STOCKHOLM
– I know it’s bad, but I can’t stop, says the 21-year-old Bri. He stands with his friends on the Stockholm University campus on an autumn Monday.
Bri talks about her nicotine addiction and that’s why she doesn’t want to reveal her last name. Many other young women I meet on campus and in the city do not agree to be in front of the camera at all, even though they say they use snuff.
This time it is not about traditional brown tobacco mass but “white snuff”. That’s what nicotine bags are called in Sweden. The bags are white because they do not contain any tobacco.
– I only use white. Brown snuff is disgusting, says Bri.
The popularity of nicotine pouches, also known as nicotine snuff, has grown rapidly in Sweden.
The bags are used like snuff, placed under the upper lip, allowing nicotine to be absorbed from the oral mucosa into the bloodstream. Unlike snuff containing tobacco, they can also be sold in Finland.
While the number of young people who smoke has decreased slightly in five years, more and more young people are trying snuff and nicotine pouches, it turns out from extensive Swedish research. This applies to all genders.
Nicotine pouches are the second most used nicotine-containing product by young people after e-cigarettes.
In Sweden, nicotine pouches are especially popular with girls.
According to the survey, almost every third girl in the ninth grade in Sweden has used nicotine pouches at some point. The number of Kokeilijoki has increased by half in a couple of years.
Almost every second high school girl has tried bags.
Regular use has also become more common. At the end of elementary school, 15 percent of Swedish youth use nicotine pouches or traditional snuff on a somewhat regular basis. Already one in four high school-age users are regular users.
“They look candy-like and cute”
Joakim Dahlqvist28, says he has been using snuff since he was 18. At first he tried regular snuff, but it turned his teeth brown. The acting student worried that he wouldn’t get roles with a black mouth.
Dahlqvist doesn’t like how, according to him, nicotine pouches are almost forced on young people in Sweden.
– They taste just like candy, he says.
In the video, Dahlqvist and his friends tell how they have experienced the marketing of nicotine pouches in Sweden.
21-year-old Bri also thinks that nicotine pouch boxes look way too cute and candy-like, which makes young people interested in them.
– The boxes could all be the same. You could only read in them which flavor it is, says Bri.
Nicotine pouch boxes are often brightly colored or white and pastel shades. Bags are available in apple, watermelon, peach, berry, licorice and cola flavors, among others.
In Sweden, the selection of flavors is wider than in Finland, and you can keep the pouches on display in stores.
Tiktok ad was banned
Advertising nicotine pouches with a youthful and trendy image has sparked a lot of discussion in Sweden.
Swedish magazine Resume brought up a couple of years ago how big snuff companies market their products with the help of celebrities popular with young people.
The magazine highlighted, among other things, the then 26-year-old popular comedian Johanna Nordström cooperation with the Volt nicotine snuff brand.
Aftonbladet newspaper list more artists who have collaborated with snuff companies. Among other things, singer and songwriter Molly Hammar has promoted nicotine pouches on his Instagram account. In his update, he says that he will appear at the nicotine snuff brand’s own event.
According to Swedish law, nicotine products may be advertised in a “special way” and only to people over 25 years old. This fall, the Swedish Patent and Market Court banned a Tiktok ad for nicotine pouches citing the law. In the ad, Santa opened the doors of the Christmas calendar, revealing nicotine pouches.
“My mouth has already corroded a little”
No follow-up research is yet available on the dangers of using nicotine pouches, because it is a new product and it takes years to study the side effects.
However, health care experts agree that there are disadvantages. In addition to being addictive, nicotine predisposes to damage to the oral mucosa and cardiovascular diseases. Nicotine also impairs learning and concentration.
Bri says that she started using nicotine patches at the age of 18. A friend offered, and he decided to give it a try. Now it’s hard to quit, I feel bad, says Bri.
– My mouth is already slightly corroded, he explains and points to his upper lip.
Swedish health authorities are concerned about the popularity of nicotine snuff among young people. They would like to ban so-called candy flavors.
Anti-smoking organization conducted a survey in Sweden a couple of years agowhich showed that the variety of flavors makes young people interested in nicotine products.
In the summer of 2022, the Swedish Parliament voted to ban flavors in electronic cigarettes. The ban on flavors in nicotine pouches was not part of the government’s proposal.
Sweden’s then Minister of Social Affairs, by Lena Hallengren (Social Democrats) representative explained the matter to the anti-smoking organization Tobaksfakta at the time among other things by saying that the ban would be unfair because tobacco-like snuff can be flavored. Sweden is the only EU country with an exemption for the sale of traditional snuff.
In addition, according to the minister’s representative, the purpose was first to find out how the ban would affect the use of e-cigarettes.
In the end, even the ban on e-cigarette flavorings did not pass the Diet. This was justified by the fact that there is still not enough research data on the dangers of e-cigarettes.
The popularity is also growing in Finland
The growth in popularity of nicotine pouches has also been rapid in Finland. Almost every third of 15-16-year-old boys and almost every fifth of girls say they have used nicotine pouches at some point, it turns out From THL’s school health survey.
The sale of nicotine pouches became free in Finland in April 2023, when the Finnish Pharmaceutical Safety and Development Center Fimea stated that regulation is not part of it. Previously, pouches containing more than four milligrams of nicotine were classified as medicine and required a sales permit.
After this, bags have been allowed to be sold in Finland without a separate permit, unlike, for example, cigarettes.
However, that is about to change. Parliament has decided that the bags will be covered by the Tobacco Act. When the law change enters into force, the bags may no longer contain certain flavors and the nicotine limit will be set at 16.6 milligrams.
What do you think about the increasing use of nicotine pouches?