Lawmaker Sells Snus From his Office, Says It Helps Smokers Quit
Jump to full article: The Wall Street Journal Interactive Edition, 2008-02-08
Author: ADAM COHEN
Intro: BRUSSELS -- Christopher Fjellner, a member of the European Parliament, says he won't apologize for breaking the law.
From his Brussels office, the Swedish lawmaker sells a Scandinavian chewing tobacco called snus (it rhymes with moose). The European Union banned snus sales in 1992 amid concerns about oral cancer and other health problems. But Mr. Fjellner says snus is safer than smoking and can help nicotine addicts reduce the risk of cancer.
Mr. Fjellner's act of civil disobedience comes at a sensitive time for EU policymakers. The bloc is toughening its stance on tobacco use and weighing a broad ban on smoking in public places by 2009. . . .
The European Commission is studying whether to lift its 1992 ban on snus sales. A decision is expected later this month. People familiar with the review say the commission is unlikely to overturn the ban, but might modify rules to allow more snus sales.
Using snus is legal throughout the EU, but the pouched tobacco can be sold only in Sweden . . .
"We've got nicotine replacement therapy and that, in the majority of cases, does jolly well," said Alexander Macara, former chairman of the British Medical Association and an expert on public health and addiction. "The medical evidence in favor of snus is ambiguous, not definitive."
Pharmaceutical companies, heavily invested in the multibillion-dollar market for stop-smoking products, are lobbying the commission to maintain the ban on snus sales. . . .
British American Tobacco PLC describes snus as a "harm reduction" product. It started selling snus under its Lucky Strike and Peter Stuyvesant brands in Sweden and South Africa over two years ago.
"The tide is in favor of the EU ban being lifted," said Catherine Armstrong, a BAT spokeswoman in London. . . .
"I hope someone comes to arrest me, just to let people know how stupid the EU regulation is," Mr. Fjellner said, his upper lip bulging slightly.
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