RE: Does Snus use have a harm reduction effect in Sweden?

Eletter to Tobacco Control in response to an eletter published in the same journal about whether snus (Swedish moist oral snuff) was responsible for a decline in smoking prevalence among men in Sweden.

The prospects for tobacco harm reduction

Tobacco harm reduction (THR) policies aim to reduce the prevalence of tobacco-related harm by encouraging smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit to adopt less harmful ways of obtaining nicotine, such as pharmaceutical nicotine and oral tobacco snuff. Proponents of THR argue that the effects of tobacco control policies have reduced smoking as much as they reasonably can and that we can best reduce tobacco-related harm by encouraging smokers to use these methods, which substantially reduce the health risks of smoking. Critics argue that THR policies will undermine the two traditional tobacco control goals of preventing the uptake of smoking by young people and encouraging smokers to quit. I assess the main arguments and evidence advanced for and against THR.

Assessment of Swedish snus for tobacco harm reduction: technical appendix

This technical appendix details the methods used in an assessment of the potential of snus for tobacco harm reduction using simulation modelling.