Livets krydda?

Om snusning som potentiellt studieobjekt för medicinens humaniora

Abstract

While smoking has decreased in Sweden since the 1970s, the use of Swedish snus (a domestic moist tobacco product) has simultaneously increased, especially among men. About 20 percent of the men and 3 percent of the women in Sweden are currently using snus every day. Although Swedish snus is used in some other parts of the world, notably in Norway and the US, the development in Sweden is unique, partly due to an EU ban from 1992 on the sale of snus outside the country. The present article argues that this situation needs to be explored and understood from a humanistic point of view, within the field of medical humanities, and proposes four interrelated aspects that such a study should focus on: the scientific uncertainty and controversies concerning the health risks; the divergent politics and regulations on the national level and EU level respectively; the business and marketing of the product; and finally cultural dimensions regarding tradition, norms, identity, experience and meaning in different social contexts.