Stockholm joins the No Smoking Band Wagon

[TexasStooge]

Sweden bans smokers from bars, snus makers rejoice

By Daniel Frykholm

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Reuters) - The makers of "snus," a smokeless tobacco product banned in most of the EU, looked forward to new sales in Sweden Wednesday after the government banned smoking in restaurants.

The Nordic country is the fourth in Europe to follow the example of Ireland, where a smoking ban in pubs, restaurants and workplaces was introduced in March last year.

The move has been largely welcome in public health-conscious Sweden, with opinion polls showing 85 percent support for an end to smoking in restaurants.

"You still go out mainly to get drunk. The smoking is just a bonus," Otto Gabrielsson, a 23-year-old Swede told Reuters late Tuesday in a downtown Stockholm bar.

It was also cheered by the makers of snus, already a trademark vice for Swedes.

Pronounced "snoos," the moist tobacco tucked under the lip gives a strong nicotine buzz, but produces less saliva than chewing tobacco, making it more practical to use indoors as the user does not have to spit.

"We're in the midst of supplying restaurants with vending machines, and snus coolers for bars. The restaurant people have been a bit slow to catch on but there's a lot of demand now," said Mikael Arnebert, a spokesman for Swedish Match, the world's largest snus maker.

Almost 10 percent of Sweden's nine million population use snus, but it is prohibited in the rest of the European Union due to uncertainty over its health impact.

The Scandinavian country negotiated an exemption before joining the EU in 1995, due to its long tradition of using the product.

Swedish Match, which also sells snus in the United States, says it is safer than smoking, but the World Health Organization has said the risk of pancreatic cancer is higher for snus users.

EU outsider Norway, which enforced a smoking ban in restaurants a year ago, said sales of cigarettes has dropped due to the new law, while snus sales surged.

"Sales of snus have risen almost 30 percent. There was an increasing trend before but it's been strengthened by the ban," said Karl Erik Lund, a researcher at Norway's Institute for Alcohol and Drug Research, which released a report on the effects of the ban Wednesday.

Italy and Malta have also enacted similar laws and there are plans to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces in Spain, Belgium and Great Britain.

(Additional reporting by Gleb Bryanski)
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3 years ago; Dallas, TX has put a smoking ban in all public places.

[StormChasr]

Well, Florida has smokeless restaurants, and now Georgia is taking a lesson---yipeeeeee!!!!!!!

[CentralFlGal]

Yep, smokers in my family don't waste money at restaurants anymore.

Pretty soon it will be perfume, obesity, and anything else that annoys others. And that smell of coconut on the beach that makes my stomach turn.

Aren't there popcorn-less movie theaters now?

What's funny about the article is that it heralds a no public smoking scheme for 'public health's sake' - in a pub?

[Dee Bee]

The fact that outdoor dining options for smokers are available pretty-much year-round makes the FL ban a bit easier for smokers to take, I'd guess. Bars not physically connected to restaurants allow smoking, and since many smokers have their habit connection with alcohol, that seems to be workable, too. BTW, my (long-ago) "social-smoking" habit connection was, of all things, with Starbucks. When I think of sitting outside in nasty Chicago-area weather I'm amazed at my priorities (or stupidity??) back then ....

[AussieMark]

Smoking is banned from Restaurants, some clubs and some of Sydneys Beaches are also introducing smoking bans


---Mark---