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PLACED UNDER THE LIP  In Sweden, snus is placed behind the upper lip, which is in distinct contrast to use in the United States, where smokeless tobacco is placed in the cheek or lower lip. Why is this important? Because placement in the upper lip induces less salivary gland secretion than that in the lower lip. Consequently, Swedish snus users don't need to expectorate "tobacco juice," avoiding both the negative images of disease transmission and unsocial behavior. SWEDISH TOBACCO TRADITIONS Swedish tobacco traditions are strong and very well documented because the country has the oldest continuous national records of tobacco manufacturing and consumption, dating back to 1780. I will describe the historical evolution of Swedish tobacco use, set in the broader context of global trends. This story is virtually unknown outside Scandinavia and not fully appreciated or understood even within Sweden, but it has special relevance to millions of smokers throughout the European Union and in other countries. In the Swedish empire, though, an entirely different transition took place, as plug tobacco was replaced by snus. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries Sweden was the only European country that encouraged tobacco cultivation, and this may have played a key role in the establishment of snus use. According to Inga Junhem, curator of the Tobacco and Match Museum in Stockholm, snus was first made from ground tobacco, potash, and water by Swedish farmers for their own consumption. The popularity of the product grew, and it became known as "fattigmans lyx" (the poor man's luxury). A snus factory was established in Goteborg as early as 1795, and this product was firmly established as the most popular tobacco product in Sweden by the 1840s. The dominant tradition of snus use in Sweden appears to have prevented the widespread adoption of tobacco combustion. This had a profound and lasting effect on Swedish tobacco use patterns and — in the case of cigarette smoking — related adverse health consequences. Those consequences are still present today, almost two hundred years later. Karl Fagerstöm Karl Fagerstöm, a nicotine and tobacco researcher from Helsingborg, believes that Sweden's neutrality in both world wars was a key factor in maintaining the low prevalence of smoking among men because they were not immersed in the smoking culture fostered by these events. That is, neutrality not only spared the lives of Swedish men during these wars, but it may have had the effect of saving lives for decades afterward through lower smoking rates. Swedish society was not completely immune from the post-war wave of smoking, as Swedish national tobacco consumption statistics show a jump in cigarette consumption starting after World War II, concurrent with a decline in snus consumption (Figure 1). Even then, smoking prevalence among men remained far lower than that of other European countries. Other cultural influences may have played roles in the distinct pattern of tobacco use in Sweden. With the exception of Stockholm, Göteborg, and Malmö, Swedish society is not urban-centered but instead is focused on outdoor employment and leisure activities that are quite consistent with smokeless use. Snus use is exceptionally well suited for work in the historically important forestry industry, which is not particularly tolerant of open fires of any kind and which remains quite dominant throughout the northern two-thirds of the country. This page in på Svenska language. This page in Auf Deutsch language. This page in en Français language. This page in in Italiano language. This page in En Español language. |
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