More bans, confusing research, relentless medical hype and a deadly message for smokers. Tobaksfakta's first newsletter of the season brings nothing new. But what does? Scary headlines are inevitable.
This is an opinion article. Do you disagree? Feel free to comment below.
Summer is over
No, it's not about the weather, the start of school or the increasing traffic jams on the way to work. It's about the news flow. The lobby organisations' employees have returned from holiday and have resumed their campaigns. It happens every year - a couple of weeks before Parliament opens, the headlines start pouring into your inbox.
The most obvious example is the first newsletter of the season from the think tank Tobaksfakta.
Government-funded organisation
Tobaksfakta is a lobbying organisation funded by the Swedish Public Health Agency. Its task is to influence legislation and frameworks for nicotine, which at the same time controls the authority's work and determines how much money should be allocated to "tobacco prevention" - i.e. to Tobaksfakta's activities. An excellent system. Together with a number of trade unions and interest organisations that control its operations, Tobaksfakta receives DKK 6 million each year directly from the Public Health Agency of Sweden - without political interference - to carry out its work.
Apart from the fact that it's taxpayers' money at stake, journalists should be wary; this borders on what many would call propaganda. Nevertheless, it is part of the nicotine and smoking debate and the newsworthiness lies in the underlying message rather than the actual content of the articles.
Pregnant mice that wean
Tobaksfakta's first newsletter is, unsurprisingly, a gift to anyone who opposes developments in the nicotine market. The message is clear: e-cigarettes, snus and nicotine pouches are dangerous and completely unnecessary products with no practical use.
One starts off strong with an article about a study that suggests that e-cigarettes during pregnancy negatively affect foetal development. Interesting? Of course it is. It sounds worrying as most people know how difficult it can be to quit smoking and that many people use nicotine products to help. Of course, this also applies to pregnant women. But is the study worth writing about?
Well, yeah.
It turns out that the study was conducted on mice.
Animal studies are very uncertain when it comes to human risk assessment. At best, they can point to areas where further research is needed. The hypothesis is that e-cigarettes can harm the foetus, which is important knowledge at a time when many people use e-cigarettes or snus to stay smoke-free.
The risk is almost immeasurable
However, this hypothesis has already been tested several times in randomised controlled human studies. Two independent studies conclude that when e-cigarettes are used as a smoking cessation aid during pregnancy, there are no measurable differences in foetal development compared to non-smokers (unlike smoking, where the risk of birth defects is imminent). At the same time, e-cigarettes are far more effective than nicotine products in keeping pregnant women smoke-free.
Smoking is extremely harmful to foetal development. Researchers therefore conclude that the combination of an effective smoking cessation method and low risk to the foetus means that the benefits far outweigh the possible risks.
The danger lies in the message
A sarcastic comment might be that the only real lesson from the Tobacco Facts newsletter is that mice should not vape when they are pregnant. And that smokers should consider nicotine medication or e-cigarettes if they can't quit any other way.
But that journalists would be critical of this kind of research is far from a given, and the lobbyists at Tobaksfakta know this. My guess is that more media will seize on this study without asking questions. No nuance, just alarmism.
"Unnecessary products" and bans
Tobaksfakta greatly influences the media coverage of nicotine in Sweden. Not only do they provide the 'news', but also the experts who speak out in the articles. Often the same people appear in interviews and repeat exactly the same arguments: nicotine is a problem and the solution is more regulation and more bans.
Tobacco Facts' answer to the nicotine problem? Prohibition and tougher rules. All nicotine must go - or at least be medicated through nicotine replacement therapy.
The newsletter ends with a suggestion that all nicotine products (other than medicines) should be treated like cigarettes - with taxes, flavour bans and other restrictions. Smokers who want to quit should use the already approved medical products.
But Swedish politicians have long since taken a stand: they want harm reduction rather than more restrictions. A majority in the Swedish Parliament wants to make snus and e-cigarettes alternatives to cigarettes, not ban them.
Studies that are 10 years old
Tobaksfakta also cites a Norwegian study that allegedly shows that snus does not help stop smoking. The problem? The study is based on data from 2010-2012 - more than a decade old information.
In the meantime, snus products have been developed, flavours have become more popular, and smoking in Norway has fallen drastically. This makes the conclusions of the study rather irrelevant.
What is the purpose?
Tobaksfakta is an umbrella organisation consisting of doctors, psychologists, nurses and other professionals who all work to reduce nicotine consumption and subject it to the pharmaceutical industry. Whether the tobacco industry or the pharmaceutical industry has the greatest financial interests in the matter is hard to say. But Tobaksfakta's message is very much aligned with strong business interests.
Business as usual
Smoking kills daily. If smokers can learn to use less harmful nicotine products, lives can be saved. But the message from Tobacco Facts is clear:
"It doesn't matter how you use nicotine. Nicotine is also dangerous and you're just replacing one harmful addiction with another."
This attitude spreads through doctors and healthcare professionals to smokers. In social media comment sections, smokers who are struggling to quit often echo this mindset. Harm reduction is not recognised.
An autumn filled with control
The Tobacco Facts newsletter is just the beginning of an eventful autumn. The WHO will soon hold a major meeting on tobacco regulation and the EU is planning stricter rules for nicotine pouches.
Vejpkollen will of course follow COP10, the EU and Tobaksfakta with a critical eye - as always from a user perspective.
Happy autumn!
Stefan Mathisson
Editor-in-Chief, Vejpkollen.se
