The world’s second largest tobacco group is to push the European Union to end its ban on an alternative to smoking cigarettes.
British American Tobacco believes its tobacco snuff, marketed as
‘snus’, could persuade some customers to stop smoking – and could
therefore be an important element in its corporate responsibility
programme. It began test-marketing the product in Scandinavia and
Africa in May, but cannot extend trials in Europe because of the
13-year EU ban.
‘We intend to engage with regulators, particularly in the EU, in the
hope they will consider snus and other non-combustible products as
valid options in tobacco harm reduction,’ said BAT.
Snus, which eradicate some of the dangerous chemicals produced by
burning tobacco, are being marketed in South Africa and Sweden, which
is exempt from the EU ban, under two of BAT’s best-known brands, Lucky
Strike and Peter Stuyvesant – in an effort to encourage existing
smokers to switch. No results from the pilots have yet been released.
The EU believes snus could appeal to young people and still pose a
health risk, but BAT says the ban should be reconsidered, provided
existing safeguards are maintained to block sales to persons under age
and marketing is aimed only at adults.
Apart from snus, BAT is developing combustible products it hopes could reduce tar and toxic elements in smoke.
The pollster Mori, which has held stakeholder dialogue sessions for
BAT, said most participants had responded ‘positively’ to such efforts
and felt they should be a priority for the company. However, a minority
were ‘sceptical’. BAT still finds it difficult to persuade some
stakeholders to enter into structured talks on such issues, but reports
that it has held ‘constructive individual discussions on snus with a
number of public health scientists who prefer not to engage in formal
dialogue’.
The anti-smoking pressure group Action on Smoking and Health agrees
there is ‘no logic’ in a ban on snus, and BAT says it will now attempt
‘fuller dialogue’ on the subject. It will also form a working group to
look at smoking in public places.
