Swedish Match to double oral snuff sale in India

The $500-million Swedish Match, which sells through its Indian arm, oral moist snuff 'Snus' (pronounced snoox) for 'sucking', proposes to double its sale in the country from 100,000 cans last year to 200,000 cans by this yearend.

Addressing a press conference in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, Swedish Match president B Mukherjee said that Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat account for 30 per cent and 20 per cent of its total sale in India.

The company has been selling Snus in the USA, Scandinavian countries and Germany for a decade.

He claimed that Snus is considered to be a refined and relatively safe form of tobacco as it reduces the ill-effects of smoking.

It is neither chewed nor swallowed, and unlike other smokeless tobacco products, there is no need to spit.

Each pouch of 0.3 gm comes in a sachet of two and a can of 10 pouches, priced at Rs three and Rs 15, respectively.

He said that Snus carries harmful 'Nitrosamines' to the maximum permissible limit of 4-5 parts per million (ppm) as against 30-40 ppm found in tobacco for smoking and up to 100-500 ppm in other forms of tobacco.

Mukherjee and the company's director (public affairs) Patrick Hildingsson were in the city to launch Snus in its latest 'Click Cardamom' flavour in Gujarat.

It had launched Snus in two other flavours, eucalyptus and licorice, in India two years ago.

The Swedish multi-national company's interests are looked after in India by Swedish Match Consumer Ltd, with Swedish Match holding 49 per cent share, Wimco Foods 30 per cent and Wimco Ltd holding 21 per cent.

Wimco (Western India Match Company) has been present in India since 1923.

UNI