Jump to full article: Aftenposten (no), 2007-01-16
Intro: Increasing numbers of Norwegians are walking around with a rather thick upper lip. Under it is a pouch of tobacco, known as "snuff" or snus in the local language, and its popularity has skyrocketed after the country invoked strict anti-smoking laws.
Some are calling it a "snuff epidemic," and it's infected young men especially. Even in Aftenposten's own newsroom, colleagues share the small round boxes of the stuff that older colleagues remember their grandfathers using.
Snuff has suddenly become trendy. "It's good," Anders Stikbøkken, age 21, told newspaper Aften in Oslo. "I think it's great to sit down and relax with a cup of coffee and some snuff. It's become a habit." . . .
Tobacco companies are milking the market for all it's worth. Some are producing "start packages" for teenagers, in which the tobacco pouches are flavoured with fruit or anise extracts. Many sports stars are using snuff as well.
The trend worries some experts, including researcher Karl Erik Lund. "The aggressive anti-smoking campaigns were successful in getting many people to quit," he told Aftenposten. "But a side-effect is that they're beginning with snuff instead.
"Then you're just scaring people over to another product that's just as addictive. We know that snuff isn't as dangerous as smoking, but it's not risk-free."
Kari Huseby of the Ministry of Health is already hoping to snuff out snuff, and has some "anti-snuffing" programs under production.
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