– I think that is very strange, because it is a healthier alternative. It should certainly be legal in Norway too, says Anita Aas, who has shopped across the Swedish border. At Swedish Match’s snuff factory in Sweden, two versions of the same snuff are made, one without and one with tobacco. The product with tobacco is made only for the Norwegian market. – The logic is impossible to understand, says Nils Erlimo in Swedish Match. Photo: Heather Ørbeck Eliassen / news – We have to add tobacco to the snuff against our will, says Nils Erlimo at the Swedish snuff company, Swedish Match. In Sweden, the products are sold in normal snuff boxes. Each portion pack is a small pad containing nicotine and different flavours. The pads are placed under the lip in the same way as traditional snuff. From left: All-white tobacco-free snus, white snus and brown snus. Zyn brand snus is illegal in Norway. Photo: Heather Ørbeck Eliassen / news New nicotine products banned in Norway In Norway, there has been a ban on new nicotine products since 1989, but from 1 July 2021 an approval scheme for new tobacco and nicotine products came into force. The Norwegian Directorate of Health can grant a dispensation from the ban if the manufacturers can document that the new product or its method of use is significantly less harmful to health than products already on the market. Snuff manufacturers Swedish Match, British American Tobacco and Imperial Brands have applied for approval of the new snuff product which contains nicotine but no tobacco. But the producers have been refused, and the case has been appealed. It is now being processed by the Ministry of Health and Care. Photo: Heather Ørbeck Eliassen / news Less harmful Tobacco expert, Karl-Erik Lund at the Institute of Public Health. Photo: Nejad, Arash A. / nyebilder.no On behalf of the Directorate of Health, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI) carried out a chemical assessment of the content of the brown ordinary snus and the white tobacco-free snus. – They are about as addictive, but there is clearly less of the cancer-causing substance in the tobacco-free snus, says tobacco researcher Karl Erik Lund at FHI. Despite the fact that FHI believes the products are less harmful, the Norwegian Directorate of Health has rejected the application from the companies. With regard to children and young people, it is still illegal to sell and import tobacco-free snus in Norway today. Snusfabrikk Sweden: The factory makes tobacco-free snus and snus with tobacco in it. Photo: Heather Ørbeck Eliassen / news FHI reacts to the Directorate of Health’s decision. – The question is whether it is appropriate in a public health context not to approve the sale of the product in Norway if it could lead to smokers abandoning the life-threatening cigarettes and switching to a less dangerous nicotine product, says the tobacco researcher. – Was surprised Imperial Brands, which distributes the Skruf snuff brand, and British American Tobacco (BAT) say they were also surprised by the refusal. They emphasize that the product is probably less harmful than other snus. – Why have you appealed? – It is also noteworthy that the product is already allowed to be sold in Norway today, provided that we manufacturers add tobacco. That cannot have been the intention behind the legislation, says Terje Bjørnsen, general manager of Imperial Brands. They have received signals that they will receive an answer at the end of September. – We believe our products can be a key to getting people to stop smoking, says Mikael Eriksson in BAT in Norway. Taking children and young people into account Divisional director for public health and prevention in the Directorate of Health, Linda Granlund, emphasizes that the application was rejected with regard to children and young people. Division director for public health and prevention in the Directorate of Health, Linda Granlund. Photo: Heather Ørbeck Eliassen / news – A main focus is to protect children and young people from new products. – It is true that FHI says it is less harmful, but the question is what you compare it to, says Granlund. – It is no less harmful than not using anything. This type of product will also pose a health risk, and that is our main focus, says Granlund. Going to Sweden to buy In Sweden, news meets several Norwegians who buy the tobacco-free products. Anita Aas goes to Sweden once a month to buy snuff because she has heard it is better for her health than regular snuff. – In Norway, you can only get the tobacco-free snus at the pharmacy, but it is very expensive compared to what is on sale in Sweden. – It stings a little more, and I feel the nicotine a little better, says Ola Nødtvedt. Photo: Heather Ørbeck Eliassen / news Ola Nødtvedt has also taken a trip to Sweden to buy tobacco-free snuff. – You get something similar in Norway, but not exactly this one, he says. In Sweden, there has been a free age limit for the purchase of tobacco-free snus, until the government introduced an 18-year-old limit from 1 August this year.
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This tobacco-free snus is illegal in Norway – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
