In December last year, the latest edition of an annual Swedish report into the habits of the nation’s youth revealed in stark figures the explosive growth of “snus” usage among Swedish teenagers.
Snus is a small portion of tobacco that’s parcelled up into what looks like miniature teabags, and wedged under the lip. It’s been a particularly Swedish habit for decades, one that was banned in the rest of the EU in 1992. But safeguarding the snus industry with a special exemption was one of Sweden’s red lines when it joined the bloc in 1995.
The report, issued by the NGO the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs, shows a rise in snus usage from 4% to 26% among 18-year-old girls in the last 10 years. Among boys, 31% of 18-year-olds use snus regularly.
These are all-time highs. The reason for this dramatic increase is the proliferation of so-called “white snus”, which does not contain tobacco, only nicotine. In fact, snus usage was at record lows before rising again in the mid 2010s, around the time white snus first became a mass market product. White snus has been particularly marketed at young women, leading to the often derogatory term tjejsnus, or “girl snus”.
In the years I’ve lived here, the transformation has been striking. Once associated with elderly men with stained teeth in dingy drinking establishments, the new image of snus is an endless variety of cheerful, lurid designs and exotic flavours, everything from sparkling strawberry and salted caramel to gin and tonic, jalapeño and lime, Irish coffee, and chilli chocolate.
A quick glance round any busy restaurant or bar in Sweden will show just how many people, particularly the younger ones, now have the distinctive, circular plastic snus tub sitting on the table in front of them. On central shopping streets in Stockholm and other towns, you can find stores where rows and rows of snus packets with cutesy logos are arranged like pick and mix candy, with smiling assistants on hand to advise shoppers. Indeed, many shops double up, selling the snus alongside actual sweets.
This relatively liberal approach to both the advertising and sale of snus can seem incongruous in a country generally known for its high level of public health consciousness and its restrictive approach to alcohol and other intoxicants.
The question, then, is how harmful is snus? Research is inconclusive. Tobacco snus has been potentially linked to increased risk for high blood pressure, type-2 diabetes, foetal and neonatal complications in pregnant women, and certain cancers. The relative newness of white snus means the long-term effects are not yet known, but nicotine has been linked to a range of potential complications such as cardiovascular disease.
The public debate around this has been mixed. There’s an affection for the historical legacy of snus in Sweden. People see it as a far-less-dangerous alternative to cigarettes, and cite Sweden’s admirable smoking figures: the lowest in the EU, with the lowest incidence of lung cancer.
In fact, the government reduced taxes on snus by almost 20% in November last year, and raised the tax on cigarettes by around 9%,. The prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said in 2023, “everything we can do to reduce smoking is good”. But critics call it industry propaganda, saying the links between using snus and quitting smoking are hazy.
The legislative framework has only just caught up with white snus – the pre-existing laws were formed around products containing tobacco. As such, manufacturers could skirt age restrictions on the sale and marketing of white snus and were free to target under-18s. Those laws were updated in 2022 to cover nicotine products, but in practice, young Swedes say they still see plenty of adverts for snus on TikTok and other social media.
Perhaps the future of snus may be decided elsewhere. With the popularity of Swedish-manufactured white snus growing in the US, UK and in Europe, legislators are beginning to take more notice. Similar to the Swedish laws, the EU’s tobacco products directive, which is currently under revision, does not cover white snus. Belgium banned nicotine snus in October 2023 – France and Poland are considering it. In the meantime, Sweden’s youth show no sign of cutting down.
Joshua Worth is a British journalist in Sweden
