"The most important issue is to keep our Swedish stores alive"
When she's not reviewing juices on YouTube, you'll find her in the comments sections, not only in dedicated vejp forums, but everywhere e-cigarettes are discussed: local newspapers. Aftonbladet, SvT, Tobaksfakta, Swedish radio. You name it: Therese Ström, from the Cloud family, is there with a pile of research in his arms, arguing for harm reduction in Sweden.
You don't work in the industry. How can you be so on top of things all the time?
"I keep an eye on forums and have some friends in our stores but also various distro companies who update me if they hear anything."
Where do you get information about vejpning?
"I always try to dig in forums but also in the "right" places. I often contact authorities and check what is true and what is not. Sometimes I sit on the government's website and check various things that have been raised. For example, that tobacco use among young people has decreased (where e-cigs count as a tobacco product in the statistics). When I get tagged outside our closed forums, if some anti-tobacco organization tries to say that e-cigs attract young people, I have my counter arguments directly from the authorities' own report. A lot of my spare time is also spent trying to "take the temperature" of those who do not vejpar, to see what support we have among people and politicians."
What inspires you to continue?
"Seeing a loved one go through cancer and saving more lives. It inspires me. So many people die needlessly today unfortunately..."
What is the most important issue for vejpningen today?
"Right now, I think the most important issue is to keep our own stores alive. Unfortunately, we have seen many shops close recently. The authorities need to be more clear about what applies and what does not. Often when you call or email, it takes a long time to get an answer and unfortunately not even the person responsible at various authorities knows what applies in certain matters, such as which products are registered and what is approved for sale. The system today is far from good and needs to change so that our stores have a chance to give people what they want, without customers having to go abroad."
What is the best thing that happened to vejpingen in 2019?
"That Americans are working very hard for vejping. The whole world is watching and as I said in 2017, what happens there will come here! We see what common goals can achieve and we should take it to heart in Sweden."
The worst thing that happened in 2019?
"It is the illegal trade in THC that has killed people because of the oil in the e-juice. Unfortunately, it scares many people away from quitting smoking and from choosing a safer alternative."
You're getting a Christmas present from the government in 2020 about e-cigarettes. What are you getting?
My Christmas present would have been to write a referral and be heard before a change in the law, as some laws have created accidents and where some laws should exist but do not exist. In the current situation, neither consumers nor companies are protected in the best way!
Here you can find Therese Ström on social media:
Facebook: Cloud Family, Sweden
YouTube: Cloud Family
