The government of Finland wants to completely rid the country of nicotine addiction
Finnish smokers and fans of snus – oral tobacco – promise to hold mass protests against measures proposed by a government working group in a report to the country's Ministry of Health. As Novye Izvestia writes, the issue is further tightening of anti-nicotine legislation, which, if approved by parliament, would turn Finland into a real ghetto for smokers. Cigarettes should become "invisible" in society, and their packaging should disgust buyers.
Government experts recommend removing tobacco products from store and kiosk counters to avoid attracting potential smokers. Attractive packs with cigarette brand names should be replaced with ugly standardized packages marked with numbers, equipped with threatening warnings about the dangers of smoking and photographs of disease-affected organs of heavy smokers. The ban should also extend to all products reminiscent of tobacco. For example, chewing candies in the shape of cigarettes or pipes should disappear from store shelves. Experts propose introducing prison sentences for those who sell tobacco products to minors.
As for adult smokers, they are proposed to be isolated in special sealed "boxes" equipped with powerful exhaust ventilation with filters. Smoking in public places, as well as where minors may be present (for example, in a car), would be banned under threat of prosecution. The goal of these measures is the complete elimination of the tobacco market within the next 30 years. By that time, the current generation of smokers will have died out or given up the bad habit, and no one will replace them. Finland will become a nicotine-free country, comments Ilkka Oksala, a Ministry of Health official responsible for implementing the large-scale plan, on the general goal of the action program.
The army of Finnish nicotine lovers stoically accepted the draconian proposals, but on one point they are ready to fight to the end. It concerns the ban on importing oral tobacco from Sweden – the only EU country that obtained permission upon joining the European Union to produce and consume this "national product." However, the export of snus to other EU member states is prohibited.
The tightening of smoking rules in the EU, and in Finland in particular, has led to a rise in the popularity of snus. Smokers, exhausted by the crackdown, are giving up cigarettes and switching to oral tobacco, thus getting their dose of nicotine. Tens of thousands of Finns regularly travel on ferries between Finland and Sweden for a single purpose: to buy packs of snus on board ships in Swedish waters. The tobacco policy working group proposes banning the import of oral tobacco for personal use.
"The idea of banning snus is insane! There are over 100,000 fans of it in Finland. The people will not understand the politicians; we will organize mass protests and acts of civil disobedience," says Patrik Wingren, initiator of the "Yes to snus" movement, on the pages of the newspaper Hufvudstadsbladet. He already has experience in mobilizing the masses. Recently, on his initiative, demonstrations were held in various Finnish cities in support of a compatriot sentenced to two years in prison for illegal sale of snus.
Most parliamentarians and members of the Finnish government are positive about tightening tobacco legislation, but the experts' idea to ban the purchase of Swedish oral tobacco for personal use has divided the political elite. Even Minister for European Affairs Astrid Thors joined the defenders of snus, demonstratively showing at a press conference a box of tobacco she had bought for her friend who was exhausted by the persecution. The proposals of the Working Group are to be considered by parliament in the spring of next year. The new "tobacco legislation" will come into force in 2010.
What is "snus"
Snus is a type of tobacco. It is produced and consumed mainly in Sweden and Norway. It belongs to the class of smokeless tobacco (like chewing and snuff tobaccos). It is not smoked nor chewed, but placed under the upper lip for 5 to 30 minutes, during which nicotine is absorbed into the body.