Swedish Match's Onico, a tobacco- and nicotine-free snus like product, may cause cavities..

May 8, 2008 - Swedish Match's Onico, a tobacco- and nicotine-free snus like product, may cause cavities.. In 2006 the firm launched in pouches the tobacco-free snus like product, Onico in Sweden, the world's biggest snuff market per capita. Freddi Lewin, health advisor at Swedish Match (Svenska Tandsticks), said the company had been contacted by two dentists in the past month saying patients using the product had developed cavities, and also by consumers with similar concerns. Swedish Match sells about 500,000 cans of Onico per month at about 18 crowns ($2.99USD) per can, versus about 15 million cans of regular snus monthly in Sweden, a company spokesman said. A Swedish dental journal, Tandlakartidningen, said it had received reports from around the country of cavities in connection with the use of tobacco-free snus. It is possible that the corn fiber in Onico may be transformed into sugar and as a result causes dental cavities. Click on image to enlarge..