Political blunder in EU flavor-labelling ban problematic for Swedish snus

Due to a "political mistake," the EU tobacco directive could prevent Swedish snus manufacturers from specifying the flavor of the product on the packaging, Swedish media reported.

According to the EU directive, manufacturers of Swedish snus are free to choose flavors for the product, but may not write on the labels what the flavor is. That means it will be virtually impossible to advertise flavored snus, a move that has disappointed manufacturers for whom flavored versions of the moist tobacco is a growing market.

However, former MEP and Green Party politician Carl Schlyter suggests that Sweden should ignore the rule, saying the matter of excluding flavor information on packaging was simply omitted from the EU directive text.

"We noticed the omission before voting on the text, but at that point there was not enough support for restarting the process. People were afraid that other things would then end up being added so nothing was changed," Schlyter said.

On Wednesday, Goran Lundahl, a solicitor who is responsible for an inquiry into how Sweden should relate to the EU tobacco directive, presented his first report to the government. Among other things, Lundahl considered how labels should look. His report does not suggest that Sweden should demand an exemption from the directive in order to allow labels to specify flavors.

Yet Schlyter told Swedish Radio that while Lundahl's statement is in accordance with what the EU directive specifies, Sweden does not have to follow the rule. "We agreed that this is how it should be interpreted and so if we would act differently I don't think the Commission would sue us," he said.

In 2013, Sweden won a battle with the European Parliament to keep flavored versions of the product and the country has also been allowed to determine the content of snus, a moist tobacco put under the lip. Endit