BACKGROUND AND IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES: The Public Health Agency of Sweden has mapped the traceability of cigarettes in Sweden, in collaboration with a large number of municipalities. The aim is to gain more knowledge about how the rules on traceability are being complied with, to identify any shortcomings in the recording of events and to determine if any supervisory efforts are needed.
INTERVENTION OR RESPONSE: The Public Health Agency supervises that the rules regarding the traceability of tobacco products are followed. Together with about 60 municipalities, we have carried out a collaborative project with a focus on supervision and mapping the traceability of cigarettes. The municipalities have, within the scope of their ordinary supervision, visited a large number of first retail outlets and photographed the traceability markings on just over 1,000 unit packets of cigarettes that were available for sale to consumers. They then sent the pictures to the Public Health Agency and we have checked the traceability in the EU common database for traceability.
RESULTS AND IMPACT: Of the photographed unit packets, 90 percent could be traced all the way to the first retail outlet in question. Deficiencies in the traceability of the remaining 10 percent are mainly due to the entering wrong facility identification code for the receiving facility in their registration of the dispatch message. Other regular deficiencies are that no dispatch message was registered, or that the dispatch message was rejected due to previous mistakes in the supply chain.
CONCLUSIONS: If the traceability database contains reliable information, it can be an important tool to see where in the supply chain there are deviations and to identify where enforcement efforts are needed to stop illegal trade. Through the mapping, we have obtained data for some ongoing supervision cases, and we have also opened new supervision cases against wholesalers.