Snuff users are angry after the increased taxes

By Leo Utell & Ludvig Tornberg

The old government’s budget has decided that the taxes on tobacco will be increased in 2015.  The snuff consumers feel betrayed by the government when the snuff taxes is doubled compared to the cigarette taxes.

 

During the year 2014-2015 the new government created a new law which says tobacco taxes will be raised. Cigarette products will be raised with 6% which is a raise with 2kr per cigarette. The taxes on snuff went from 680kr/kg to 762kr/kg. The snuff taxes got raised with 12%. The taxes on snuff are doubled compared to the cigarettes, and that is why the people are angry.

It is a unilateral fiscal interest that the taxes should be raised, and that is the reason why. Studies from Cancerfonden (the Swedish Cancer Society) have shown that nearly 5200 people die every year because of smoking. Nearly 6800 people get cancer related to smoking. It shows that 20 % of the people who die from cancer are caused by smoking. Every other smoker dies by a smoke related decease. It affects everyone who consumes tobacco. We have interviewed a boy whose name is Carl Andersson. “It is purely a hell. Snuff is good for your body and that is why I don’t understand how they can raise the taxes doubled compared to the cigarettes, especially when cigarettes kill”.  Carl Andersson is a snuff consumer himself.

The reason why the snuff taxes are raised more than the cigarette taxes is because there are more smokers than snuff consumers. Snuff is nearly only available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Canada and the USA. While cigarettes are available in nearly every country on earth and is very easy to import. It sends a false message to the society when they raise snuff taxes the double compared to the cigarette taxes while cigarettes kill.

Tobacco is an excise; you raise excises to get an effect on people’s behaviour. The oldest excises in Sweden are alcohol, tobacco and energy.

For those who don’t know what snuff is:
Snuff is a tobacco product that you put under your top lip. It’s a strong tobacco product and a lot of people in Sweden consume it.