Sweden will continue to be able to decide on snuff taxation itself, said the EU Commission. However, the EU bill may affect the taxation of the new, tobacco-free snuff, sellers fear.
Stockholm
On Saturday Sweden was shocked.
The EU proposes a shock increase in the price of snuff, reports Aftonbladet.
A chain of events started, which tells about the media and modern times – and Swedishness.
Aftonbladet according to the EU Commission’s “secret, leaked proposal”, “Brussels wants to force” Sweden to increase snuff taxation.
According to the proposal, the price of a bag new box would increase by about 34 kroons, or about 3.10 euros, and the price of a loose new box by about 62 kroons, or about 5.70 euros. That would even mean doubling the price.
Swedish Minister of Finance Elisabeth Svantesson reacts to information quickly. He described it as unreasonable and told that he is fighting for Swedish snuff.
The hashtag #Swexit started trending on Swedish Twitter, which means Sweden’s departure from the EU.
TV4’s morning program interviewed by a professor of criminology Leif GW Persson was dismayed: after all, snuff is downright healthy compared to cigarettes – its taxation should not be increased.
“I’m going to buy myself a giant warehouse,” he said about his preparation for price increases.
Quickly survivedthat the Italian EU commissioner was behind the presentation Paolo Gentiloniformer prime minister of his country.
Communications manager of the Swedish tobacco giant Swedish Match Patrik Hildingsson illustrated the unreasonableness of the presentation with a simile:
“Imagine if the EU decided to increase the taxation of Italian Parma ham and German beer. It’s practically the same thing,” he told Aftonbladet.
Swedish EU Commissioner Ylva Johansson took a stand. The role of the EU commissioner is to put the EU’s interest before the national interest, and that’s what Johansson did by commenting for Swedish media:
“I have spoken with Commissioner Gentiloni today and explained the unreasonable consequences of the proposal to the Swedish snus,” he said.
In the EU, a bill related to tobacco taxation is in the works, but it is not ready yet, Johansson said.
Brouhaha about the increase in snus prices, there was a bubble in Sweden throughout the weekend and, of course, it also reached Finland, where there are a large number of users of Swedish snus.
On Monday, Swedish – and Finnish – sniffers could heave a sigh of relief. The taxation of snuff sold in Sweden will not increase if Sweden does not want it, the EU Commission announced.
The commission does not normally comment on leaks, but made an exception in this situation because there had been false information in the media.
Sweden is the only EU country where the sale of snuff is allowed. Sweden has negotiated an exception for it. The legal proposal, which is now being prepared in the EU Commission, will not change that situation.
In the future, Sweden will retain full freedom to decide on the taxation of snuff itself, the Commission’s spokesperson responsible for tax matters Daniel Ferrie said on Monday.
Read more: The EU will not raise the price of snuff in Sweden
This too the news began to spread quickly, but on Monday during the day it had not yet reached Nuuskaplaneeta.
Father and son have been running a snuff shop called Snusplaneten in Stockholm’s Kungsholmen for nine years.
On Monday, from the early afternoon, father Ali Alamidi and son Yousef Alamidi fill the shelves of their stores.
Yousef Alamidi works as a snuff shop entrepreneur. He has tried to reassure customers.
More than 500 different snuff flavors are available. The new “vitt snus”, a white snus with nicotine, but no more tobacco, is now the most popular.
Its popularity is growing rapidly in Finland as well.
Read more: Does this product kill tobacco? Snuff-like bags are now a new gold mine for tobacco companies.
Read more: There was a decisive change in snuff products, and now experts are worried
A woman enters the store and says that she recently started sniffing. He just buys white snuff. He hears the news from the HS correspondent that the EU will not raise the tax on snuff.
“Whoah,” he says, throwing his hands up in the air.
Snuff shop entrepreneur Yousef Alamidi also sighs with relief. The snuff price increase has been a topic of conversation among customers.
“I’ve tried to reassure them that the prices won’t go up that much,” says Alamidi.
And now it is clear that the EU will not raise the tax by force.
The Snusplaneten snuff shop in Stockholm’s Kungsholmen has been operating for nine years.
Nearly it was already clear on Saturday, when the news about the price increases came out. EU-wide tax changes require the unanimity of all member states, and if Sweden had objected, the increase would not have occurred.
However, the EU continues to turn the legal package.
It is therefore possible that it will still have an impact on the Swedish snuff market. A publication in the snuff industry According to Snusjournalen the presentation mentions that the EU wants to set a minimum tax level also for nicotine sachets, which include white snuff. However, white snus is not part of the exception that Sweden received from the EU regarding the sale of snus. Therefore, its taxation could increase significantly.
The sellers of white snuff have expressed that his worries of the bill.
“Snuff is part of Sweden. Part of the culture”, Alamidi explains Sweden’s strong reaction to the news.
If the prices had gone up, the number of customers would have decreased, says Alamidi.
“Those who sought to quit would have quit.”
The use of snuff is also being reduced John Henry. He bought 17 tins of snuff from the store.
“I only buy once a month.”
He has also switched to using only white snuff.
“I’ve thought about quitting one day, but it won’t happen that quickly. But I have no other sins. I don’t drink or anything like that. Snuff is my candy.”
Read more: A Swedish researcher who snuffs himself warns young Finns who are in love with strong snuff – “I’ve ruined my brain”
John Henry has already heard the news that the EU is not going to increase the snuff tax. He fully understands Sweden’s strong reaction.
John Henry says that snuff is his “sin”, because he doesn’t use alcohol or tobacco, for example. He bought 17 tins of snuff.
“Snuff is a Swedish tradition. It’s Swedish. It is also the case that cigarettes and alcohol generate a lot of costs for society. Snuff is not the same.”
He laughs at the discussion about Sweden’s exit from the EU. He doesn’t believe that, even if the price of snuff goes up.
“I’m too grown up to demand leaving the EU. We need the EU. Twenty years ago, I would have said that Sweden should leave the EU immediately, but I don’t think that Sweden would leave because of this. And I don’t think the snuff tax will go up.”
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