Smokeless Tobacco

EDM number 511 in 2002-03, proposed by Paul Flynn on 14/01/2003.

That this House welcomes the remarkable reduction of cancer deaths in Sweden following the drop in smoking by Swedish males from 36 per cent. of the population in 1980 to 17 per cent. now; notes that smokeless tobacco is used by half of Sweden's male tobacco users but is rare among women resulting in cancer male deaths that are half the European average while female cancer deaths are almost exactly the European average; further notes that smokeless tobacco is used as an aid by a third of Swedes who quit smoking; is convinced by the research that smoking reduces life expectancy for a 35 year old smoker by eight years compared with a reduction of a mere 15 days by smokeless tobacco; is persuaded by the Royal College of Physicians view that smokeless tobacco can be up to 1,000 times less hazardous than smoking tobacco; and believes that the UK ban on the use of Snus moist snuff should be removed so that is health advantages can be shared by British nicotine addicts.

This motion has been signed by a total of 37 MPs.