Nicotine Alternatives Can Improve the Wider Economy
Smoking remains the single largest preventable cause of premature death in Europe. However, in Sweden – widely regarded as Europe’s first smoke‑free country – smoking‑related mortality has been declining for some time. This development is expected to deliver annual economic gains worth billions of pounds to Swedish society.
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The report UK and Ireland longevity trends can be boosted by Swedish‑style tobacco policies illustrates, among other things, how nicotine pouches can generate significant socio‑economic and welfare benefits. The explanation lies not in prohibition, but in harm reduction.
A Different Path
Sweden has combined:
- strict regulation and high taxes on cigarettes
- access to substantially less harmful nicotine products such as snus, nicotine pouches and vapes
The result is the lowest share of smokers in the EU, and among the highest levels of healthy life expectancy.
"When people are offered realistic alternatives to cigarettes, public health improves rapidly. And this can generate socio‑economic and welfare gains worth billions."
Alternatives Save Lives
The study shows that countries with shorter life expectancy also have the greatest potential to reduce smoking‑related mortality through Swedish‑style policies. In parts of the UK, this could mean a reduction of more than 50 per cent in smoking‑related deaths among older men.
A Critical Moment
The UK now faces a pivotal choice with the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
"Legislation must be grounded in reality: very few people manage to quit smoking overnight, and bans have not proved particularly effective. People quit when better alternatives are available and socially accepted. That is why snus, nicotine pouches and vapes are central to public health."
