Minister of Education Anders Adlercreutz, the chairperson of the Swedish People’s Party, spoke to reporters during a plenary session in the Parliament House in Helsinki on Wednesday, 16 October 2024. Adlercreutz on Wednesday admitted to Helsingin Sanomat that the news that the government revised its proposal concerning nicotine pouches at the insistence of his predecessor do not look good for the ruling party. (Emmi Korhonen – Lehtikuva)
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MEMBER of the European Parliament Anna-Maja Henriksson (SFP) has denied the suggestion that she gave preferential treatment to a company from her hometown of Pietarsaari.
Helsingin Sanomat last Tuesday revealed that the government revisited its agreement on permitted flavours for nicotine pouches at last spring’s framework session at the initiative of the Swedish People’s Party, which at the time was headed by Henriksson.
The proposal was revised to add four flavours – ginger, rosemary, tea and wood – to the catalogue of permitted flavours, all flavours found in the offering of Strengbergs Habit Factory, a company based in Pietarsaari. The revisions were made based on a list brought to the negotiations by Anna Abrahamsson, a special aide to Henriksson.
The government had previously agreed on mint and menthol as permitted flavours for nicotine pouches, also known as white snus
“[The company] could’ve just as well been located in Helsinki, Kuopio or Rovaniemi, and the Swedish People’s Party’s view on the matter would’ve been the same,” Henriksson stated to YLE on Wednesday.
She told Helsingin Sanomat that she did show initiative to re-open a discussion about “adult flavours” for nicotine pouches after talking by phone with the managing director of Strengbergs Habit Factory. The Swedish People’s Party, she clarified, was simply looking to generate tax revenue in Finland.
“I brought it up to discuss principally if we want to combat the shadow economy and if we want to get more tax revenue in Finland,” she explained to the newspaper.
Henriksson added that she was not aware that there were other companies producing white snus in Finland.
“Now that it’s been brought up that there’s another company, also I’m puzzled about why the ministry didn’t bring up other examples. I acted in good faith,” she said before dodging a question about whether she assigned her aide to present the flavour list at the meeting.
“The assignment was about getting a law that provides as may opportunities as possible, about making sure the gray economy doesn’t become rampant and about preventing tax revenue from going to Sweden.”
According to Helsingin Sanomat, Strengbergs Habit Factory promoted its product offering for adults in a statement issued to the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health already in April. What is noteworthy is that the statement was issued several months after the public comment period for the proposal had ended.
Minister of Social Security Sanni Grahn-Laasonen (NCP) confirmed to YLE on Wednesday that the government had already decided to move forward with her proposal, which defined mint and menthol as the only permitted flavours for white snus, before the question was re-introduced to the agenda of the framework session by the Swedish People’s Party.
“[The Swedish People’s Party] proposed during negotiations between the special aides of chairpersons a long list of demands about additional flavours,” she recounted.
The National Coalition, she added, was unaware of the origin of the list.
“Together with my staff I’ve refrained from meeting and being lobbied by operators in the tobacco and nicotine industry,” she commented to the public broadcasting company.
The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health (Valvira) called attention to the parallels between the expanded list of flavours and the product offering of Strengbergs Habit Factory on 23 April.
“The proposal on characteristic scents or flavours bears considerable resemblance with the scent and flavour offering catalogued in the statement of a certain company producing nicotine pouches,” the authority stated according to Helsingin Sanomat.
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, Valvira also reminded, stipulates that decisions on public health and tobacco policy be shielded against lobbying efforts by the tobacco industry. The nicotine and tobacco industries have become effectively inseparable in part because all major tobacco companies offer some kind of smoke-free nicotine products.
Anders Adlercreutz, the chairperson of the Swedish People’s Party, defended the wider flavour offering last week but admitted that the reports do not look good for the ruling party.
“Regardless of what you think of the product itself, there’s reason to regulate the sales so that no gray market will emerge. From that viewpoint it’s justified to have a broad enough selection. And when you regulate it’s important that no suspicions of bias emerge in regards to the process. I myself wasn’t involved in negotiating this,” he said to Helsingin Sanomat on Wednesday.
Adlercreutz added that he intends to discuss the issue with Henriksson.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
