Restrict marketing - but not flavoring. Introduce harm reduction in tobacco and nicotine policies. And empower consumers to make informed decisions about harm. This was the view of three of Sweden's political youth associations in a discussion on new nicotine products.
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The seminar "A smoke-free Sweden - What happens next?" was organized by Philip Morris and focused on the future of e-cigarettes, snus and nicotine pouches as substitutes for cigarettes in Sweden. The concept of tobacco harm reduction was central to the discussion, not least in light of the fact that Philip Morris has recently expressed a willingness to stop selling smoking tobacco and instead focus on smoke-free products.
"We have the technology today to make it happen. But politicians can accelerate the development and we want them to talk about the possibilities that exist today." says Claude Guiron, Nordic Science Director Philip Morris AB
"Politicians have the opportunity to steer development"
Harm reduction as a method to reduce the harm of smoking a official strategy in the UK. E-cigarettes (but also snus and other smokeless nicotine products) are, according to the UK Department of Health, at least 95% less harmful than cigarette smoking. Smokers urged to switch from smoking to vejpning in recurrent information campaigns.
Ulrika Karlsson (m), Member of Parliament and UN health advisor, believes that politicians are well placed to steer the trend towards less harmful nicotine use.
"It is a tantalizing thought that cigarettes would disappear from the market. It's hard to know if it's possible. But in general, we should focus on restricting products that are known to be harmful, while being more permissive towards less harmful alternatives," she said. during the seminar.
Must come from below
The Sweden Democrats' youth association, Ungsvenskarna, also believes that policy should be clear about the risks of harm from various nicotine products. But they also believe that any change must start with consumers and not least the industry.
"I think it's important that change like this comes from below. And that it comes from the consumers concerned and not from politicians. This is not to say that politics plays a major role. We have different tools to control things, including different tax levels. In Sweden today, we see general tax increases for all tobacco products instead. This was something that both the Social Democrats and the Moderates voted against earlier this fall." Tobias Andersson, spokesperson for the Young Swedes
Promoting the phasing out of cigarettes
Réka Tolnai, chair of the youth wing of the Center Party, CUF, agreed. She also said that politicians have a responsibility to spread information and knowledge about harm reduction.
"We can see that the industry wants to phase out cigarettes, and it's the job of politicians to promote this and not try to control it. I would say that the generally negative attitude towards tobacco is counterproductive and does not promote development. If we see that consumers prefer a healthier product, like snus, nicotine pouches or e-cigarettes, why should we put up barriers to that?" says Réka Tolnai.
Young people replace cigarettes with other products
Erik Engstrand, The first vice-president of the Moderate Youth Union (MUF) also stressed the importance of different levels of taxation, based on risk of harm, for nicotine products. But he also noted that smoking and harm reduction is not a hot topic in politics. According to him, harm reduction is already a fact in Sweden, especially among young people.
"I feel like smoking is going away in our generation. We have embraced snus instead, or other alternatives, like e-cigarettes. So I would say that drugs are a bigger issue, and harm reduction in drug policy is the biggest challenge in the near future." says Erik Engstrand.
Want to see research-based policy
The Swedish Parliament voted earlier this year No to the government's proposal for a new ANDT strategy. One of the reasons was that the government had chosen not to distinguish between smoking tobacco and smokeless nicotine products. The Riksdag therefore asked the government to set up an inquiry to compare the risks of harm between the products and then propose a new framework to counteract the harm caused by smoking in Sweden.
"We should have a research-based policy and look at what actually works from a harm reduction perspective. We need to know what is harm reduction and what is counterproductive. It's about rethinking old truths that just say: "if it's harmful to health, we should ban it". Réka Tolnai.
Questioning marketing - not flavors
The government has also proposed a comprehensive taste ban for e-cigarettes and e-liquid. The government argues that attractive flavors attract non-smokers to use e-cigarettes. But according to Réka Tolnai the issue is more complicated. Appealing flavors are not necessarily negative, she says.
"It is important that these products are allowed to be attractive. Because then it is easier for smokers to switch over. And there is a point in questioning the marketing. These new products have managed to appear "fresh", of course. But instead of talking about bans, we should focus on education and information. What are the harmful effects of nicotine, and what should you know before using them? But I think it's very important to make sure that these new products remain available, precisely so that smokers can switch," says Réka Tolnai.
