Swedish public health agency calls for ban on teachers' snus use

Snus use has soared among Swedish youth since the launch of white snus in 2016. While tobacco-free, the pouches often contain high doses of nicotine and are highly addictive.

According to last year’s national school survey by the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs (CAN), 16 percent of ninth-graders used snus, an increase from just 5 percent in 2017. Among upper-secondary students, the figure is 29 percent. The sharpest increase is among girls, rising from 4 percent to 26 percent over the past decade.

The Public Health Agency warns that nicotine products such as white snus and e-cigarettes carry both direct and indirect risks. Young users are more likely to start smoking cigarettes, drink more, or try cannabis. Research also suggests nicotine can impair the developing brain.

“We don’t know the long-term effects, but we know enough: all tobacco and nicotine use among young people is harmful. The precautionary principle applies,” says investigator Grethe Fochsen.

The tobacco industry often cites Sweden as proof that snus helps reduce smoking rates, as just 5 percent of Swedes smoke. Fochsen rejects this: “There is no scientific evidence that snus reduces smoking. Sweden’s success comes from decades of preventive work against cigarettes.”

The health agency argues that similar efforts must now target nicotine pouches. Better enforcement is also needed: 40 percent of underage users report buying snus directly in shops.

The agency also wants schools to act as role models. It proposes banning all nicotine use during school hours – not only for students, even if they are over 18, but for teachers too.

“How adults behave influences how children view risks,” Fochsen explains.

The idea sparks mixed feelings among young people.

“Imagine being a teenager, hormones raging, and then someone tells you no snus. I’d be furious,” says 24-year-old Varja in Stockholm.

Sophie, 22, agrees that teachers should also be included: “If we’re not allowed, they shouldn’t be either. I had a teacher with snus dripping from his teeth.”

But not everyone supports restrictions. Hilda Johansson, 24, who doesn’t use snus herself, says: “I get wanting control in schools. But adults should be able to make their own choices – even their own mistakes.”