Goods dangerous to health
The Public Health Agency of Sweden is tasked with monitoring and considering the need for non-medical goods to be classed as narcotics and the need to control goods under the terms of the Prohibition of Certain Goods Dangerous to Health Act (Lag om förbud mot vissa hälsofarliga varor (SFS 1999:42).
The Prohibition of Certain Goods Dangerous to Health Act applies to goods that, due to their inherent properties, endanger people's lives or health and that are used or can be used to achieve intoxication or for other effect.
The Prohibition of Certain Goods Dangerous to Health Act (SFS 1999:42) (riksdagen.se) (in Swedish)
The Government stipulates which goods the law applies to in the Prohibition of Certain Goods Dangerous to Health Ordinance (Förordning om förbud mot vissa hälsofarliga varor). The relevant goods are listed in the appendix to the Ordinance.
Förordning om förbud mot vissa hälsofarliga varor (SFS 1999:58) (riksdagen.se) (In Swedish)
Under the terms of the Ordinance, the Swedish Police and Swedish Customs have an immediate notification obligation if as part of their work they observe anything that suggests that new substances are being used for abuse purposes or that patterns of abuse of known substances are changing.
The same Ordinance states that the Public Health Agency must give permission for substances to be handled for research or industrial purposes. Applications for permits must be submitted to the Public Health Agency and permits are valid for one calendar year.
Application for a permit to handle certain goods dangerous to health
Exceptions to the requirement for a permit
Gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) and 1,4-butanediol (1,4-BD) are used quite extensively in industry, so it is important that the system does not prevent the use of these products but can at the same time ensure that there is minimal risk of the substances being used for abuse purposes.
The Public Health Agency consequently allows for the requirement for a permit for certain preparations of GBL and 1,4-BD to be waived in certain circumstances as set out in the FoHMFS 2014:3 regulations.
The Public Health Agency of Sweden's regulatory programme
The Public Health Agency draws up an annual programme for the regulatory activity it plans to undertake during the year. The plan includes a strategy for the prioritisation of targets for regulatory activity under the Alcohol Act, Tobacco Act and the Prohibition of Certain Goods Dangerous to Health Act.
