Sweden becomes a smoke-free country | Hacker News Reader

Sweden becomes a smoke-free country

thelocal.se

47 pointsTeever38 comments

What a masterclass in modern spin:

1: Take a problem, in this case tobacco consumption

2: Isolate a part of it, ideally a the part that is most visible and/or easiest to go after. As others have mentioned, Sweden has a large culture of non-smoked tobacco consumption

3: Define an easily achieved win condition, brand it as complete success. In this case "smoke-free" means under 1 in 20 Swedes smoke

4: Get your buddies in the press to publish breathless articles on your 'Incredible' milestone

5 (ideally optional): If anyone ever tries to hold you accountable, double down.

To be entirely fair, a whole country switching from smoking to safer oral nicotine is a massive health win. The bad things in cigarettes are mostly not nicotine.

To be clear they commonly use snus which is tobacco product, not just nicotine pouch. It shares many of the health issues associated with smoking tobacco and also has it's own ones (e.g. related to gum health).

I don’t fear second hand gum issues

And what are those many health issues shared between snus and cigarettes?

As an ex snusare and ex smoker, this is a pretty wild claim to make my friend

Looks like my information is a bit outdated. Some published research do state that snus cause increased risk of certain cancers (e.g. esophageal, pancreatic, stomach cancer, colorectal, oral and pharyngeal cancer), but some newer research suggest that this inconclusive.

The other primary risks are things which tie more to nicotine in general (like stroke & various effects on pregnancy including increased risk of stillbirth).

> If anyone ever tries to hold you accountable, double down.

Basically the entire policy of the current US administration summed up in a sentence lol

You only think that because you don't consume news from other nations.

Really? Just 3.

I didn't say it was the only one, it's probably the worst offender though

Next one! ....Norwegians and the global climate benefits of Electric cars :-))

> Define an easily achieved win condition, brand it as complete success. In this case "smoke-free" means under 1 in 20 Swedes smoke

How is that an "easily achieved" win condition?

Last time I went there I saw a founder that couldn’t do an interview without changing zyn pouches every literal five (5) minutes

FT ran this headline a few days ago: French nicotine pouch ban is ‘attack on Swedish way of life’, minister says

Heh, haven't heard of this but as a frenchie who sometimes hears swedes over the internet, I find that the permanent snus makes it sound like the person can't stop keeping some gum in their mouth, refilling mid-sentence because they really, really can't help it and it's more important than your interaction.

And so, having grown up hearing "audible gum chewing is rude", that sometimes feels rude to me. And it's not even in person!

You can do that in a debate and get elected as the president of Poland, sadly.

Zyn pouches are designed to be placed between the user's upper lip and gum, or between the gum and cheek, and used for up to one hour. If someone is swapping out in five minutes then they are literally wasting product, even if you chewed it for five minutes I don't think you could process it all. Based on my experience in using the product for a couple of months.

> Smoke-free

> Less than 5%

Incredible milestone but when 1 in 20 is still smoking I feel like it's a bit early to call yourself smoke free.

As a child in the 1970s I visited family there and my memory is that it seemed like every adult and older teen smoked. Often filterless. So it's quite a change in a few decades.

I think the UK is lower than this - it's pretty unusual to see people smoking. Far less common than on the continent.

Perhaps that's location dependent. I was just there and was taken aback by how many more people I saw smoking than where I live in the US. Still not as much as southern or eastern Europe, but more than the large US city nearest me.

It's low indeed, but still around 10% in 2024: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthan...

That's higher than I would've guessed! Interesting.

I think everywhere in the west was like that in the 70s.

If 1 in 20 is smoke free, I’m declaring the 1 in 10 rate in the us as ALMOST smoke free.

Yeah... I live here, and I would definitely not call us smoke free. But it's gotten better.

Smoke free perhaps but not nicotine free by far. I live in Denmark and have a teenage son, he tells me that 90% of girls at his year are hooked on illegally imported and unregulated vapes, much stronger in nicotine than cigarettes, and in some cases loaded with fentanyl and other drugs. We have had the first couple of deaths of 15-year olds already.

Meanwhile, the parents' generation and politicians are looking at the declining cigarette sales (and declining tax revenues) and are busy declaring victory and self-congratulating, with no idea what is coming.

Sweden is unusual in that it has a culture of using snus, a non-smoking tobacco preparation, and in fact it is unique among the EU member states in having it actually be legal (it's banned EU-wide, but Sweden got an opt-out in the accession negotiations). Neighbouring Norway also has legal snus but Norway isn't a full EU member.

This probably contributes to the low smoking rates, but it also means that Swedish politicians love acting like the tobacco industry is their best friend,[1][2] because it's in the national interest to protect this uniquely Swedish tradition or whatever. And recently, the so-called white snus (Swedicism; English name is nicotine pouches, only Sweden considers this a kind of snus) like ZYN is a way for the Swedish tobacco industry to get a new generation of young people hooked in nicotine, interestingly including ones outside Sweden.

[1] https://www.svt.se/nyheter/inrikes/regeringen-presenterade-t...

[2] https://www.svt.se/nyheter/utrikes/svenskar-i-eu-pratar-flit...

We will not tolerate snus slander here! long live swedish match

I will openly hate on Swedish snusers until they stop littering their pouches and cakes every-damn-where. Some of those guys even throw it onto indoor ceilings. It’s disgusting.

In korea people will chug through americanos like its water and dump the cups on the streets because there are no trash cans. If they had nic pouches there there is a good chance theyd clog the sewer system.

Id still take nic pouches and plastic cups over cig smoking losers anyday of the week

As I Swede snus can suck it.

Here's a free, fact-packed, breakdown on both smoking and "snus" in Sweden: https://www.folkhalsomyndigheten.se/the-public-health-agency...

Numbers are from 2024, but smoking was at 5.4%, and snus at 15.7%.

> The increase [in use of snus] is particularly evident among women aged 16–29 years, where the proportion of daily snus users has risen from 3 percent in 2018 to 18 percent in 2024.

Geez that's a little alarming. Looks like that's basically all down to nicotine pouches too.

Yes, the whole thing is remarkably awful. Disgusting too.

Correction. Only 5% admit to smoking

I wonder what their next moral/health/social/environmental crusade will be. Governments have made vast sums out of tobacco duty, so what do they need to make up for that?

I hope they go after surplus soviet grenades next.

Do Netherlands next

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