Fortunately, several parties agree with the Progress Party, and we will work to secure a majority to stop the proposal, says Kristian Eilertsen, health policy spokesperson.
In December, the government sent out a proposal for consultation to introduce a maximum limit of 12 milligrams of nicotine per gram of snus. According to the industry organization NHO reiseliv, this would mean that over half of the snus currently sold in Norway would become illegal.
The Directorate of Health (roughly equivalent to the National Board of Health and Welfare) and the National Institute of Public Health (FHI) are positive. FHI believes the limit is expected to have a positive preventive effect and would entail a lower risk of rapidly developing addiction. The Directorate of Health wants to go further and, among other things, wants a ban on flavoring.
Kristian Eilertsen of the Progress Party, Norway's largest opposition party, does not believe that a maximum limit on nicotine content would contribute to increased public health, but would only "increase cross-border trade and punish law-abiding adults."
Snus has helped many people quit smoking or never start, he says.
Even Høyre, Norway's equivalent of the Moderates, is against the proposal.
The Ministry of Health writes to NTB that much of the snus sold in Norway is produced in Sweden, where a 2024 study suggested a maximum limit of 12 milligrams. Therefore, a consistent limit in Norway is assumed to have limited consequences for snus production, according to the ministry.
The Swedish government has not announced whether it will proceed with the inquiry's proposals.
