Swedish snus sticks to its guns

摘要

You have to hand it to the Swedes - they never let up in their determination to squash the European Union (EU) ban on the sale of snus, the Swedish oral smoke-free tobacco product, in spite of repeated brush-offs from Brussels over the years.rnA year ago it looked as if the ban, which was imposed in 1992 and from which Sweden itself was exempt, might be reconsidered in the light of a largely inconclusive report from the EU Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) on cancer and other dangers. Rightly or wrongly, it never happened. Now the Swedes are trying again, focusing on the trade restriction aspects of the ban. Whatever happens this time, Sweden has put the matter back on the EU agenda where it will surely remain so long as cigarette smoking is perceived as a health threat. Stockholm is in a good place to push its agenda this year in particular, given it holds the EU's rotating presidency from July to December.