Snus Commission

The Snus Commission website states that it is an “independent commission that produces reports on issues related to Swedish snus”.¹ (Note that in Sweden the term snus can also be used in relation to ‘white snus’, which does not contain tobacco leaf. This is more commonly referred to as a nicotine pouch outside of Sweden.)

Relationship to the Tobacco Industry

The Snus Commission is funded by the Swedish Association of Snus Manufacturers (Svenska Snustillverkarföreningen),¹ of which Swedish Match and British American Tobacco (BAT) Sweden are members.² Philip Morris International (PMI) acquired Swedish Match in 2022.³ Its website states that “the Commission’s conclusions are independent of its financiers, and these have therefore also not had the opportunity to participate in meetings or to comment on the content of the reports.”¹

The snus commission is linked to snusforum.net,¹ an “editorial platform covering Swedish snus as well as tobacco and public health policy.”⁴⁵ It is published and maintained by the Swedish Snus Manufacturers Association.⁴

People

Anders Milton, chair of the Snus Commission,⁶⁷ is also a member of the Sweden based ‘Nicotine Commission’, and owns Milton Consulting.⁸ He attended the 2014 industry event Global Tobacco Networking Forum (now GTNF). Milton was Chair of the World Medical Association from 1995 to 2000.⁹

Karl Fagerstrom is a member of the Snus Commission and a founding member of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT). He has received consulting fees from Swedish Match (acquired by Philip Morris International in 2022) and other tobacco companies such as British American Tobacco.¹⁰¹¹ See also The International Association on Smoking Control and Harm Reduction (SCOHRE).

Relevant Link

• Snus Commission website

Tobacco Tactics Resources

• Harm Reduction
• The Swedish Experience
• Delon Human
• Quit Like Sweden
• Snus
• Cigarette Companies Investing in Snus
• Nicotine Pouches