She is 25 years old and has used nicotine since her early teens. Amanda Seguel started out as a smoker, but soon switched to vejps and nicotine pouches.
"Right now, I don't actually use nicotine at all. But I don't want to say that it will last forever. I like snus and could never smoke again. But putting pressure on yourself only leads to anxiety. Then you can't stop," she says when we meet on Hisingen in Gothenburg.
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- Un the spring of 2023, the Vejpkollen with Convenience Stores Sweden News to depict Swedish nicotine use, beyond the statistics. This is a slightly modified version of the original report that was published in CSS News. -
She grew up in the early 2000s in Uddevalla. And she comes from a smoking family, she says. Her mother and father smoke. Grandma does too. Grandpa has his pipe.
"I really grew up smoking. My sister used to smoke but vejpar now instead. My mom and dad were careful not to let me be around when they smoked, but the smell of someone who smoked is still there. For me it has meant security, a home smell, if you like."
Dancing all over the world
Amanda's father came to Sweden from Chile in the 1980s, fleeing the right-wing regime and Augusto Pinochet. Her mother is Swedish, but Amanda also has roots in Finland. She describes herself as "not Chilean enough and not Swedish enough" to fit into any particular group. But that she is something of a cosmopolitan becomes clear the longer we talk. Despite her young age of 25, she has seen a lot of the world. As a committed dancer, drummer and clothing manager at the Abunda samba association in Gothenburg, she has traveled a lot.
"We have performances and gigs quite often in periods. So we've traveled to everything from France to South Africa. It's pretty intense, but a lot of fun," says Amanda Seguel when we meet on a sunny summer afternoon in Gothenburg.
"It must taste good"
She took her first puff on a cigarette when she was 13, she says.
"At least I think it was at that age. There was probably a bit of peer pressure involved, but still not that big a deal. I was used to people smoking around me and I thought: Why not try it? But at the same time I thought: Why should I smoke? So it took a while before I "started smoking for real"
Taste was important, she recalls. Regular cigarettes didn't appeal at all.
"No, I didn't like it at all. If I were to smoke, it would be good. So it had to be mint cigarettes. Then it was ok." she says.
Started smoking more abroad
She remembers that her teenage smoking was never particularly intense. The party smoking gradually turned into everyday smoking, but it was not many cigarettes a day. She was studying aesthetics at Uddevalla upper secondary school, and smoking was more of a social thing than a direct need, she says.
"I probably smoked the most when I was between 16 and 20. It was part of social life, at parties and in smoking areas. However, it escalated when I was 21 and went to South Korea to study for a year. I also visited Japan at that time. Over there, they smoked like crazy. The smoking rooms in the bars were always full. In the clubs, it was free to smoke everywhere. Even I, who liked the smell of smoke and perfume, found it unpleasant. It was a bit better if you smoked yourself, but still"
Quit smoking abruptly
After a night of partying with the taekwondo club in South Korea, "a night of way too much alcohol" and heavy smoking, Amanda called it quits.
"I felt so bad and suddenly I could only associate smoking with feeling bad. Then it was no longer good. I tried it several times afterwards and it didn't give me any pleasure anymore. I stopped smoking altogether, mostly for that reason.
"A little too much Banana Ice"
She has not smoked for almost three years. But she still wants nicotine in her life, she says. Something to take the stress out, either at work or in her spare time. She has tried most things, including vejpa, mostly disposable cigars, which she initially thought was a bit lame.
"There are many in my generation who think so, I think. A vejp? How old are you really, can't you handle a real cigarette? is something you can hear at parties. But then there are those who bring seven different disposable cigars with all sorts of flavors to try during the evening. I guess I got a bit curious about what it was all about," she says, noting that it was a bit "too much banana ice" for a while.
"Yes, my God. I sat with my little ecig pen all the time. It was too much for me. So I put it down, at least on weekdays"
Nicotine pouches fit the job
Now she prefers nicotine pouches. "the white snuff". Provided it's the right strength and tastes good.
"I started working in a restaurant, and it was an easy way to get some peace at work. It must not spin too much. And it can't be too visible under the lip. I've learned what works for me"
We talk about nicotine addiction and how she feels about it. Is it a problem to need a stimulant to feel calm?
"I'm pretty calm when it comes to nicotine. It's been around me all my life and I haven't thought much about it. I've gotten rid of the really dangerous thing, smoking, and now there's only nicotine left. When I'm ready to give it up, I'll deal with it."
Go nicotine-free - for now
And for now, it turns out, she doesn't use nicotine at all.
"I'm on sick leave due to exhaustion and I'm very dizzy all the time. It's simply not nice to get that "spin" when everything is already spinning anyway. I'd rather not do that. I have some idea that I can continue like that, but I know that life has a tendency to get in the way, so nothing is definite"
Soothing effect
She says the motivation to quit has to come from within, not from things she can't control. Like a sick leave.
"No, if there's one thing I know, it's that quitting doesn't work unless I do it on my own terms. Nicotine has a calming effect on me and when life jumps, I know it's nice to have something under my lip. I'm not really an addictive person. If I decide to quit something, I can do it. I've got rid of the smoke and it feels good. The other stuff might come later." she says and explains that she has a stack of cans "lying around" at home in her apartment at Vågmästareplatsen in Gothenburg.
I understand that it seems scary
When we meet, there is quite an intense debate about the 'new' nicotine products and how young people use them early on. There is talk of a 'nicotine trap' and that young people do not understand the risks of these products. She belongs to the generation of young women who are increasingly starting to use nicotine replacement therapy. And she understands that it can seem a bit scary.
"Nowadays I rarely see people smoking. It's much more common for someone to have a little vejp in their hand, or an almost invisible puff under their lip. I can understand that you worry about it. At the same time, absolutely NOBODY can have missed the fact that white snus contains nicotine and that it can be harmful to the body. I'm the kind of person who actually reads a little bit so that I know what I'm getting into. But of course, not everyone does - in the same way that some people agree to the terms and conditions of an app after just scrolling quickly down to the ok button"
"Many would be smokers otherwise"
She believes that young people have realized that smoking is no longer sustainable. It smells too much and is too visible in a world where adults are always around. Especially at school.
"And if a teacher catches you, they call the parents' house and take the package. And then you have to go and get a new one, over and over again. With snus and e-cigs, it's easier to be left alone. I mean, who sees you snuffing in class? Some pouches are so thin that you can't see when you use them. I think many people who sniff or vejpar are those who would otherwise be smokers. But of course there will be quite a few who start directly with snus. It may not be perfect, but basically I see this as the "new" way to smoke"
"We have learned to use nicotine in Sweden"
She believes that both e-cigarettes and the new white snus will play an increasing role in reducing smoking, not only in Sweden.
"But it's hard for French smokers to understand. They think snus is deadly. And maybe that's not so strange. I've met French people who see themselves as "very nicotine addicted", a bit macho, perhaps. Then they put something with a very high nicotine strength under their lip, vomit and faint in the toilet and have to go to the hospital." she laughs "We here in Sweden have learned that - not to overdo it but to find what works instead"
"Taking it as it comes"
We took the photos for the story in the shade of a restaurant. In the fall, she hopes to study at university. Her goal is to leave the restaurant world and become a student counselor. As I said, she will have to see what happens with the snus and nicotine.
"Right now there will be nothing for a while. I might have a vejp at a party, if I feel like it. But I know that if I put too much pressure on myself, it just leads to a lot of anxiety. And then there's no way to stop. I think it's better to take it as it comes," she says and strolls towards her apartment on Hisingen in summery Gothenburg.
