Swedish Match AB announces today that the cigar operations of its subsidiary Swedish Match Dominicana will be temporarily suspended.

The suspension will be effective from Monday, March 23rd. The plants are scheduled to resume operations on April 6th. On-hand inventory levels are more than adequate to meet anticipated market requirements through the planned shutdown period. To our knowledge, no employee of Swedish Match in the Dominican Republic has tested positive for COVID-19. This action is being taken, as a precautionary measure, in light of restrictions recently announced by the authorities in the Dominican Republic to prevent a wider spread of the coronavirus.

"Swedish Match is closely monitoring the current situation including governmental guidelines and advice from public health authorities in every country where we operate. We are proactively taking the steps that we believe are necessary to mitigate potential impacts to our employees, our customers and our business," says Lars Dahlgren, President and CEO.

Contacts:

Emmett Harrison, Senior Vice President Investor Relations

Office +46 70 938 0173

Richard Flaherty, President US Division, US Investor Relations contact

Office +1 804 787 5130

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