Why Does The EU Prohibit Snus and not Cigarettes? Reason the EU prohibits snus and not cigarettes No matter where you're located in the world, you may agree that the European Union (EU) can be a tad overreaching in its collective regulations. And by tad, we mean grossly. Case in point: The EU actually prohibits snus , with plans to put an outright ban on flavoured product, but when it comes to cigarettes, the regulations are quite lax in comparison. While the roots of snus run deep in Sweden, the movement to ban the product has also been around for quite some time. It all started back in 1992, when the World Health Organization concluded that snus was a carcinogenic. The sale of snus was expressly prohibited in most EU countries, with only Sweden and Norway (not an EU country though) receiving an exemption. Sweden got its exemption upon joining in 1994. It is estimated that roughly 12% of Swedes use snus, and users of this tobacco product take it quite seriously. So much so, in