Jump to full article: Irish Times (ie), 2009-04-21
Author: ISABEL CONWAY
Intro: Sweden's trade minister Ewa Bjorling fired the first shots, calling on Brussels to lift the EU ban on exports of Swedish moist snuff, describing the prohibition as discriminatory.
EU internal markets commissioner Charlie McCreevy has also experienced her wrath amid claims that the prohibition amounts to banning the export of French wine or Danish meat.
But Swedish candidate for the Christian Democrats in the forthcoming European elections, Ella Bohlin, has now taken her to task, arguing that there is no demand for legalising snus from other EU member states. She says Sweden should concern itself with more pressing export issues.
A rival European parliamentary candidate, Anders Edberg of the Folkpartiet, has turned snus and its legalisation abroad into an election pledge, saying there is no evidence that it is harmful to people's health.
An alliance of researchers and anti-tobacco activists recently suggested that forms of snuff - including snus - might help people to quit smoking, stressing, nevertheless, that no form of smokeless tobacco was completely harmless.
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