Tobacco maker Swedish match has raised prizes on snuff on the Swedish and American market due to higher taxes.

Swedish Match, the tobacco producer, has raised its prizes of snuff with 4 percent on the Swedish and American market, according to the company’s European information manager Mikael Arnebert.

“We haven’t adjusted our prizes in one and a half year. So it was about time”, he said to The Swedish Wire and explained that during the same period the average food prices in Sweden have increased some 6 percent.

Furthermore, during the last two years there have been two major increases in taxation in Sweden, adding up to 178 percent.

Swedish match has also raised the prizes in the US, also due to higher taxes, Mikael Arnebert said.

The 4 percent increase equals 1 krona (€0.09) in retail price for every box of snuff. In the US the boxes will be 7 - 10 cent more expensive.

Swedish snus, a moist powder tobacco product that you consume by placing it under the lip, is banned in all EU countries except Sweden. It's also commonly used in Norway and the US. About 1.4 billion boxes of snuff is sold in the US every year and Swedish Match has 12.1 percent of the market.

Just two weeks ago Mikael Holm, analyst at Swedbank, said to The Swedish Wire that higher prizes were expected.

“This is a market with low elasticity. It’s possible to raise prices without losing market shares. If Swedish match increase the price tag on low-price products the competitors are likely to follow”, he said.