Following SVT's reporting on young people and vejpning, reactions from vejpers and business owners have been plentiful in the comment fields on Facebook.
"It is better that young people vejpar instead of smoking tobacco, which is carcinogenic and harmful to health," writes a user from Borlänge to SVT.
SVT Västerbotten recently highlighted that increasing use of e-cigarettes among young people in Umeå. The focus was on disposable models and the fact that so-called "nicotine companies" target young people and children in their marketing. Well-known anti-tobacco commentators spoke out, and an official at Region Västerbotten pointed to flavorings as the major reason for the increase.
Great attention on Facebook
The reactions on social media were not long in coming. Within hours, discussions raged both at SVT Västerbotten and on the Swedish vejpforum. At the time of writing, the post has 155 comments.
"Since when did candy, fruit and other sweet flavors automatically become targeted at children? Yes, there are problems with actors who don't give a damn about who buys and uses them. Wouldn't it be appropriate to criticize the state here?" writes the user Fredrik Kristianssen in a comment on SVT Värmland's Facebook page.
According to Fredrik Kristianssen it is more serious that flavored alcohol is openly available on the market.
"Better that they vejpar than smoke"
The writer Torbjörn Vendestad believes that the message about the harms of nicotine and smoking has been lost. He argues that young people have always engaged in forbidden activities, such as smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.
"It is better that young people vejpar instead of smoking tobacco, which is carcinogenic and harmful to health. People in general need to start distinguishing between nicotine and tobacco. It is the tobacco that is most dangerous. Not the nicotine itself" says the writer Torbjörn Vendestad.
"It is skewed"
He is joined by Chrisoffer Morin from Borlänge:
"This is distorted. The fact that people are choosing a healthier alternative to ingesting nicotine should not be vilified, quite the opposite. Then it is absolutely wrong that this applies among young people and children. But it would have been cigarettes otherwise. Keep in mind that cigarette smoking has actually decreased, which promotes public health, both for users and those who previously lived in the vicinity of smokers," writes Christian Morin on SVT's Facebook page.
"Get tougher on illegal trade"
Many also reacted to the fact that the young people featured in the program openly told them that they could buy e-cigarettes directly from sellers on Instagram.
"You hear young people talking about how the big problem is illegal trade. Real shops have websites for sales and do not sell via Instagram. It's the illegal trade that we need to get tougher on, if we want to make a difference with young people." Therese Ström, vejpare from Vara and active in the user community NNA Sweden.
Speaking out about older people's tastes
Therese Ström also reacted to the fact that a representative of Region Västerbotten does not believe that "Nils, 79" likes flavors like raspberries and cotton candy in their e-cigarette.
"Now I'm approaching 40 and I'm not Nils, but in my opinion, regular cigarettes taste better than the tobacco flavors in e-cigs. Because the tobacco flavors do not taste like cigarettes. I think you should be very careful when you make statements about the elderly, and let them have their own voice in what flavors they prefer when they quit smoking" writes Therese Ström.
Much better that young people vejpar or snuff at some party than that they smoke cigs, snort cocaine or buy some synthetic cannabis derivative online. Do not really understand this moral panic.
Therese is absolutely right.
For me, the good flavors of vejp, very quickly became a barrier that made regular smoking completely impossible. Ignorant people think that tobacco flavor means it tastes like tobacco smoke and that is wrong. Burnt flavors do not pass through vejp, tobacco flavor becomes more like tea, brewed on tobacco.
One should be careful not to lump everyone together, as if Nils represents all older people when he says HE doesn't like sweets. Called age discrimination, I guess.
But let's be a little ageist for a moment and ask ourselves who actually buys all the Punch and sweet cherry varieties on the system and who empties the store shelves of Brix mix?
Not young people in any case. I'm sure Nils has his fist pretty far down in the candy jar, on Friday night
I quit smoking over ten years ago and have not smoked a single cigarette since. Could do it very easily because of snus. Have now switched completely to nicotine portions. Without snus and portions, I would still have smoked, I'm sure. I am a man of almost 50 years who alternates between mint and citrus but likes to try sweet fruit flavors, cola, coffee etc. My favorite is ginger.
Not a comment on vejp but we all have different preferences.