Sweden’s Smoke-Free Success Offers Blueprint for U.S. Tobacco Policy Reform

While only 11% of American adults reported smoking cigarettes last year—half the rate from a decade ago—Sweden has all but eliminated cigarette use, thanks not to heavy-handed government crackdowns, but to a commonsense embrace of harm-reduction alternatives.

In 2015, Sweden set a goal of becoming “smoke-free” by 2025. Unlike other countries that leaned into prohibition-style policies, Sweden took a pragmatic approach: empower adults with safer choices like snus and nicotine pouches—products proven to be significantly less harmful than combustible cigarettes.

The U.S. followed with a similar smoking-cessation goal in 2020, but instead of following Sweden’s lead in embracing innovation, our government has created regulatory roadblocks and layered bureaucracy. Despite mounting evidence supporting alternative products, the FDA continues to move at a glacial pace, leaving countless applications for safer nicotine delivery systems stuck in limbo.

A Cultural, Market-Driven Solution

Sweden’s success wasn’t achieved through bans or mandates—it stemmed from cultural acceptance of harm-reduction products and a regulatory environment that didn’t strangle innovation. Snus has deep roots in Swedish history, and the introduction of nicotine pouches—discreet, smoke-free, and far less harmful—has surged, especially among adults seeking an off-ramp from smoking.

Despite opposition from some in the EU, Sweden has remained firm in protecting these options. When Sweden joined the EU in 1995, it secured an exemption from the EU’s snus ban—a rare example of a country standing up to Brussels to preserve its public health priorities and national traditions.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., the FDA regulates nicotine pouches as tobacco products—even when they don’t contain any tobacco—thanks to overreach from Congress buried in a 2022 omnibus bill. This kind of top-down approach flies in the face of personal responsibility and freedom of choice.

Conservative Leadership Drives Results

Sweden’s current conservative-led parliament—powered by the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Liberals, and supported by the Sweden Democrats—has wisely leaned into policies that shift behavior without growing the nanny state. Instead of adding layers of restrictions, lawmakers reduced taxes on safer products like snus by 20% while increasing taxes on combustible cigarettes.

As Conservative MP Jesper Karlsson put it: “It would be great if smokers just switched to kale and broccoli. But in the real world, they need a viable alternative.” The Swedish right understands that adults are capable of making responsible choices—if the government allows them to.

This approach has worked. Smoking is plummeting. Public health is improving. And liberty remains intact.

Beware the Overregulation Trap

Some in Sweden’s opposition want more restrictions on newer products like nicotine pouches. While concerns over youth access are valid, the answer isn’t to ban or overtax these alternatives—it’s to enforce age restrictions and let adults decide. The Swedish Act on Tobacco-Free Nicotine Products struck a fair balance, limiting advertising to minors without killing off market innovation.

Unfortunately, the U.S. continues to take a fragmented, heavy-handed approach. Between federal, state, and even local tax and regulatory structures, the nicotine product landscape in America is a confusing patchwork that stifles consumer access and business growth.

Even conversations about capping nicotine levels reveal the slippery slope of centralized control. As Karlsson noted, adults already understand that excessive use of anything—from cigarettes to caffeine—has consequences. Government should educate, not dictate.

The EU and the Bigger Fight

Sweden’s success threatens the European regulatory establishment. Countries like Germany and the Netherlands have banned nicotine pouches, and the EU is considering revising its Tobacco Products Directive. But it’s clear Sweden won’t quietly surrender its sovereign right to pursue harm reduction over prohibition.

Social media remains a challenge, as global tech platforms operate beyond the scope of national laws. But rather than begging the EU for more regulation, conservatives in Sweden are right to focus on domestic policy tools—like taxation and product access—that actually work.

America Should Take Notes

If the U.S. wants to achieve a truly smoke-free future, it must stop fighting the very tools that are helping people quit smoking. That starts by reforming the FDA’s broken approval process, resisting new taxes on harm-reduction products, and recognizing that the path to public health doesn’t lie in bans—but in freedom, innovation, and informed choice.

Sweden didn’t win the war on smoking by outlawing adult behavior. It won by trusting its people and the market.

It’s time America did the same.