Sweden’s Winning Nicotine Policy and One of the Men Behind it

Johan Hultberg, a member of Sweden’s Moderate Party, has long advocated for a revised nicotine policy, and his vision has now become reality. The Swedish government’s 2025 budget includes a shift in tobacco policy toward harm reduction, which Hultberg sees as a major victory. The minister has been pushing for a sensible policy that distinguishes between nicotine products based on their level of harm, rather than one grouping them all together. For years, the government’s approach has been to reduce tobacco use across the board, without recognizing the varying levels of risk associated with different products like vapes, snus, and nicotine pouches.

With this change, the policy objective now focuses on “reducing the medical and social harm caused by tobacco” rather than simply cutting overall tobacco use. Vejpkollen.se reported that Hultberg, who has been a vocal opponent of overly restrictive regulations like flavour bans on vaping products, views this as a triumph for “common sense” and for users of less harmful nicotine alternatives.

The change is also expected to have broad implications, influencing both Sweden’s national policies and its international stance on tobacco regulation. Hultberg believes the new harm reduction focus will guide the actions of Swedish authorities and shape regulations that better reflect the significant differences between products like cigarettes and smokeless alternatives.

The commendable reduction in snus tax

One of the first indications of this change in tobacco control strategy was the reduction in snus tax, alongside an increase in cigarette taxes. Hultberg hopes this will lead to more policies that differentiate between products based on their health risks, benefiting users of safer nicotine alternatives. The new policy direction signals a departure from previous approaches, focusing on minimizing harm rather than limiting nicotine use altogether.

Sweden’s significant shift from high smoking rates to snus use, a form of low-toxicity oral tobacco, has led to notably lower health risks compared to smoking, with Swedish males experiencing the lowest smoking-related mortality rates in Europe. Around this time last year, when Sweden lowered the tax on snus by 20%, it was commended for doing so despite already being so close to achieving the long sought-after smoke-free goal, a goal which every developed nation on the planet wishes to achieve.

What happens in a parallel universe with no snus?

A recent investigation explored how smoking-attributable mortality in Sweden would have been impacted if snus had not been available. The study employed two key comparisons: first, with a group of countries similar to Sweden in terms of demographics and smoking habits, and second, with a hypothetical scenario where Sweden had no snus usage at all.

Both analyses revealed that snus has saved approximately 3,000 lives annually in Sweden by providing a less harmful alternative to cigarettes. Without snus, smoking-related deaths would have been significantly higher, underscoring the role of snus in reducing the overall health burden of smoking in the country. These data further confirm that the direction Sweden has and is taking is one to be emulated.