Disposable vapes in every other convenience store. The white snuff that is out-competing smoking among young people. And doctors beating the drum about the 'new' risks of smokeless nicotine use.
"From a health perspective, this development will be worth its weight in gold for us Swedes. But that is not what is driving the public debate, unfortunately" says Karl-Åke Johansson, Föreningen Svenska Vejpare.
2024 is over and 2025 is just around the corner. For Vejpkollen, a new year of monitoring and reporting on a market where consumers are the driving force but are often at the bottom of the chain when new regulations and restrictions govern the supply of smoke-free nicotine products. Karl-Åke Johansson, spokesperson for the Swedish Vejpare Association, is optimistic about the future, even if there are worrying clouds on the horizon.
How would you describe the past year?
"2024 was the year when the tide turned. E-cigarettes have established themselves in convenience stores, even in rural areas, and our politicians clearly agree that harm minimisation is the way forward for Swedish nicotine policy. You can think what you like about white snus tasting like candy and disposable cigs being environmentally unfriendly as hell, but if everyone plays their cards right now, the deadly cigarettes will be a marginalised product within a few years. And that's a huge win for public health, while those of us who want or need to use nicotine can continue to do so without risking serious illness from its use."
The disposable models have become the face of vejp and are probably the model most people associate with the technology today. But what does this development mean for specialised shops and the wider range of vejp products?
"I've said it before and I'll say it again. It is increasingly difficult to survive as a specialised vejpshop today. Our shops need to change and become more diversified. Many have already done so and we see that they are doing better than others. E-cigs in various formats must be combined with snus, nicotine pouches or other smokeless nicotine products that we know work to stop smoking. Add to this a clear profile as a knowledge centre. It's about becoming real "stop-smoking shops" where smokers have access to a whole range of different tools and, above all, the knowledge needed to use them. We vejpers have been cultivating and developing this knowledge for almost two decades and we have become really good at it - we KNOW how to help smokers and we are going to utilise it."
You say that the tide has turned here in Sweden and you are obviously looking forward to 2025. But do you see any storm clouds on the horizon?
"It always is when it comes to nicotine. There are strong economic interests that constantly lobby for regulations that are directly harmful to public health, where new nicotine products are pushed onto a black market or have to be changed unnecessarily to fit into an ill-conceived regulatory system. We see this not least with the disposable models - a product that is really the child of over-regulation of traditional e-cigarettes and e-liquids."
What changes would you like to see?
"Our politicians need to learn more about e-cigarettes and how the technology works in the real world. What do the six-month waiting periods for the registration of new products really mean? What does it mean for us that the law-abiding entrepreneurs are forced to run shops on the margin, while those who ignore all the rules make millions in profits without anyone taking action? Our politicians need to realise this and hopefully do something about it. Product safety must be given more focus, similar to that of snus, instead of e-cigarettes being treated as something the cat dragged in. Here, politicians can benefit from better contact with us users and the entrepreneurs we like to shop with"
In our European neighbours, regulation of e-cigs and other smokeless nicotine products seems to be moving in a different direction than in Sweden. These range from flavour bans to bans on online sales and imports. What risks do you see with this development?
"Prohibitions and restrictions never work as intended. Nor do they reduce use among young people, which is often the official aim. Unfortunately, when it comes to new nicotine products, there is a lot more driving the regulation than a pure health interest. It is often a desperate attempt to finance various activities through government funds. The anti-smoking argument no longer holds water - because smoking is on its way out. Now it's a matter of incentivising that something else is 'dangerous enough' to justify funding. The Swedish research on e-cigarettes and nicotine that came out last year is a good example of this - more or less overhyping e-cigarettes with abnormally high nicotine levels only to then claim that vejpning is potentially "as dangerous" as smoking. It's easily absurd, but nonetheless it influences public opinion and leads to new funding."
Do you see any trends and tendencies in the regulation of smokeless nicotine?
"The big risk here is that development and technology are running in circles around various restrictions. As nicotine becomes more and more inaccessible, or if it's just made to taste like artificial tobacco or something, we will soon see ways around it. And that's only natural, as there is obviously a huge demand for something that tastes good and doesn't remind you of disgusting cigarette smoke."
Can you give some examples of this?
"Recently we have seen a new substance on the market - nicotine analogues - used instead of nicotine in e-liquid. These are completely new substances, developed in a lab. They basically have the same properties as natural nicotine, but without the restrictions that come with different regulations. Companies can create new analogues very easily by only marginally altering the nicotine molecule in a lab. When one analogue is banned or regulated, the next one appears. And so it will go on - over and over again. It becomes a cat and mouse game where we consumers always end up at the bottom of the chain and no longer know what we are buying."
But can't there be benefits to nicotine analogues? Many people talk about how dangerous nicotine is. Is it not good to develop alternatives?
"No, I don't think so. Nicotine is relatively well researched - in fact, we know a lot about both the risks and benefits of smoke-free use. Nicotine is relatively safe to use, although this is not what is being emphasised in all these media campaigns. But the question is, do the doctors and scientists involved in these campaigns realise what game they are playing? Do they prefer that we get new unknown substances on the market instead? I don't think so."
