Health aspects

In recent years a number of scientific reports on the health effects of Swedish snus have been published. The findings of these reports have helped to clarify some controversial health related issues. Importantly, Swedish researchers did not find any association between the use of snus and cancer or an increased risk of heart infarction.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified smoking as one of the largest public health threats in the world. In Sweden, however, snus has replaced cigarette smokingto a large extent, particularly among men. Consequently, in an international perspective, Swedish males run a comparatively low risk of dying from a tobacco related disease. In the scientific community this circumstance has been named "the Swedish experience".

The prevalence of male tobacco use in Sweden is similar to that of many other European countries. However, the risk for men of dying from a tobacco-related disease is less in Sweden than in any other European country. In the scientific community this paradox has been referred to as "the Swedish Experience" and can probably be explained by the unique pattern of tobacco use in Swedish males. Swedish men smoke much less than in other countries but instead use Swedish Snus to a large extent. In fact, Snus use is as common as smoking.

However, the risk for Swedish females of dying from a tobacco-related disease is in level with the risk for women in the rest of Europe. The tobacco consumption pattern of Swedish females is in line with the pattern in other parts of Europe as Swedish females never used Snus to any large extent. This comparison between males and females speaks for the fact that snus is one of the major factors involved in the staggering harm-reduction statistics for Swedish men.