The tobacco industry is lobbying against legislation on nicotine products and influencing young people to believe that snus and e-cigarettes are harmless. The campaign “Smoke-Free Future” sheds light on these issues.

“Snus is a good way to quit smoking.” “I can stop whenever I want.” “It’s just vapes; they’re not harmful.”

These statements come from focus group interviews with young Danes aged 18-24, forming the foundation of a new campaign from Smoke-Free Future. Today, 36% of 15-29-year-olds in Denmark use a nicotine product, either daily or occasionally—over a third of the demographic.

Not only are young people increasingly adopting the tobacco industry’s newer smoke-free products like snus (nicotine pouches) and vapes (e-cigarettes), but they are also buying into the myths that these products are safe alternatives to smoking.

“The tobacco industry has spread a narrative among young people that nicotine products are much better than cigarettes. While anything is better than smoking, these products are not harmless. The pattern is familiar: in the golden era of smoking, the industry introduced filters but omitted the continued harm cigarettes caused,” says Niels Them Kjær, project manager for tobacco prevention at the Danish Cancer Society.

In the new campaign, Smoke-Free Future, a partnership launched by the Danish Cancer Society and TrygFonden in 2017, highlights the industry’s tactics to encourage young people to use smoke-free nicotine products. The campaign, titled “Is it you or the tobacco industry talking?” launches on October 29 across Smoke-Free Future’s social media channels: Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok, featuring films directed by comedian Martin Høgsted.

The industry’s goal: avoid a flavor ban for snus
In the coming weeks, the preventive health plan will be debated at Christiansborg. Backed by the government along with the Socialist People’s Party (SF), the Danish Democrats, the Conservative People’s Party, and the Alternative, this plan aims to limit tobacco, nicotine, and alcohol use among youth.

However, intense lobbying from the tobacco and nicotine industry has delayed upcoming regulations, which aim to cap nicotine levels in snus, standardize packaging, and regulate the appearance and flavors allowed in nicotine products. These rules have now been pushed back to April 1, 2026, at the earliest.

Meanwhile, organizations like the Nicotine Industry Association are lobbying vigorously against flavor bans for nicotine pouches and pushing to raise the proposed nicotine limit of 9 mg per pouch. The tobacco industry has been leveraging extensive inquiries, hearings, and attempts to spot technicalities to delay or disrupt the regulatory process.

“The tobacco industry is actively working to counter and delay health policies that prevent young people from using tobacco and nicotine products. They see youth as a new profit source and are fighting fiercely to prevent or dilute regulation,” says Kjær from the Danish Cancer Society.

Research, however, suggests that nicotine is harmful, especially to young people with developing brains. It also indicates that nicotine increases the risk of poor mental health outcomes, potentially contributing to or worsening anxiety and depression. This highly addictive toxin can also impair learning, concentration, and impulse control and may lead to experimentation with other substances like cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol.

As a result, TrygFonden maintains that young people should neither smoke nor use smoke-free nicotine products.

“We aren’t born with a need for toxic substances like nicotine; that need is created by commercial interests. At TrygFonden, we work to limit the availability of tobacco and nicotine products and to build a youth culture where nicotine and other drugs don’t dominate,” says Ida Hagemann, project manager at TrygFonden.

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Facts about Smoke-Free Future
Children and young people shouldn’t start smoking, a sentiment widely shared. Yet, many young people continue to take up smoking each day—a trend that needs reversing. Smoke-Free Future was launched in 2017 by the Danish Cancer Society and TrygFonden to create change.

We aim for a future where no children or young people smoke by 2030, and only 5% of adults do. Smoke-Free Future is a partnership of over 300 businesses and organizations, all working toward the shared goal of removing tobacco from youth environments—be it at school, work, or sports activities.

Visit campaign website – www.hvemsnakker.dk (Denmark, October 2024)