Sweden’s Smoke-Free Model Is Already Saving Lives Worldwide, Says New Report

STOCKHOLM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--International health experts are today urging Swedes to defend their world-leading smoke-free success as a major new report from Smoke Free Sweden reveals that safer nicotine alternatives are saving lives worldwide.

The landmark report, The Safer Nicotine Revolution: Global Lessons, Healthier Futures, highlights Sweden as the clearest example of how harm reduction works in practice. Thanks to the accessibility, acceptability and affordability of snus and nicotine pouches, Sweden has reduced daily smoking rates to just 5.3% - the lowest in Europe.

This achievement has translated into extraordinary health outcomes: Swedish men have 61% lower rates of lung cancer than the EU average, overall cancer deaths are a third lower and switching to snus has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease by 45% compared with continued smoking. Experts estimate that Sweden’s approach saves around 3,000 lives every year.

“Sweden is the proof that harm reduction works,” said Prof. Karl Fagerström, a psychologist and co-author of the report. “Sweden has cut smoking faster and further than any other country. Every year, thousands of Swedish lives are saved. The world is watching Sweden: it is a model that should be protected, not undermined.”

The report shows improved health outcomes in other countries that have adopted safer nicotine alternatives.

In Japan, the introduction of heated tobacco products cut smoking from 21% to 16% in a decade, and modelling shows that if half of smokers switched, 12 million cases of smoking-related diseases could be prevented.

In the UK, integrating vaping into NHS quit services has halved smoking rates since 2011, a shift projected to avoid 166,000 premature deaths by 2052, with already visible declines in cardiovascular, COPD and cancer deaths.

In New Zealand, smoking halved in just six years, with nearly 80% of daily vapers being former smokers, contributing to a 30% drop in COPD hospitalisations, a 20% fall in cardiovascular deaths and 200,000 quality-adjusted life years gained.

But experts warn that Sweden’s success is now under immediate threat. The EU Tobacco Excise Directive reportedly proposes a mandatory minimum tax on safer nicotine products, which would mean a 700% excise increase on nicotine pouches in Sweden. Public health advocates argue this would make the very products that drove Sweden’s smoke-free achievement less accessible, reversing decades of progress and potentially pushing thousands back to cigarettes.