Omar has travelled from Lebanon to Mark municipality to become something of a quit-smoking guru in Kinna. Not only does he sell vejp products in his shop in the small municipality, but he also makes plans for his customers, guiding them to the right products and reducing their monthly nicotine intake.
- Several people who smoked a loaf a week are now down and vejp is nicotine free, says Omar to Vejpkollen.
What is Mark municipality and what are its different communities is a bit fuzzy for outsiders. Unlike regular cities, there is no direct physical place just called "Mark".
Well, it is in a way, but it consists primarily of the two towns of Skene and Kinna - which have been counted as having grown together since 1970. Without delving too far into local history, Marks municipality was formed in the 1971 municipal reform by Kinna and Skene köpingar and the rural municipalities Fritsla, Horred, Svansjö, Sätila, Västra Mark and Örby. When you drive through the towns, the boundaries are most noticeable in that it becomes a little more industrial area feeling with builders' merchants and larger car parks before it soon becomes more urban again.
Wanted to start a business that didn't already exist
It is still something of a long shot that it will be possible to find a well-stocked vejpshop in tiny Kinna, with its 15,000 inhabitants. But it is here, and that is thanks to Omar Sabih. Three years ago, he and his family packed up and left Borås, just over three kilometres away.
- It's nice and quiet here and there are no problems. I like "relax", says Omar as he shows us around the shop and offers us a cold drink from one of the coolers.
He explains that he feels more comfortable in smaller communities and that he had been thinking about starting his own business for a long time.
- I heard that in Kinna there are quite a few people, but at the same time there is everything like Willys, pharmacies, restaurants and everything possible. So I thought I would open a business that wasn't here. I didn't want to start something with food, and vejp is something I've made myself an expert in," explains Omar.
A dual-use space
His wife and four children were on the train. According to Omar, the children, who are still quite young, also find it calmer and more pleasant here. So, three years later, Omar welcomes us to his double premises, where one half is IT and mobile phones and the other side is a vejpshop.
- I worked with mobile phones for almost 20 years in Lebanon. I first studied IT and then had a shop repairing mobile phones.
Omar's wife is from Sweden, and they first lived together down in Lebanon before moving to Sweden and Borås 13 years ago. So all the children were born here.
Two areas of expertise means two businesses, and Omar manages them both himself. But as this is not a feature in the mobilekollen magazine, we'll leave that part aside and focus on e-cigarettes.
Made himself a vejp professional
Until about five years ago, Omar smoked both cigarettes and hookahs. A lot and well.
- I found the vejp five years ago, but then it took me six months to find the flavours, the machine and the amount of nicotine I wanted. I experimented, and that's why I'm now a professional vejper," laughs Omar.
In his case, no friend or other person introduced him to e-cigarettes, but he searched all the information online looking for something that could help him quit smoking.
- But I gave up 100 per cent of both cigarettes and hookahs. Today my health is much better," says Omar.
Helping customers go nicotine-free
All that knowledge he gained in his own endeavours, coupled of course with running a shop for three years, has become a valuable strength.
- You can't just stand up and start selling. You have to know which machines, flavours and strengths to recommend. Most of my customers are older people who have smoked for many, many years. Then I help them quit and I make a plan with how much nicotine they should start with, so we lower a little a month later.
With or without nicotine
Sometimes it goes all the way down to zero. Omar tells us about a female, elderly customer who smoked a pack of cigarettes a month into her 70s. Today she vejps nicotine-free.
He, on the other hand, keeps the nicotine in his own juices.
- I need the nicotine for stress and nerves. It calms me down," explains Omar.
Other little tricks Omar points out are not to start directly with different wild flavours - it rarely works, he says, but most people get a better transition with juices that resemble cigarettes - artificial tobacco flavours. He also does not recommend the disposable vejps but favours machines and juices where you can adjust and hopefully lower the nicotine strength.
Not rich in vejpning
Omar Sabih's business is doing well, but not exactly making him rich. But maybe he doesn't need to, as he seems to have found his place in the world in Kinna, in several ways.
- It's pretty normal business. If you want to sell a lot, you have to move to a big city. But I don't want to sit in Gothenburg or Borås all day. And if I wanted to open another shop, I would have to train a trainee first. There are so many things you need to know in order to help customers.
Five quick ones for Omar Sabih and Vape Shop Kinna
1. Who is your typical customer?
- An older woman or man who has stopped smoking. Mostly women.
2. How big is vejp in Kinna?
- A lot of people vejpar here. Especially now that everyone has stopped smoking.
3. What is your own favourite flavour?
- Strawberry, watermelon, bubblegum. It's available as a flavour, but I mix some myself too.
4. What would you never put in the tank yourself?
- I don't want something that tastes like cigarettes because I used to smoke.
5. What made you start vejpa?
- I was looking for ways to quit smoking.
Vejpkollen visits Swedish vejpshoppar
Store: Vape Shop
City: Marks municipality
Behind the counter: Owner Omar Sabih
Existed since: 2021
