The members of parliament who signed the debate article are Christer Engelhardt (S), Gunvor G Ericson (MP), Per Lodenius (C) and Henrik Ripa (M).
The article authors emphasize that for competitive reasons it is difficult for individual grocery stores or chains to stop selling tobacco as long as other stores continue to sell:
"But not all responsibility needs to be taken by the retail trade. We actually have politicians who have the power to legislate. In Norway, Finland, Iceland, Ireland and the UK, for example, it is not permitted to display tobacco. Anyone who buys food does not have to see cigarettes, which reduces the risk of relapse if they struggle to quit. For the grocery trade, it would be competitively neutral," they write, and continue:
"Tobacco doesn't really go well with food sales at all. The easiest thing might be to ban sales in grocery stores. But a ban on exposure would at least be a first step. Why does Sweden have to lag behind other countries when it comes to the exposure issue?"
