Vejp, white snus and other nicotine products are to be removed from the working day of municipal employees in Mariestads. In an updated tobacco policy, vejp is equated with cigarettes and may not be used during working hours. The municipality wants to prevent addiction, but emphasises that it is about trust and not punishment, according to Johan Abrahamsson, chairman of the municipal executive board.
The municipality of Mariestad has had a smoke-free working hours policy since 2009. This policy is now being further tightened as e-cigarettes are also banned for municipal employees and elected representatives. The updated tobacco policy also includes a new target - that fewer employees will use snus and white snus.
When smoke-free working hours were introduced in the municipality over ten years ago, the objectives included improving the health of employees, reducing the number of smokers and preventing passive smoking. Smoking has since been restricted to the lunch hour. Since then, as you know, new nicotine products have entered the market - products that are now included in the revised policy.
- "The previous policy ignores the fact that we now have white snus and e-cigarettes and that kind of thing. We never had that before, because it didn't exist when this policy was created," says Johan Abrahamsson (M), chairman of the municipal executive board.
Focus on prevention
However, according to Johan Abrahamsson, the update does not mean that the municipality equates e-cigarettes with regular cigarettes in terms of danger.
- It is about constantly working to reduce dependence through prevention.
He emphasises that it is about working in a long-term and preventive way, rather than imposing hard rules. The policy is intended as a guideline for how the municipality views nicotine use in its activities.
"Balanced level"
Mariestad Municipality relies on the fact that the Public Health Agency of Sweden considers vejp to be dangerous and that they believe it may be some kind of "gateway" to cigarettes. But as Vejpkollen has written about many, many times, there is a large body of research, most recently a major US study, which shows that e-cigarettes are actually the most effective way to quit smoking.
- It's a very complex issue. And that's what I mean when I say that in prevention, we will always work on the basis of the research that is currently available. For example, it's about delaying the onset - and if you don't smoke, why should you start with e-cigarettes?
- The fact that people use it to quit smoking is positive. But it can also be that it becomes the gateway to start smoking cigarettes. And that's what this is all about - in the prevention work, we want as few people as possible to start at all. And it's still legal, so you have to keep this at a balanced level," says Johan Abrahamsson.
Cross-bloc agreement
Johan Abrahamsson is a snus user himself and says that Mariestad municipality has no objection in principle to the use of either tobacco or other legal products, and that it is not above the law in any way.
He adds that the issue has been completely uncontroversial in the municipal council, with political agreement across the block. He expects the proposal to be adopted by the city council without much discussion.
No penalties are expected
As mentioned, the updated policy applies to both employees and elected representatives. The proposal emphasises that staff working in health and social care and with children and young people in particular should refrain from using snus, as they are expected to act as role models.
At the same time, there are no reprisals for any municipal employee who goes out to smoke, vejpar or have a drink anyway.
- No, as I said, it's legal, and it never happens that we ask if someone smokes during recruitment or similar. We should not over-interpret this text, as I said, it is about getting as few people as possible to start.
As long as they do not go out and ban all forms of nicotine use, it will probably be difficult. In practice, it is an influence on the market that a municipality may not do.
Then there is the question of whether you can ban your staff in that way without rewriting employment contracts. I don't think you can draw that as a policy as it affects some people in a rather dramatic way.