Swedish Match Snus Rocked by ANOTHER Scandal!

Swedish Match AB, the largest snus manufacturer in Sweden, is about to get hit with its second scandal in less than 30 days.  Most communications from Stockholm have been cut off.  SnusCIA Agents in Stockholm and Gothenburg report panic among SMAB executives who are drinking fine alcoholic beverages and passing around a couple boxes of Kardus.  Our agents discount their laughing and good spirits to nervous breakdowns.  This behavior is quite understandable considering the pounding Swedish Match has taken over the last month.

The First Scandal was revealed on October 25, 2009. The Swedish hard-hitting news show Kalla Fakta on TV4 released an explosive broadcast which proved that Swedish Match snus has nicotine in it!!!  Aside from reading the label, Kalla Fakta raided Swedish Match with investigative journalists…..who were given total access, all information requested, an an inordinate amount of Swedish Match’s Executives time without even asking for it.

Kalla Fakta’s blockbuster conclusion:  Swedish Match used a ‘secret ingredient’, E500, to boost the bio-availability of the nicotine in all Swedish Match snus!   Somehow, the fact-checkers at Kalla Fakta missed the fact that E500 (sodium carbonate) is used as acidity regulator in not only Swedish Match snus, but virtually all Swedish Snuses.  More shocking was Kalla Fakta missing the fact that E500 has been used by Swedish Snus makers for years and is an approved food additive by the Swedish Government’s equivalent of America’s FDA.

Harvard researcher, Greg Connolly (an anti-all-tobacco zealot) even lamented in the few portions of the broadcast in English that “this will make it harder/impossible for people to quit using snus!” Wow!  I guess my question is “so what”?  Swedish snus is at least 98% less harmful to smokers than cigarettes are.  Snus, tobacco and nicotine are all legal substances, much safer for smokers than cigarettes, and are completely discreet when used.   So Dr. Connolly would rather millions more will die needlessly of smoking related illnesses than use Swedish Snus?  I fail to follow the logic, but since he is at Harvard, it must be valid, right?

You can read the ugly details in Andrew Romeo’s report for SnusCENTRAL.org, “No News is Good News” and the reader comments…..if you can handle the stress!

While Kalla Fakta was busy revealing to the world that Swedish Match snus delivered nicotine as is on the label and their website, SnusCENTRAL.org and the SnusCENTRAL Intelligence Agency (SnusCIA) dug deeper and uncovered the TRUE scandal at Swedish Match:  the new Lab Series snuses, 01 and 02, had deliberate, false information on their labeling and websites!

How did we uncover this ugly truth and what is it?  The NSA could take lessons from the SnusCIA and should be writing this down.

About 3 weeks after Lab Series 01 and 02 was released, we received a mysterious phone call from SMAB.  Do to our strict SnusCIA Agent training, an Agent answered the phone immediately!  Actually, the call wasn’t that mysterious….it was Joakim Blom, who along with Markus Ersmark answers SnusCENTRAL Member questions in the “Ask the Manufacturers” section on SnusCENTRAL.org

Obviously, this was serious as he was calling from the secret and unexplained “Swedish Match Special Phone“.  Here’s a blurred image of the phone, a 1960’s era phone enshrined at the Gothenburg facility.  Swedish Match refuses to explain the phone or to allow pictures.  We took some furtive ones anyway.

On the outer label of both 01 and 02, it clearly states there are 24 grams of snus (24 one gram portions) in each can.  BOMBSHELL: it’s a lie!  There are NOT 24 one gram portions in 01 and 02!!!!!!!! Oh the horror of it…..FALSE ADVERTISING!

In truth, over 90% of the 01 and 02 cans contain 26 one gram portions, not 24!! Quick, call 60 Minutes!  Call Amnesty International!  Call your Mother!  This scandal is HUGE!

We bore down on Joakim for the details….if he was still visiting the SnusCENTRAL Command Bunker, we would have Camel SNUS-boarded him in a heartbeat!  Instead, Joakim just told us the entire story.

The revolutionary Lab Series pouches used for 01 and 02 are shaped differently than regular one gram pouches. They are longer and thinner so they are less noticeable, have better mouth feel, and better gum contact for taste and nicotine absorption.  They essentially have the discreet aspects of a Mini Portion which many use at work but have a full one gram of snus and 8 mg/g of nicotine (the 01) or 13 mg/g in the Strong version, the 02.

Unfortunately, the new pouch design didn’t work as well with the factory equipment which was calibrated to the standard size of a 1 gram portion.  When the factory set the controls on the can fillers to 24 portions, in about 40% of the cases, less than 24 portions would be inserted into the can.  They tinkered for hours if not days to no avail.  The only way to ensure a minimum of 24 0102 portions were in 100% of the cans was to adjust the machine higher.  The result is that 90%+ 01 and 02 cans contained 26 portions instead of 24.

But as an evil, profit-driven Big Swedish Tobacco company, Swedish Match retained the 24 gram label for those few cans which may only have 24 portions.  Not only that, they secretly didn’t raise the price on 0102 to cover their costs!   How dare they!

SnusCENTRAL didn’t stop there. At great personal expensive and sacrifice, we opened dozens of cans of 01 and 02 to count the portions in each can.  The result?  We found that practically all the 0102 cans had 26 portions!  Swedish Match had been exposed!  Poor Falla Fakta….they missed the REAL SCANDAL, instead choosing to confirm Swedish Match snus had bio-available nicotine (unlike most American ‘snus) and used the industry standard and Government approved Calcium Carbonate (code name E500) to combat acidity.  Harvard’s Dr. Connolly must be up in arms:  “This will make it even harder to quit snus now that it contains both Free nicotine and Free portions!” I can imagine him screaming in horror.

Joakim had to be hiding something.  Slyly, I asked “so what is the long term solution to resolve his horrible mislabeling and the free portions in almost all the cans of 0102?”  We sat back smugly waiting for his stumbling response.  And how did Joakim reply?  “It would be prohibitively expensive to adjust all our machinery to guarantee only 24 portions in every can of Lab Series 01 and 02.  It is much easier to just do a little tweaking to ensure every can of 01 and 02 has 26 portions.”

Our interrogation leader quickly jumped on Joakim’s comment and shot back “And then I’ll bet you raise the prices to cover the 2 extra portions in each can!”  Joakim matter of factly said “No, the price will be based on 24 portions even though we are delivering 26 per can.”

So eat our dust, Kalla Fakta! We have nailed the REAL Swedish Match Scandal.  Well, they did call us and drop it in our laps, but that doesn’t matter.  Swedish Match’s label says 24 grams of snus and will stay that way until they can guarantee every 0102 can has 26 portions.  In the meantime, they intentionally covered up the fact that 90%+ of the 0102 cans had 26 grams of snus instead of the published 24.  They didn’t even make it part of a promotion!  They didn’t even try to spin it to their advantage!  They coldly and calculating just sold 0102 with 26 portions with no fanfare for the price of 24 portions! Arrogantly, they plan to continue this outrage.

Our Snus Store at SnusCENTRAL.com was so upset….and zooming on nicotine after having to consume all the cans of 01 and especially 02 they had opened to count portions, that for a limited time, when you purchase a roll of 10 cans of 01 or 02 at SnusCENTRAL.com, you will only pay for the price of 8 cans!  Take that, Swedish Match:  240 to 260 portions for the price of 182 to 192 portions!

Not only that, but first time customers at our SnusCentral Snus Store also get 10% off their entire first order!  Use discount code LV2F8F at check-out. [hey, we have to keep the lights on and the server up for goodness sake!  Plus we love to give Members great deals!]

This expose’ has Pulitzer Prize written all over it…I printed out a hard copy and wrote “Pulitzer” all over it in red highlighter.

Bring you the Fakta’s as always,

LARRY WATERS and the SnusCENTRAL Intelligence Agency
Telling you stuff we know and others don’t