Swedish Match (Svenska Tandsticks) shares are falling in 2008..

February 20, 2008 - The shares of Swedish Match AB, the world's second-biggest maker of smokeless tobacco products, fell four kronor, or 2.8 percent, to 138 kronor ($21.75 USD) in Stockholm trading on Tuesday (2/19/2008). The stock has declined 11 percent in 2008 after 11 years of gains. Taxes on snus, or Swedish-style snuff, rose again last month in the only European Union country that permits its sale. A scientific committee said on Tuesday there's not enough evidence to show that snus may help people quit smoking, casting a pall on efforts by Swedish Match to lift a ban in other EU states. Snuff generates about half of Swedish Match's operating profit, and the bulk of snuff sales comes from Sweden. The country's government raised taxes by 37 percent last month (January 2008) after doubling them in 2007. The company has forecast an effect similar to that of the last tax rise, which contributed to a 10-percent drop in total sales and a 27-percent slide in operating profit in last year's first quarter (2007). Swedish Match and competitors such as Altria Group Inc have banked on demand for smokeless products to fuel sales as fewer people buy cigarettes in the United States and western Europe. ( "Swedish Match boosts result with land sell-off" by Thomas Mulier 2008-2-21, ShanghaiDaily.com) See related news briefs: November 18, 2007, October 25, 2007 and September 17, 2007. Also of interest: Philip Morris (PM) USA May Acquire Swedish Match (Svenska Tandsticks).. and Philip Morris International acquires Swedish Snus manufacturer Rocker Production AB...