Swedish anti-smoking strategies offers solution for languishing EU smoking rates

20 August, Stockholm, Sweden – SMOKING rates across the EU have stagnated because of a lack of availability of smoke free nicotine alternatives, say international health experts, backed by new data from Eurobarometer’s latest report: ‘Attitudes of Europeans towards tobacco and related products’.

Citing the new data, Smoke Free Sweden researchers said smoking prevalence in the 27 Member States had fallen by just a single percentage point – from 25% to 24% – since the last iteration of the survey in 2020. If smoking levels continue on the same trajectory, the EU will fail to achieve its goal of reducing the smoking rate to less than 5% by 2040.

Yet in Member States where less harmful alternatives, such as nicotine pouches and vapes, are available, the picture is significantly different. In Sweden, the most recent official data showed a smoking prevalence of only 5.6%. Similarly in the Czech Republic, where e-cigarettes are not taxed, a 24% decline in smoking prevalence was recorded.

One in five Swedish adults use nicotine pouches and snus, a smokeless tobacco product. Sweden also has the highest rate of smoking cessation, with more than a third (36%) of respondents saying they used to smoke but have now stopped. The country also boasts 44% fewer tobacco-related deaths than the European average, a lung cancer rate 41% lower, and 38% fewer deaths attributable to any cancer. This year, the Swedish government implemented a 20% tax cut on snus, acknowledging that it carries significantly lower health risks compared to cigarettes.

Meanwhile in Estonia, smoking rates have increased by a whopping 40% since 2020 amidst continued restrictions on e-cigarette flavours.

Despite these figures, most EU member states have failed to acknowledge that alternative products are a successful pathway to smoking cessation with lifesaving potential. 

According to Eurobarometer, only 3% of Europeans use e-cigarettes, while 4% use nicotine pouches, largely due to misinformation about the relative risks they pose compared to smoking. 

Commenting on the Eurobarometer data, Dr Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden, said:

“It is disheartening, but not surprising, to see the EU’s inaction on tobacco harm reduction causing progress on smoking rates to flatline.

“As we enter a new EU mandate, the onus is now on policymakers to set aside ideology and provide smokers with alternative nicotine products.

“Sweden has proven that alternatives work to reduce smoking rates and save lives.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Contact

Smoke Free Sweden

Jessica Perkins

info@smokefreesweden.org

www.smokefreesweden.org

About Smoke Free Sweden

Smoke Free Sweden is a movement that encourages other countries to follow the Swedish experience when it comes to Tobacco Harm Reduction. Sweden is about to become the first ‘smoke free’ European country, with a smoking rate below 5 percent. This remarkable achievement can be attributed to Sweden’s open attitude towards alternative nicotine products.

For more information on Sweden’s successful approach to becoming a smoke free nation, please visit www.smokefreesweden.org.