Trade in tobacco products

Sales of tobacco products

When providing tobacco products to consumers in Sweden, you should be aware of the following:

• Sales to consumers refer to retail trade. A retail outlet is a physical point of sale, which is a particular location or other delimited retail space, or a retail website.
• Sales of tobacco products to consumers are subject to a permit. You apply for a permit at the local municipality. The municipality may charge fees for the permit and their supervision of the sale of tobacco products.
• Tobacco products may only be sold or otherwise distributed to those who have reached the age of 18.
• A retail outlet or website must also have a clear and easily visible message with information about the 18-year age limit.
• A retailer must have identification codes issued by the national ID issuer. This is so deliveries of tobacco products can be registered in the traceability system.
• Only tobacco products that comply with the legal requirements in Sweden may be available to consumers on the Swedish market. As a retailer of tobacco products, you have a responsibility to ensure that the products you provide to consumers on the Swedish market meet the legal requirements for reporting of ingredients, annual reporting and labelling, and also complies with the product requirements and traceability labelling and security features. Information that is not confidential about submitted tobacco products is displayed in the list.
• If you have questions about marketing and marketing measures at or in connection with a physical point of sale please contact the municipality. If you have any other questions about marketing of tobacco products, please contact the Swedish Consumer Agency.

Publicly available information on tobacco products

Swedish Consumer Agency (konsumentverket.se)

Traceability labelling and security features, what applies to retailers

Traceability of tobacco products, what applies to retailers

Read more about the requirement for different types of tobacco products

• Requirements on cigarettes
• Requirements on novel tobacco product
• Requirements on roll-your-own tobacco
• Requirements on smokeless tobacco products
• Requirements on tobacco products for smoking
• Requirements on waterpipe tobacco

Apply for a permit of sale to the municipality in Sweden

A permit together with a self-monitoring programme is required in order to be able to conduct retail trade of tobacco products in Sweden.

• Retailers with a physical point of sale who have their registered office or place of business in Sweden must apply for a permit in the municipality where the physical point of sale is located.
• Retailers who do not have a physical point of sale but have their registered office or place of business in Sweden must apply for a permit in the municipality where the company has its registered office.
• Retailers who do not have a physical point of sale or a registered office in Sweden must apply for a permit in the municipality where the company has a permanent place of business.

Please contact the municipality for more information about the application.

Register cross-border distance sales to the Public Health Agency of Sweden

Cross-border distance sales of tobacco products is when a retail outlet, who has neither a registered office nor a business in Sweden, provides tobacco products to consumers in Sweden from another country via distance sales.

In order to conduct cross-border distance sales of tobacco products, retail outlets have to register information about tobacco sales with us. The registration has to be confirmed by us before the sale is allowed. We will confirm the registration promptly.

You must immediately notify us:

• If provided information about the cross-border distance sales or the self-monitoring programme changes.
• When you end your cross-border distance sales to consumers in Sweden.

Voluntary form for registration

You can use the following voluntary form when you register cross-border distance sales of tobacco products to us. In order for the registration to be complete, you must also provide your self-monitoring programme:

Registration form for cross-border distance sales of tobacco products (PDF, 216 kB)

Please submit the form together with the self-monitoring programme to us, either by email or by post.

• info@folkhalsomyndigheten.se
• Postal address: Folkhälsomyndigheten (The Public Health Agency of Sweden),
  Enheten för tillsyn, 171 82 Solna, Sverige (Sweden)

Personal data

Retail outlets who engage in cross-border distance sales of tobacco products, must not disclose personal information about the consumer to the manufacturer of such products, companies forming part of the same group of companies or to other third parties.

Personal data must not be used or transferred for purposes other than the actual purchase.

Self-monitoring and self-monitoring programme

A retail outlet that engages in sales or cross-border distance sales of tobacco products must practice self-monitoring and ensure that an appropriate self-monitoring programme exists and is enforced.

The self-monitoring programme and other information needed for the municipality and us must be attached when you either apply for a permit for sale or notify cross-border distance sales of tobacco products. Any changes to submitted information must be reported immediately to the municipality or us.

Age requirements

Tobacco products may only be sold or otherwise handed out to those who have reached the age of 18. The retail outlet must make sure that the recipient has reached that age. It must also be possible for the retailer to verify the recipient's age, for example by presenting valid identification. This applies to all types of sales, including those that take place through vending machines or distance selling or in a similar way.

If there is special reason to assume that the tobacco product is intended to be handed over to someone who has not reached the age of 18, the product must not be handed over.

The retail outlet, including websites, must have a clear and clearly visible message with information about the ban on selling or handing out tobacco products to those who have not reached the age of 18.

Control purchase

In order to provide a basis for a dialogue between the municipality and a retailer of tobacco products about the obligation to ensure that the buyer has reached the age of 18, the municipality may conduct control purchases. The municipality may only hire a person over the age of 18 to conduct a control purchase.

A control purchase may be conducted without the retailer being notified in advance. The municipality must notify the retailer of the control purchase as soon as possible after a completed control purchase. A control purchase may not be used as the basis for an administrative sanction.