A tightly controlled webinar that excluded many consumer voices has mounted a sharp attack on Sweden\u2019s world-leading record on smoking reduction – dismissing the role of safer nicotine products and questioning the science behind harm reduction.<\/p>
The closed-door forum, Sweden: Setting it Straight, brought together tobacco control campaigners from across Europe and beyond. But multiple consumers say their registration requests were declined, leaving the discussion dominated by critics of non-combustible nicotine.<\/p>
Those admitted heard repeated claims that Sweden\u2019s dramatic fall in smoking \u201chas nothing to do\u201d with snus, nicotine pouches or vaping.<\/p>
Opening the session, Swedish public health advocate Lisa Lennartsdotter Ermann rejected what she called the \u201charm reduction narrative\u201d.<\/p>
\u201cThis narrative lacks evidence,\u201d she said, arguing that Sweden\u2019s low smoking rates were driven instead by taxation, advertising bans, smoke-free laws and cessation services.<\/p>
She pointed to decades of regulation, from workplace smoking bans in the 1990s to smoke-free restaurants in 2005 and outdoor areas in 2019, as the main explanation for falling cigarette use.<\/p>
But harm reduction advocates argue that this account ignores what makes Sweden unique in Europe – the widespread use of safer oral nicotine products as alternatives to smoking.<\/p>
Today, daily smoking in Sweden stands at around five per cent – the lowest in the EU – while snus and nicotine pouches are widely used by former smokers.<\/p>
Ermann also claimed there was \u201ca lack of evidence\u201d that snus and vapes help people quit smoking long term, citing Swedish reviews and surveys of 15-year-olds.<\/p>
She told the audience that users of snus and vapes were \u201cmore common to start smoking over time\u201d, and said youth data undermined claims that safer nicotine products reduce smoking.<\/p>
Harm reduction advocates say this conflates teenage experimentation with adult smoking cessation, and overlooks a substantial international evidence base.<\/p>
Multiple reviews by public health bodies in the UK, New Zealand and elsewhere have concluded that smoke-free nicotine products are far less harmful than cigarettes and can help smokers quit, particularly when other methods have failed. <\/p>