

    At 24 percent, average smoking rates in Europe are five times higher than Sweden’s.

    According to tobacco harm reduction activists, the Swedes’ success is the result of their pioneering policy approach to safer alternatives to cigarettes.

    “This outstanding achievement marks a significant moment in global public health and stands as a testament to the progressive policies that have guided Sweden’s approach to tobacco control,” said Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden, in a statement.

    “In the early 1960s, nearly half of Swedish men smoked. By embracing and encouraging the use of alternative nicotine products such as snus, oral nicotine pouches and vapes, Sweden has paved a clear path to a smoke-free society while safeguarding public health.

    “They should serve as a beacon of hope for the rest of the world and as inspirational proof that a pragmatic, enlightened approach can deliver sensational public health gains and save lives.”

    By embracing and encouraging the use of alternative nicotine products such as snus, oral nicotine pouches and vapes, Sweden has paved a clear path to a smoke-free society while safeguarding public health.

    Delon Human, Smoke Free Sweden

    The new statistics show that 5.3 percent of all adults in Sweden, including immigrants, currently smoke. Remarkably, the data also reveals that people born elsewhere in Europe would be three times more likely to smoke if they had not moved to Sweden.

    “Key to Sweden’s success is its pragmatic focus on harm reduction rather than prohibition,” said Anders Milton, a physician and former president and CEO of the Swedish Medical Association.

    “A wide range of safer nicotine products, with a variety of strengths and flavors, is legally available both online and in stores, supported by advertising, which raises awareness and encourages uptake.

    “The Swedish government also applies a proportional excise tax, keeping smoke-free products more affordable than cigarettes. This tax policy, coupled with public education campaigns, has empowered Swedish consumers to make healthier choices and contributed to the country’s leading role in tobacco harm reduction.”

    As a result of its strategy, Sweden has the lowest percentage of tobacco-related diseases in the EU and a 41 percent lower incidence of cancer than other European countries.

    “While Sweden celebrates this historic achievement, most other nations remain far from reaching their smoke-free goals,” said Human. “Their rigid, prohibitionist policies limit access to safer nicotine alternatives, including oral nicotine products and e-cigarettes. These regressive measures are pushing smokers away from potentially life-saving tools and stalling progress toward reducing tobacco harm.

  • Smoking Decline Traced to Noncombustibles

    Smoking Decline Traced to Noncombustibles

    Photo: Natalia

    Sweden’s smoking rate is poised to dip below 5 percent, a share that is widely considered the hallmark of a “smoke-free” society, reports The Business Mirror.

    Only 5.6 percent of Swedish adults smoked cigarettes in 2022, down from 49 percent of men in 1960, according Sweden’s public health agency. As a result, Sweden has 52 percent fewer tobacco-related male deaths than Poland and 57 percent fewer than Romania. For male lung cancer, Sweden has significantly fewer deaths than France, Germany, Italy and Poland.

    A report titled “No Smoke Less Harm” by the advocacy group Smoke Free Sweden attributes this achievement to Sweden’s openness to alternative nicotine products, such as snus.

    The report points out that smoking-related diseases are caused primarily by the byproducts of tobacco combustion rather than nicotine, as many mistakenly assume.

    The Swedish experience demonstrates the importance of understanding public misperceptions about nicotine to develop health policies that better protect and inform consumers.

    Karl Fagerström, co-author, ‘No Smoke Less Harm’

    While nearly one in four Swedish adults still use nicotine daily, in line with European averages, Sweden boasts far lower rates of tobacco-related deaths (44 percent), cancer rates (41 percent) and cancer deaths (38 percent) than the rest of the European Union.

    Smoke Free Sweden’s report appeals for the World Health Organization and global public health communities to acknowledge that combustible products, not nicotine, cause harm to smokers.

    “While nicotine is addictive, it does not cause the serious diseases associated with smoking,” Fagerström said. “Our findings support a shift in focus from cessation to substitution with less harmful alternatives for those unable to quit completely.”

  • Snus Documentary to Screen in Spain

    Snus Documentary to Screen in Spain

    Image: fergregory

    Somos Innovacion announced the avant-premiere of the documentary How Sweden Stopped Smoking by award-winning Polish director Tomasz Agencki. The screening will take place on Feb. 27 at Espacio Balboa in Madrid and will include a panel discussion with leading experts in health and activism.

    This documentary delves into the story of how Sweden became a smoke-free nation. Through interviews with scientists, doctors, innovators and artists, Agencki spins a tale that examines the complex interplay of science, politics, history and personal will behind this “Swedish miracle.”

    “We are excited to share this inspiring story about the courage and creativity that made a healthier future possible for Swedes,” says Federico N. Fernandez, CEO of Somos Innovacion, in a statement. “We believe the lessons from Sweden’s journey can guide other nations to achieve the same progress.”

    Following the screening, a panel of experts composed of Fernando Fernandez Bueno, oncologic surgeon and prominent anti-smoking opinion leader; Josep Maria Ramon Torrell, head of the Tobacco Treatment Unit at Bellvitge Hospital and professor of medicine; Julio Ruades, popular YouTuber and spokesperson for the Spanish Association of Personal Vaporizer Users; Federico N. Fernandez, CEO of Somos Innovacion; and moderated by Carmen Escrig, coordinator of the Spanish Medical Platform for Tobacco Harm Reduction will share unique perspectives and discuss key lessons that inspire other nations to follow Sweden’s example in the fight against smoking.

    Space is limited. Reserve free tickets on Eventbrite: https://bit.ly/SueciaLibreDeHumo. This avant-premiere is in-person only; it will not be streamed.