Snus Year 2015 in Review

Snus year 2015 was a prolific one.  Not counting Special or Limited releases, roughly 80 new Scandinavian snus products appeared on the market; some from small brands we never heard from before.  Less than 20 existing snuses were delisted giving 2015 snus users a sometimes overwhelming selection.

These numbers can be deceiving though… 

In Sweden and Denmark, Swedish Match and Skruf own most of the snus market.

GN Tobacco and their Oden’s Snus have been making large inroads into Russia although the latest I’ve heard is that the Russian Federation already has or is about to ban snus.

Around the world, countries have been cracking down hard on Tobacco Harm Reduction products like Swedish snus and vapor products while doing little to lower cigarette use.

Philip Morris lost a battle against Australia on plain packaging for cigarettes and snus this week, but beyond that the world still seems focused on demonizing much safer alternatives to cigarettes while raising cigarette taxes to line their own pocket

The Swedish Government Doesn’t Support their Snus

Unlike Germany, France, and the majority of the European Parliament, Sweden recently stated their support for the TTIF trade agreement.  Swedish corporate management and workers alike support this new free trade agreement.  Sweden points to their free market economy and it’s merits going back over 500 years.

Yet in the case of snus, a product invented in Sweden hundreds of years ago and a very icon of Swedish culture, the Swedish government has caved since their somewhat smoke filled room application for EU Membership in 1994.

Swedish snus is banned within EU Member States with the exception of Sweden.  Since then, any attempts by the Swedish government to overturn this blatant restriction of free trade have been half-hearted at best.