Swedish convenience stores stops selling cigarettes

The Swedish convenience store chains Pressbyrån and 7-Eleven plan to start phasing out cigarette sales. The goal is to stop selling cigarettes altogether.

From 2026, Reitan Convenience, the franchisor of Pressbyrån and 7-Eleven and the new PBX kiosk business, will stop taking in cigarette products.

– The risks of tobacco smoking are well known, both in terms of health risks but also environmental impact and working conditions in production. We also see that some countries are introducing various forms of smoking bans, such as progressive age bans, says Anna Wallenberg, CEO of Reitan in Sweden, to the Swedish public broadcaster SVT.

According to Wallenberg, cigarette sales have declined in recent years, but still account for 54 percent of the chains’ tobacco sales. She also believes that the decision will lead to reactions among customers, but that in the long run it will probably be perceived as something positive.

–  Consumption will go down in the future, and we want to work to ensure that the products disappear from the market.

Products containing palm oil will disappear from kiosks from 2027. Today, products such as chocolate, crisps and biscuits contain palm oil and will be removed unless producers replace them with more suitable alternatives.