Sweden

Philip Morris appealed the Public Health Agency of Sweden's determination that HEETS (heated tobacco sticks or inserts) were tobacco products for smoking and should not be categorized as smokeless tobacco products under the European Union Tobacco Products Directive and Swedish Law. Also, the agency banned and ordered the recall of HEETS with packaging containing the health warning "[t]his product is harmful to health and is addictive" from the market.

The Administrative Court held that a determining factor as to whether a product is a smokeless tobacco product is whether the product is consumed by combustion and undertook a review of the primary combustion requirements. Ultimately, the Administrative Court found that HEETS were not consumed by combustion because there was no evidence of exothermic oxidation. The court concluded that the evidence showed HEETS could be consumed without oxidation, a main element of combustion. Therefore, the court concluded that HEETS are smokeless tobacco products.