[ÁTVR] Wants to ban all smokeless tobacco in Iceland [except the tobacco they make]

[YfirBaggari]

On the official ÁTVR (the governments Alcohol and Tobacco Store) website they announced that they have stopped buying "Lundi" and sales of it will not continue neither will they start selling the new brand "Skuggi" untill those two will undergo a Investigation to determine if they are really produced as tobacco for Nasal Use not the dip use. The main tobacco law state that All sale,production and importing of Snus and "finecut" nasal snuff is banned with the exception that the Snuff is very "Rough" cut Thus the "Neftóbak". In current tobacco law they only determine if its ment to be used for your mouth or nose with the size of the corns, However the moisture in the tobacco can determine if its for your nose or mouth. [that's where the Neftóbak gets stick free because its very dry] It will take 3-5 months for the ivestigation/tests to be completed.

I am very disappointed, First they ban foreign snus, dip and snuff, and now they want to ban "all" the icelandic snuff besides the "neftóbak" because it's being dipped, well they mention that in the statement (That more and more people dip instead of snuffing it,why should it matter to them?).
Shouldnt it be the buyer who decides how he wants to use his tobacco?
Ofcourse they found a way to eliminate the competition, i just hope to god that this will not happen.

[shikitohno]

I thought Lundi and Skuggi were new brands being rolled out by ÁTVR. Oh well. Seems like you Icelanders get the short end of the stick with nonsense bans. I was reading about how beer was illegal in Iceland until the 1980s for some unexplained (at least in English) reason.

[YfirBaggari]

All Stores and Shops need to buy the tobacco shipments from ÁTVR, sadly... Skuggi is actually being produced by V2 Tobacco if im not mistaken, and lundi by rolf johansen company, i think.

It's not that i want the tobacco so bad but it's the way they are doing this.

[shikitohno]

Hmm, that sucks. This is the sort of thing that we'd generally fire off a letter to our Senators and Representatives to bitch about if we were really upset by an issue. Also, damn Icelandic and its grammatical cases that make Alþingi end in 'i.' I was getting all excited to get some alliteration/rhyme going on and say that the only way to deal with this sort of thing would be to complain to your representative in the Alþing, and was chuckling to myself about my lame joke, and I realised it's the Alþingi. Well, at least Icelandic doesn't make things too difficult for me. Only have to hit AltGr+t to get þ rather than dig around a character map, at least.

[YfirBaggari]

Hahahaha

I wonder if Lundi and Skuggi, well atleast Lundi could sue since they were already accepted by ÁTVR's extensive research before....

[GoVegan]

Sounds like Iceland sucks even worse than here.

[Crow]

On the official ÁTVR (the governments Alcohol and Tobacco Store) website they announced that they have stopped buying "Lundi" and sales of it will not continue neither will they start selling the new brand "Skuggi" untill those two will undergo a Investigation to determine if they are really produced as tobacco for Nasal Use not the dip use. The main tobacco law state that All sale,production and importing of Snus and "finecut" nasal snuff is banned with the exception that the Snuff is very "Rough" cut Thus the "Neftóbak". In current tobacco law they only determine if its ment to be used for your mouth or nose with the size of the corns, However the moisture in the tobacco can determine if its for your nose or mouth. [that's where the Neftóbak gets stick free because its very dry] It will take 3-5 months for the ivestigation/tests to be completed.

I am very disappointed, First they ban foreign snus, dip and snuff, and now they want to ban "all" the icelandic snuff besides the "neftóbak" because it's being dipped, well they mention that in the statement (That more and more people dip instead of snuffing it,why should it matter to them?).
Shouldnt it be the buyer who decides how he wants to use his tobacco?
Ofcourse they found a way to eliminate the competition, i just hope to god that this will not happen.

That's odd... I was under the impression that Lundi was an ÁTVR product (after all, lundi is Icelandic for puffin).

I just don't understand the policy. You (speaking in general) allow a person to smoke tobacco (which is the most harmful method of tobacco consumption), yet you forbid the person to consume tobacco in a form that has been proven to be less harmful than smoked tobacco. Also, you're preventing added revenue for the state. The policy makes no sense at any level (socially or economically).

I could rant all day about the absurdity of it (the EU shares the same stance when it comes to snus). As an American, it's just mind boggling.

If I was living there, I would be vocal about it. I would also find other tobacco consumers (and those that agree with the principles of harm reduction) to send a clear message to the government to reform ÁTVR's policy regarding smokeless tobacco.

[shikitohno]

Sounds like Iceland sucks even worse than here.

I don't know, Iceland does have Landi going for them. Plus they speak the language closest to Old Norse (shut up, Faroe Islands), so everyone in the country can pretty much say that they're a Viking if they want to. Of course, they've also got some pretty funky food. I don't know about eating hákarl.

[wa3zrm]

I don't know, Iceland does have Landi going for them. Plus they speak the language closest to Old Norse (shut up, Faroe Islands), so everyone in the country can pretty much say that they're a Viking if they want to. Of course, they've also got some pretty funky food. I don't know about eating hákarl.

[Crow]

Yeah, you won't catch me eating that! It's really awful. Icelanders only eat that stuff during holidays like Þorrablót.

[shikitohno]

Chef Anthony Bourdain, who has travelled extensively throughout the world sampling local cuisine for his Travel Channel show No Reservations, has described shark þorramatur as "the single worst, most disgusting and terrible tasting thing" he has ever eaten.

Chef Gordon Ramsay challenged journalist James May to sample three "delicacies" (Laotian snake whiskey, bull penis, and hákarl) on The F Word; Ramsay then vomited after eating hákarl, although May kept his down. May's only reaction was, "You disappoint me, Ramsay."

I think that about says it all for Iceland's traditional foods. I hear they've got pretty good hot dogs in Reykjavík, though.

[Crow]

I think that about says it all for Iceland's traditional foods. I hear they've got pretty good hot dogs in Reykjavík, though.

It's not all bad, that's just the worst part of the Icelandic cuisine (which is why it's infamous).

Hangikjöt, bjúga, svið, lifrarpylsa, harðfiskur, and hvalkjöt are all really good. Rúgbrauð is also good with butter (and a slice of hangikjöt). You're right about the hot dogs, those are also really good (served with sinnep and fried onions).

There's more to Icelandic cuisine than just rotten shark meat and crushed ram balls.

Hangikjöt (hanged meat, lamb)



Bjúga (sausage, horse)



Svið (sheep's head)

[shikitohno]

Well, that's why I tossed in traditional there. Now they eat other stuff and the nasty sounding traditional food only pokes its head out on holidays.

[Crow]

Well, that's why I tossed in traditional there. Now they eat other stuff and the nasty sounding traditional food only pokes its head out on holidays.

Would you eat any of the three foods I just posted photos of? Icelanders eat those regularly.

[shikitohno]

They don't look particularly offensive. Besides, part of me thinks I'd be the sort of person who would like hákarl. I do like some other foods that a good number of people consider pretty nasty. For example, I usually have at least a three-pack of this stuff in stock:

Natto


Mmm, doesn't it just look delicious? Need to pick some up this weekend when I go shopping again. Natto and rice for breakfast.