Health experts defend Sweden’s smoke-free success against EU’s 700% tax hike

Smoke Free Sweden submission urges Finance Minister to reject Brussels’ excise plan that threatens a proven harm reduction model and Swedish sovereignty

STOCKHOLM – International health experts are rallying behind Sweden’s smoke-free success, warning that an EU-driven 700% tax hike on nicotine pouches threatens to destroy the world’s leading harm-reduction model.

Smoke Free Sweden today formally submitted its response to the Ministry of Finance on the European Commission’s proposed tobacco excise directive, urging the Government to protect Sweden’s harm reduction model that has delivered the lowest smoking rates in Europe.

Sweden’s achievement is historic: daily smoking rates have fallen to just 5.3% – nearly five times lower than the EU average – thanks to a uniquely Swedish strategy that promotes safer, smoke-free alternatives such as snus, nicotine pouches and vapes. This approach has saved lives and earned strong public support, with male lung cancer mortality now 61% lower than the EU average.

Dr. Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden, said: “The EU should be applauding Sweden’s achievement, not dismantling the very approach that made it possible. Sweden has shown the world that harm reduction saves lives. This is a Swedish success story and a source of national pride that should be defended against EU overreach.”

The submission warns that the European Commission’s reported proposal to impose higher excise taxes of up to 700% on nicotine pouches and other reduced-risk products would undermine Sweden’s proven model, create perverse incentives to continue smoking and infringe upon Sweden’s sovereign right to shape its own public health and taxation policies.

Dr. Human added: “Other EU countries with five times higher smoking rates should be learning from Sweden, not forcing Sweden to adopt policies that have failed elsewhere. For Swedes, this is a matter of national sovereignty, as well as public health. Sweden has built a model that works and Swedes must defend it.”

Smoke Free Sweden’s submission calls on the Government to:

Reject the Commission’s proposed excise increases on safer nicotine alternatives

Defend Sweden’s sovereign right to apply differentiated tax policies

Champion harm reduction as a legitimate pillar of EU public health policy

“By resisting this misguided directive, Sweden will protect its own citizens and lead the way for a healthier Europe,” Dr. Human concluded. Sweden’s harm reduction strategy has also earned widespread public backing. A 2024 nationwide survey found that 74% of ex-smokers support exporting “the Swedish model” of tobacco control to other European countries, while two-thirds of pouch users warned that new bans or restrictions would be the single biggest obstacle to achieving a smoke-free Europe.