The Swedish Public Health Agency suggests investigating a ban on snus use by teachers in schools to discourage students from using it. The proposal comes amid a significant rise in snus use among young people in Sweden, with concerns about its health impacts. The debate highlights differing opinions on whether such a ban would be effective or fair.
Swedish Health Agency Proposes Investigation into Snus Ban for Teachers
Swedish Health Agency Proposes Investigation into Snus Ban for Teachers
Teachers should be prohibited from using snus in schools. This is something the Public Health Agency of Sweden believes "should be investigated." The idea is proposed as a way to motivate students—not allowed to use snus either, according to a proposal to the government.
Snus use is skyrocketing among young people in Sweden. The tobacco industry describes it as a success story in the fight against smoking—a claim contradicted by research in the field.
Now the question is whether the government will proceed with the proposal to ban snus use in schools. According to a response from the Public Health Agency, it would be beneficial to investigate whether teachers should also be included in such a ban.
– How adults behave influences how children and young people perceive the risks of a product, says investigator Grethe Fochsen.
The proposal is met with skepticism among young snus users.
– Imagine being a teenager, you're upset, you have hormones, and then someone tells you that you can't use snus. I would be really angry, says 24-year-old Varja in Stockholm.
Varja uses white snus, just like "everyone" in her circle of friends.
– My sister uses tobacco snus, and I'm like ugh, she says, making a disgusted sound. She's the only one around me who uses tobacco snus. Even my brother uses white snus.
The goal is to quit, but it's difficult, she says.
22-year-old Sophie is also skeptical but agrees with the Public Health Agency that teachers should also be included if students are banned.
– If we can't use snus, then the teacher shouldn't be able to either. I had a teacher where it just dripped from their teeth, she says.
Significant Increase
Snus use has increased significantly among young people in Sweden since the so-called white snus was launched in 2016. The snus contains no tobacco but can have high amounts of nicotine and is highly addictive.
In the national school survey from the Central Association for Alcohol and Drug Information (CAN) last year, 16 percent of ninth graders reported using snus—compared to 5 percent in 2017. Among high school students, 29 percent used snus. The increase is most pronounced among girls, where the proportion of snus users over a ten-year period increased from 4 to 26 percent in high school.
Helen Stjerna, Secretary General of A Non Smoking Generation, which works to reduce young people's use of nicotine and tobacco products, has followed the development with frustration.
They claim it's smoking cessation for adults. In reality, it's the most calculated introduction for children and young people. They've managed to recruit a whole new generation of nicotine users.
The latest CAN report shows that even smoking, which has long been declining among high school students, has stalled. In the past three years, a slight increase has been observed instead.
– If you believe the industry, smokers should be decreasing, says Stjerna.
According to the Public Health Agency, nicotine products like white snus and e-cigarettes pose both direct and indirect health risks.
– Those who use the products are at increased risk of starting to smoke cigarettes. Starting to use e-cigarettes is also linked to an increased risk of drinking more and starting to smoke cannabis, says investigator Grethe Fochsen.
The direct impact is still quite unexplored, but basic research shows that the young brain is sensitive to nicotine and that it can affect emotional and cognitive abilities.
– What impact it has in the long term, we don't know. But when we talk about health risks, we say that all tobacco and nicotine use among children and young people is harmful and that the precautionary principle applies.
Additionally, there are well-known risks associated with snus use during pregnancy. Research on tobacco snus, where it is known that nicotine contributes to harmful effects, shows links to premature birth, in rare cases fetal death in the womb, and sudden infant death syndrome.
Good Example
The industry, however, wants to highlight Sweden as a good example, where they claim that the availability of tobacco-free alternatives is a key explanation for why only five percent of Swedes smoke.
– We've looked at this, and there is no scientific evidence that snus use contributes to reducing tobacco smoking, says Grethe Fochsen.
A knowledge overview from the Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services (SBU) in 2020 showed that there is no scientific support for snus use contributing to changed smoking habits.
Fochsen instead points to the broad preventive work against smoking that has been ongoing for decades as an explanation. It's the work previously done against smoking that now needs to be done against the new products, according to the Public Health Agency.
According to Grethe Fochsen, much legislation is already in place, but compliance needs to be strengthened. This includes better age control when selling nicotine products: 40 percent of snus users in ninth grade and high school buy it themselves in stores, according to CAN.
Another question is the school's role. An investigation proposed last year that students should not be allowed to use nicotine products at all during school hours, even if they are 18.
The Public Health Agency wants to go further and writes in its response that it would be "desirable" for teachers to also be banned from using snus during school hours to denormalize the practice, and that it should be further investigated.
24-year-old Hilda Johansson, who does not use snus herself, believes it is wrong.
– I understand that they want to restrict it in a way and have control in schools, but at the same time, we've decided that adults should be in school. Then we must be able to accept it. I think people should be able to make their own mistakes or make their own decisions.
Paula Derkert, 26, believes that young people will continue to use snus even if a school ban is introduced. She was previously a smoker but chose to quit. When she later tried white snus from a friend, she got "a bit hooked."
– I wouldn't say I'm very, very addicted, but I'm definitely half addicted.
The government has not announced how they stand on the investigation's proposal.
Correction: In an earlier version of the text, it was stated that the Public Health Agency had proposed that teachers be banned from using snus in schools. The correct information is that the Public Health Agency stated that the issue should be investigated.