London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Aug 17, 2026

The revenge of Big Tobacco

The revenge of Big Tobacco

Snus is back in the news, which is a reminder of a not-so-great moment in Commission history.

In the media (including here at POLITICO Towers), we love to use the word “Big” to describe a major industry — Big Tech, Big Pharma (or, even more terrifying, Big Farmer) and, of course, Big Tobacco.

It can’t be easy for Big Tobacco these days (to minimize the deadly impact of tobacco, just picture a sad executive forced to wear a giant cigarette costume, wandering around a shopping mall trying to sell his wares and being kicked by teenagers). Anyway, as you’ll have read in Brussels Playbook, the Swedish daily Aftonbladet wrote about a leaked European Commission document that suggested those meddling Brussels Eurocrats planned to double taxes on snus, the popular-in-Scandinavia tobacco product. For those unfamiliar with snus, imagine taking some of the “juice” that has collected at the bottom of your kitchen bin and smearing it on your gums and teeth.

Many Swedes and others were furious at this potential infringement on their traditional way of life, until the Commission made clear that it had no intention of making such a move.

You can’t mention snus and the EU without reference to John Dalli, the former Maltese member of the Commission who was obliged to resign from his role overseeing health and consumer policy in the second Commission led by José Manuel Barroso (old-timers may remember Barroso II for such luminaries as charisma-vacuum Catherine Ashton, lobbying enthusiast Neelie Kroes, and Berlusconi’s bag-carrier Antonio Tajani).

Full disclosure: This publication’s predecessor published a magazine previewing Barroso II in which this author wrote that Dalli would be unlikely to “rock the boat.” He didn’t rock the boat, of course, but rather attempted to set it on fire.

Dalli did so much damage that he got the media to come up with a -gate suffix for him (Dalligate), which is no mean feat, after one of his aides allegedly tried to obtain a €60 million bribe from a Swedish tobacco company to reverse an EU ban on snus.

Dalli quit his EU post in October 2012, and claimed that Barroso forced him out after presenting him with a report from OLAF, the bloc’s anti-fraud office (and also the snowman in the film “Frozen”). Dalli also claimed bribery charges leveled against him were part of a “campaign” to smear him. “This is another fraud,” he told the Times of Malta last year.

Why Big Snus hasn’t snapped up Dalli for a senior lobbying position remains a mystery.

CAPTION COMPETITION

“Coming soon to Netflix: ‘Macron’ in which a tough city cop moves into a quiet French village.”

Can you do better? Email pdallison@politico.eu or on Twitter @pdallisonesque

Last time we gave you this photo:



Thanks for all the entries. Here’s the best from our postbag — there’s no prize except for the gift of laughter, which I think we can all agree is far more valuable than cash or booze.

“And this is the prime minister. You’ll like him. He’s also new in the job and also relies on vast inherited wealth,” by Tom Morgan.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Campaigners Press Government to Strengthen Rights for Four Million Gig Workers
Government Considers Higher Private Rents to Spread Asylum Accommodation Across UK
UK Moves to Protect Historic Pubs From Conversion Into Housing and Offices
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to House of Commons
British Manufacturers Report Rising Cybersecurity Threats Across Industrial Supply Chains
Royal Navy Increases Monitoring of Russian Ships in UK Waters by 25 Percent
England Adds More Than 350 Medical Training Posts to Strengthen NHS Capacity
NHS Waiting Lists Over 52 Weeks Rise by More Than 11,000 Patients
Brent Crude Near $88 Raises Fresh UK Energy Cost Concerns
UK Treasury Warns Prolonged Strait of Hormuz Disruption Could Cut 2027 Growth to 0.3 Percent
UK Economy Grows 0.4 Percent in Second Quarter as Energy and Inflation Risks Persist
UK Heatwave Triggers Emergency Alert as Government Unveils £65 Million Farm Support Package
Reform UK Unveils Plan to Cut Welfare Spending by More Than £50 Billion a Year
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Praised Extinction Rebellion for Doing a 'Great Service'
UK Wildfire Phone Alert Triggers Backlash as Users Switch Off Emergency Warnings
Heathrow Roads Reopen After Burst Water Main Floods Access to Terminals 2 and 3
Former NBA Players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White Say They Will Enter 2027 WNBA Draft
Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Found Dead Days After Resigning Amid Plagiarism Row
US Appeals Court Rules AI Agent's Website Actions Are Legally Attributed to the User
France's Constitutional Council Blocks Social Media Ban for Children Under 15
Liechtenstein Changes Royal Succession Rules to Allow Women to Inherit the Throne
Women Allege Rape and Sexual Abuse at British Army College for Teenage Recruits
Minnesota: Two independent investigators posed as Muslims (one wearing a burqa) and showed how they could vote in elections without identification.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham Takes Regional Tour to Highlight Local Infrastructure and Environmental Problems
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to the House of Commons
Bank of England Warns Rising Inflation Could Squeeze UK Household Incomes
UK Government Announces £65 Million Aid Package for Farmers Hit by Severe Drought
UK Economy Grows 0.4% in Second Quarter Despite Energy Market Pressures
UK Issues Emergency Alert as Severe Wildfires Spread Across England and Wales
UK and Finland Discuss European Defence and Continued Support for Ukraine
Nigel Farage Wins Clacton By-Election to Return to the House of Commons
UK Government Deploys Military to Help Fight Wildfires and Bans Disposable Barbecues
UK Records Hottest Day of the Year as Fifth Summer Heatwave Peaks in Southern England
UK Condemns Houthi Actions and Warns of Red Sea Threat to Global Trade
UK and Solomon Islands Open Wildlife Photography Exhibition in Honiara
UK Small Businesses Face Continued Cash Flow and Tax Pressures
Greatham Marsh Restoration Restores Tidal Wetland in Hartlepool After More Than 200 Years
UK Health Regulator Urges University Students to Check Meningitis and Measles Vaccination Status
Mining Remediation Authority Completes Major Ground Stabilization Works in Scottish Community
UK Food Crime Investigators Seize 33 Tonnes of Illegal Food in Multi-Agency Operation
Technical Qualification Uptake Hits Record High as Advanced Mathematics Results Improve
UK Summer Temperatures on Course to Challenge Long-Standing Records, Met Office Says
UK Farmers Bring Forward Cereal Harvests as Drought Threatens Yields
×