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Snus production at Swedish Match’s facility on the Swedish island of Gothenburg. Credit: Swedish Match AB
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Swedish Match AB head office in Stockholm, Sweden. Credit: Swedish Match AB
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Long before tobacco regulators even coined the term “reduced risk”, there was snus. Though originally a Scandinavian domain, snus use has started catching on elsewhere, too.
When Swedish farmers and fishermen began enjoying snus literally hundreds of years ago, they certainly didn’t have “reduced risk” in mind. Rather, it was a matter of sheer necessity and, yes, also practicality. Tightly packed in wooden barrels or crates, the smokeless tobacco available at that time would easily over-ferment and spoil during snail-paced transport and lengthy storage periods. But in the 19th century, a leading snus manufacturer, Jacob Fredrik Ljunglöf, with the assistance of one of the “fathers of modern chemistry”, Jacob Berzelius, started pasteurizing the product, which gave it a much longer shelf life.
Like Phoenix from the ashes
After the Swedish government monopolized tobacco manufacturing, snus consumption peaked in 1919. Then a long and slow decline set in, which rendered this smokeless tobacco category almost extinct by the time the 1960s rolled around. Fortunately, the government monopoly, Swedish Tobacco Company, in 1963 decided that this uniquely Scandinavian way of enjoying tobacco was worth saving. It initiated a complete product overhaul, improving its quality and modernizing the packaging. The effort brought on a remarkable comeback for snus, simultaneously caused a sharp decline in regular smoking rates and eventually led Sweden to clock the lowest male smoking rates in all of Europe.
However, it needs to be highlighted that snus at that time was not yet packed in individual portion sachets as it is today. Users simply would take a pinch of the loose product and stuff it between lip and gum. It could be messy. That changed in 1973, when the Swedish Tobacco Company – ironically on suggestion from a retirement home’s management that no longer wanted to deal with its residents spitting gritty tobacco-colored saliva everywhere - introduced portioned snus. The sachet portioning, so it turned out, only helped snus to become even more attractive to consumers – and took away further market share from cigarettes, too.
Swedish Match dominates world snus market
Enter Swedish Match AB, the globally dominating manufacturer and distributor of snus under an eclectic collection of brand names. The company ultimately is the result of a complicated history of acquisitions, mergers, and restructuring that we are not going to dwell on. Suffice to say that today’s Swedish Match is regarded the successor of the erstwhile Swedish Tobacco Company, whose monopoly was eventually relinquished by the government. By the end of the 1990, snus had effectively become the leading tobacco product category in Sweden, causing cigarette sales to slump even further. As a reaction to that, Swedish Match divested its cigarette business in 1999, with a clear view to build the smokeless category (though the company still markets some cigars in the US).
Reduced risks due to non-combustion
But, after this lengthy yet necessary history lesson, what is it exactly that denotes snus as a “reduced risk tobacco product”? Well, it’s not particularly hard to figure out. As snus is a non-combustible product, its users do not inhale a plethora of potentially cancer-inducing chemicals. Secondly, snus releases its nicotine much slower and more sustained than combustibles, lowering the risk for the onset of cardiovascular and pulmonary dis-eases. Finally, the issue of “passive smoking” is of course entirely eliminated.
“As reduced risk products are most often compared to cigarettes as the benchmark, the fact that snus is not combusted is in itself an elimination of certain risks,” confirmed Cecilia Kindstrand-Isaksson, Swedish Match’s director of public affairs. “On top of that, our company’s proprietary Gothiatek® standard minimizes many unwanted [tobacco] constituents, further lowering the risk for the user,” she said, adding that “over the years, more and more science has emerged on the negligible health effects of using snus, when compared to cigarettes.”
“Reduced risk” is not “zero risk”
However, Kindstrand-Isaksson also readily acknowledged that “reduced risk” is of course not synonymous with “zero risk.” “While there is no doubt that snus, when compared to cigarettes, significantly reduces [certain risks] for the user, Swedish Match has never argued nor claimed that snus is [entirely] harmless… but it is a good alternative for people who are unwilling or unable to stop using nicotine,” she explained. She also recommended that consumers who have never used tobacco or nicotine products certainly should not pick up the habit. Pregnant women likewise should refrain from using snus, as nicotine (from any product!) could have a negative impact on fetal development. “Additionally, people with a history of cardiovascular disease likewise should avoid using nicotine-containing products, including snus,” Kindstrand-Isaksson cautioned.
Swedish Match brands earn first-ever “reduced risk” certification
In October of 2019, the US FDA granted its first ever – and so far only! – reduced risk certification to a total of eight snus products under the Swedish Match-owned General brand label. While two other smokeless tobacco products simultaneously also received “modified risk” acknowledgment from the US regulator, that certification only designated them as “reduced exposure” products; a fine but distinct difference. Under the FDA order, Swedish Match received permission to communicate the risk claim as: “Using General snus instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.” The FDA certification was cause for celebration at the Swedish company, of course.
Many regulators remain decidedly “anti-snus”
On the other hand, things in the European Union (EU), of which Sweden is a member, are not nearly as celebration-worthy. Snus is currently banned across all EU member countries, except Sweden, to which EU regulators accorded special status due to the nation’s long history with that smokeless product. Snus also is legal (and enjoys growing popularity) in Norway due to the circumstance that the country is actually not a full EU member state but merely a member of the European Economic Area (EEA). But Kindstrand-Isaksson told Tobacco Asia that while the EU was the “most glaring example of a regulator banning snus, it is not the only instance.” “Tobacco control policies very rarely acknowledge the role reduced risk products can play in a world where approximately 1.6 billion people smoke [combustibles]. The majority of regulators worldwide indeed appear to believe that snus and other smokeless tobacco products should be grouped in together with combustibles, thus being subject to a slew of restrictions or even bans. It’s illogical,” she elaborated.
Report: 350,000 lives could potentially be saved
As far as the EU is concerned, she also described the health cost as “potentially massive.” “It has been estimated that if males in the other EU countries would turn to consuming tobacco in the same way Swedish men do [i.e. in the form of snus], some 350,000 lives could be saved annually across Europe,” Kindstrand-Isaksson claimed, citing a conclusion reached in a 2017 report published by The Snus Commission, a research body financed by the Swedish Association of Snus Manufacturers (cf. snuskommissionen.se).
Kindstrand-Isaksson asserted that with its pioneering product shift to snus Swedish Match demonstrates that it is possible to leave the cigarette business behind altogether and instead focus on reduced risk products. “I hope that the journey Swedish Match embarked on can inspire other tobacco sector companies, as it shows that shareholder value can be created by offering consumers enjoyable nicotine-containing products that are recognized as safer alternatives to cigarettes, and which can contribute significantly to improved public health.”
India’s Nimex joins snus bandwagon
While numerous companies in Scandinavia and North America already market many snus brands, there’s always room for another player. One of the latest newcomers entering the arena is coming from a wholly unexpected place: India. Mumbai-based Nimex Trading Corporation has been exporting leaf tobacco for more than two decades. But in 2018, the company trained its sights on developing and manufacturing its own snus products, investing heavily in a modern manufacturing facility. As a result of these r&d efforts, the company only very recently rolled out its two initial snus brands, Ssooo Frressh (which is infused with natural mint) and Malta, whose tobacco flavor is enhanced with a mixture of Indian spices. “We first launched in the Middle East and subsequently in the United States,” said Nimex’ owner, Parvez Abdul Kader Khatri.
Wholesomely original, premium products
Parvez insisted that although his brands are manufactured “in the best tradition of Scandinavian-style snus,” they are wholesomely original “due to our painstaking in-house research.” As such, he insisted, “they are bona-fide standalone, proprietary products and do not attempt to match the look or flavor profiles of any other existing brands.” He also added that neither Ssooo Frressh nor Malta must be confused with Indian smokeless tobacco products such as khaini, which are generally made from low-quality tobacco scraps. “Our snus is exclusively manufactured from premium grade Indian tobacco and high-quality local herbs and spices,” he asserted.
Convincing consumers with reliable quality Parvez claimed that his products have so far received “excellent customer feedback in every market where we have launched.” But, he also admitted that Nimex was nevertheless in “the very early stages” of establishing a firm market foothold with its snus brands. According to Parvez, Indian-manufactured snus was something completely novel and markets would require time to be conditioned to a product category that still is largely regarded quintessentially Scandinavian.
“We are not gunning for gaining major market shares,” Parvez said. “Instead, our primary goal is to convince consumers with reliable product quality that can stand up to any other brand out there.” Khatri’s confidence also reflected in his plan to develop additional brands, though he understandably declined to divulge details. “But we will definitely increase snus production, as the product is steadily rising in consumer popularity everywhere.”