How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine

Originally published in Bloomberg Businessweek on January 19, 2024 as “How Sweden Quit Smoking Without Quitting Nicotine”

On an autumn afternoon in Stockholm’s trendy Södermalm neighborhood, the terraces are brimming with locals sipping coffee, wine and beer. But instead of ashtrays or lighters, tables are scattered with small round plastic containers bearing brand names such as General, Velo, Zyn, Göteborgs Rapé and Ettan.

They contain snus, nicotine-filled pouches resembling tiny teabags that users stuff under their upper lip. Traditional snus is made with moistened tobacco that’s been pasteurized and flavored, while its decade-old permutation, colloquially called white snus, uses plant-based fibers in lieu of tobacco to deliver nicotine. Swedes don’t differentiate between the two types: It’s all snus—and depending on whom you ask, the reason why Sweden has, just about, quit smoking.

As of 2022 only 5.6% of the population still indulged in regular cigarettes. That’s the lowest rate anywhere in Europe, and should the trajectory continue, that figure will fall below 5% at some point in 2024—the level at which a country can declare itself “smoke-free.”

As governments around the world strive to curb smoking, Sweden has become a controversial case study in how best to do so. While public-health officials and antismoking advocates attribute the country’s success to effective policymaking, politicians, Big Tobacco and some public-health experts claim the real credit should go to snus.

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Reported with Andy Hoffman. Photo by Erika Gerdemark.