British American Tobacco (BAT) is pressing European regulators to lift the ban on snus, the smokeless tobacco, arguing that the use of snus helps to reduce tobacco-related harm.

Snus has been banned throughout the European Union since 1992.

It is authorised only in Sweden, where it is so much part of the national culture that the country negotiated an exemption from the ban when it joined the union.

The move is part of the European corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments that the multinational company launched yesterday, and it coincides with growing pressure for smoking bans in offices and public places.

In its CSR report, the company argues that snus can reduce smoking rates by offering an alternative to starting smoking, helping smokers to quit and by containing fewer health risks.

It notes that BAT “will be an active contributor to the snus debate by seeking to raise EU decision makers’ awareness of the potential health benefits of snus use when compared to smoking”.

BAT accounts for about 10 per cent of sales in the Swedish snus market and it is also running pilot projects in South Africa and Canada.

The European Commission is reviewing the EU’s tobacco legislation, but it made clear yesterday that a relaxation of the ban was unlikely.

“We will be guided by the advice of our scientific committee. It has already produced its report ... and this clearly sets out the harm snus does to health,” a spokesman said.

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