Snus Can Save People From Cigarettes. Just Ask Sweden.
Swedish men have the lowest rate of lung and oral cancer in Europe. And snus — while certainly not risk-free — are about to get a big push in the U.S.
Not risk-free.
Photographer: Sven Nackstrand/AFP/Getty ImagesTuesday was an important day for public health in the U.S. For the first time ever, the Food and Drug Administration ruled that a company will be allowed to advertise its tobacco products as less harmful than cigarettes. As momentous as this decision is — and it is momentous — the public health community was not exactly cheering the news. In fact, it was downright grumpy about the whole thing.
The products in question are snus. Swedish Match AB, a company that sells cigars, lighters, and chewing tobacco makes snus. (The company divested its cigarettes business in 1999.) Snus users ingest nicotine by placing a small pouch filled with tobacco in between their teeth and their lips. Nicotine can be addictive, but snus aren’t lethal like cigarettes.