Thunder Xtreme Snus brand Discontinued

Swedish Match North America (SMNA) announced this week it will be delisting all five Thunder Xtreme snus products effective 15 April 2020.  The affected products are:

• Thunder Xtreme Original
• Thunder Xtreme Original Strong
• Thunder Xtreme Mint Strong
• Thunder Xtreme Wintergreen Strong
• Thunder Xtreme Red Strong

The Thunder brand came to Swedish Match when they acquired Danish snus maker V2 Tobacco and were available for use in the US thanks to the foresight of V2 Tobacco’s former owners, Patrick and Marc Vogel.

Thunder Xtreme Snus is no more

When the Tobacco Control Act was passed in 2009, V2 registered a number of product names with FDA. Under the grandfather clause, these names are legal for use today.

This was a huge bonus for Swedish Match when they purchased V2 in September 2017. It’s easy to look back now and say that Swedish Match should have done the same with their eligible product names and brands but those were very confusing times for the tobacco industry.

Swedish Match used the Thunder Xtreme brand to expand its US OTC market snus offerings from the limited General Snus products FDA had had approved for sale.  Both brands were sold by American convenience stores, tobacco stores and in the case of Xtreme, by a limited number of snus store websites based in Sweden for US customers.

While General Snus was, and as of this date, the only brand of snus to receive the coveted FDA Modified Risk Tobacco Product certification in the US, the Thunder Xtreme Strong snuses were the only products available in American stores with strong nicotine levels.

The timing of the Thunder Xtreme products introduction was unfortunate as it was in the middle of the then-unregulated e-cigarette and vaping boom.  Sales apparently have remained lackluster to the point Swedish Match has decided to cancel the Xtreme brand.

Product orders from authorized dealers will continue through 15 April 2020 or as supplies last.

LARRY WATERS

Swedish Snus Ambassador to the United States
Reporting for SnusCENTRAL.org