Images of half-empty shelves, worried shop owners and concerned snus factory managers. This is the situation in Norway, since an acute shortage of snus occurred after the fire in the Gothenburg snus factory earlier this year.
Snus has started to appear in shops in Norway. Several media outlets reported this during the week. The reason is the fire that broke out in a snus factory in Gothenburg in the spring. Production stopped at the same time as several stores began stockpiling snus, which in turn led to Swedish Match being unable to meet deliveries.
End of popular varieties
The situation is currently at its worst in Norway, where several media outlets report half-empty shelves around the country. One example is the situation in Svinesund, where some popular snus varieties are almost sold out by now.
- Unfortunately, it is true that we still have delivery problems with products from the Gothenburg factory, including for General Snus," Nils Erlimo, Head of Communications for Swedish Match, told the Norwegian VG newspaper.
"Order in a few weeks"
According to Swedish Match, now part of Philip Morris International, the company is trying to increase production during the summer. Something that has proved easier said than done.
- We have increased production. Actually, we want to increase it even more with more shifts at the factory to increase delivery quality. But it's obviously difficult now in the middle of the holidays. We are doing what we can and hope to get this sorted within a few weeks," says Nils Erlimo, to the newspaper Fredriksstads Blad, which monitors the area around Svinesund in Norway.
Effective in smoking cessation
Snus is popular in Norway and is the only smokeless nicotine product that can be sold without major restrictions in Norway. Snus, together with imported e-cigarettes, as the most used and most successful tool to quit smoking in Norway. This is according to studies by the Norwegian Public Health Agency.
