Swedish government to increase tax on SNUS again on January 1, 2008

November 18, 2007 - - Last year on January 1, 2007 the tax on SNUS went up 100%. The tax for 2008 is to go up another 50%. (Svenska Tandsticks - SM) with a near monopoly on the SNUS market in Sweden accounting for over 90% of sales plans to increase prices and reduce portion sizes. (Some SM brands include General (40%), Ettan (19%), Grov (17%), Göteborgs Rapé (10%) and Catch (8%)). A box of General Portion SNUS (pouches) will cost 34 kronor ($5.34) compared to 30 kronor ($4.72) at present. The lose SNUS version will rise in price from 35 kronor ($5.50) to 43 kronor ($6.76), while the amount in each box will fall from 50 grams to 45 grams. The rise in the tobacco tax at the beginning of 2007 led to a large drop in sales. (Snus prices set to skyrocket, The Local, 11/18/2007) (See related news briefs: October 25, 2007 and September 17, 2007.) As more and more information surfaces on the dangers of SNUS (e.g., increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer - the deadliest cancer of them all, increased risk of fatal cardiovascular disease and stroke, exposure to carcinogens and the oral lesion of hairy tongue) it seems that Sweden is giving up the harm reduction model. ( Sweden giving up harm reduction model?, Eudoxa Science, 12/06/2006)