Health minister Bent Høie’s green and generic snus boxes have not dampened the appetite for Norwegian snus users, figures from snus giant Swedish Match show.
Half a year ago, health minister Bent Høie introduced a boring snus box model that were supposed to curb the desire for snus and prevent young people from starting tobacco products.
According to Nettavisen, figures from snus giant Swedish Match, which is known for products like General and Nick and Johnny, show that the introduction of the ugly green snus boxes has, however, had little or no effect on Norwegian snus habits. The green snus boxes have therefore not prevented Norwegian snus from adding more and more tobacco under the upper lip.
Instead of a reduction in tobacco use, there have been record sales for the snus companies. Swedish Match, which produces half of all snus boxes in Norway, had a turnover of SEK 13 billion in 2018.
However, the Ministry of Health and Care Services, which was behind the introduction of the new snus boxes, believes it is too early to conclude on the effect of the new regulations.
“It is under one year since the regulations were introduced, so it is too early to say anything about the impact,” said State Secretary Anne Bramo to Nettavisen and adds that the goal of standardized tobacco packaging is primarily to prevent young people from starting tobacco.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
Because this was stupid to begin with and nothing more than a virtue signaling to get approval to increase tax on something people are already addicted to
The only option is to increase the tax and duty on tobacco products.