Snus and health

Both in the scientific sphere and the public health debate, the relative health benefits of Swedish snus compared with cigarette smoking have been highlighted. On these pages, we have compiled information within the areas of snus and health, and on Sweden’s unique relationship to tobacco consumption, which has received international attention as “the Swedish experience”.

Swedish Match quality standard

GOTHIATEK® is Swedish Match's quality standard for the Company’s snus products since year 2000. The uncompromising requirements that GOTHIATEK® imposes on our snus products are based on decades of research and development, with product safety and consumer protection as the key targets.

In focus

Research on snus

In recent years, a number of Swedish studies have been published on the effects of snus on health, based on Swedish conditions. Previously published research on oral tobacco products has mainly dealt with product types used in other parts of the world, such as India, meaning the results have not been representative. The information given here is a summary of current research on snus of the type used in Sweden and the rest of the Nordic region.

The Swedish Experience

The risk of a man dying from a tobacco-related illness is less in Sweden than in any other European country, although tobacco consumption is on a comparable level with that of other countries in Europe. Researchers refer to this paradox as “the Swedish Experience”.

Improve public health

The company is committed to displacing cigarettes by continuing to develop and commercialize alternative and dramatically safer sources of nicotine – which will improve public health. Although nicotine has the potential for addiction, the individual and the societal harm is caused by the way nicotine is most commonly delivered. Cigarette smoking is the dominant delivery device of nicotine, and it causes death and diseases among users, due to the combustion of tobacco.

Related

FAQ

GOTHIATEK® is Swedish Match’s own quality standard for Swedish snus, which we created due to lack of international standards for smokeless tobacco products. The name is trademark protected.

The standard imposes stringent requirements on products and manufacturing aimed at ensuring a high and lasting quality. The standard also means that we have very low content of unwanted substances. Read more about  GOTHIATEK®.

Swedish snus in accordance with GOTHIATEK® is available in Sweden, Norway, the US, among other markets.

Since there are no research results that prove a connection between snus and cancer, the EU decided to remove the demand for the cancer warning on Swedish snus in 2001.

Swedish snus is manufactured from selected tobacco varieties, various salts, flavoring and moisture-preserving substances. In Sweden, snus is legally classified as food. Only food-approved ingredients are used in snus and the manufacturing occurs in premises that are hygienically suitable for food production.

Swedish snus includes mainly the following ingredients:

  • Cooking salt – gives taste and has a preserving effect
  • Sodium carbonate – a basic pH-regulating agent that transforms into bicarbonate in snus. 
  • Food-approved moisture-preserving substances such as glycerol and propylene glycol 
  • Flavoring – gives the various brands their specific character.
More questions

Swedish Match's vision is a world without cigarettes

Vision and strategy
Johan Wredberg

Johan Wredberg

Director Communications and Media Relations
+46-8-6580360