Sweden's minister for trade, Ewa Bjorling, yesterday raised the question of snus as EU competition authorities met in Brussels to review regulations for tobacco products for the first time in 10 years.

According to a news story by Dow Jones Newswire, Sweden claims that prohibition of snus sales is not compatible with the principles of free movement of goods and argues for a uniform regulation of all tobacco products taking into account that "a number of similar, often-more-dangerous products are allowed to circulate freely in the internal market."
Swedish snus, a moist powder tobacco used in Sweden and other Nordic countries for over 200 years, was banned within the EU in 1992, but Sweden was granted a permanent exemption from the ban when it entered the EU in 1995.
Sweden lost SEK 30 billion in snus export revenue from 1995 to 2009, a report published in January 2010 by the Swedish Retail Institute shows. The report claims that Swedish food exports to the EU would increased by 10 per cent if snus were legalized.
The European Commission is expected to come up with a proposal for a new tobacco directive some time next year. (pi)