How can the European Union continue to deny Sweden’s success in tobacco harm reduction?  I have documented how Swedish snus has contributed to that country’s world-record-low rates of smoking (here and here) and smoking-related deaths – rates that would translate into hundreds of thousands of lives saved if snus were not banned in the rest of Europe (here and here).

The EU’s  European Commission persists in ignoring a growing number of international tobacco research and policy experts. Perhaps a new report by Eurobarometer, the EU’s official survey organization, will force a policy change.

The 200+ page report analyzes tobacco prevalence and consumption, including cigarettes, snus and e-cigarettes, across all EU countries. Its findings substantiate the dire consequences of the EU’s misguided ban on snus.

The following table of reported key smoking indicators clearly demonstrates the effect of the Swedish snus experience.  Sweden has the lowest smoking prevalence, at 11 percent — less than half the 26 percent prevalence throughout the EU and eight points lower than second-place Finland. Sweden also leads the EU in prevalence of former smoking, at 35 percent.  It is the only country in the EU with cigarette consumption among smokers of less than 10 per day.  The reason is obvious: half of Swedes have “ever tried…oral tobacco (snus), chewing or nasal tobacco.”

Tobacco Use in Sweden Versus the Rest of the European Union, 2014
EU Country Current Smoking (%) Former Smoking (%) Cigarettes Per Day Ever Tried Oral, Nasal Tobacco (%)
Sweden 11 35 9.9 50
Finland 19 24 13.5 14
Malta 20 19 14.8 1
Luxembourg 21 22 12.8 7
Italy 21 16 13.2 3
Ireland 21 19 13.9 5
Slovakia 21 16 12.5 4
United Kingdom 22 19 14.3 4
Estonia 22 21 11.5 10
Denmark 23 30 13.3 13
Netherlands 23 31 11.4 4
Belgium 25 19 14.1 5
Portugal 25 12 14.9 2
Czech Republic 25 18 14.3 9
Lithuania 26 18 12.1 5
Austria 26 17 19.8 10
Germany 27 22 15.3 9
Romania 27 13 14.2 1
Poland 28 15 15.6 5
Spain 29 19 13.7 2
Slovenia 30 18 16.5 6
Latvia 30 21 12.7 8
Hungary 30 11 16.1 3
Cyprus 31 15 19.5 2
France 32 22 13.0 4
Croatia 33 16 16.7 3
Bulgaria 35 16 15.6 2
Greece 38 21 19.5 1
EU 26 20 14.4 5

Intriguing numbers are also supplied from Finland.  That nation has the second-lowest smoking rate (19 percent) and the second-highest proportion of residents who have ever used smokeless tobacco (14 percent).  It is widely known that snus use remains popular in Finland.  In fact, snus importation increased last year, even though the product officially has been prohibited since Finland joined the EU in 1995.  Research shows Finnish smoking rates would have declined even more if snus sales had not been banned.

Some suggest that would have no appeal outside of Sweden, but the product is clearly popular in Finland and in Denmark. Last year, the EU sued Denmark for permitting snus sales. Also popular among Danes is a chewing tobacco product, Oliver Twist, another effective cigarette substitute and one that is legal in the EU.  The Eurobarometer numbers show that snus could work in Austria, Estonia and several other countries that have populations with smokeless tobacco experience.

Keep in mind that the differences in snus and smoking rates noted here would have been even more impressive if Eurobarometer had separately reported men’s and women’s numbers.  The snus experience has primarily affected smoking rates among Swedish men, although snus use also has been linked to smoking cessation in Swedish women.

The EU should take its head out of the sand and dissolve its unhealthy snus ban.

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