In Stockholm, the smoke has disappeared. In the capital of Sweden, an urban archipelago formed by 14 islands, it is just as difficult to find a cigarette smoker as it is to find litter on the ground or a driver honking the horn. This is not just a tourist's impression. The Nordic kingdom became in November 2024 the first "smoke-free" country in the world by achieving a smoking rate in adults below 5%, the limit set by the World Health Organization. This happened 17 years before the date set by the European Union (EU), where the average rate is 24%.
Academic studies call it "the Swedish case" and it is associated with one of the lowest lung cancer rates on the continent. But the Swedes have not detached from nicotine. One in four adults consumes it daily - the same average as the rest of Europe - but with a drastic difference. They do it by sharing a gigantic secret that is disguised under the lip in the form of 'snus' and nicotine pouches: small, brown and white pouches that are placed in the gums and inject nicotine into the bloodstream through the mucous membranes of the mouth.
"It's the best moment of the day." This is how Samuel Lundell, president of the Swedish Snus Consumers Association, sums up the moment when he puts the first snus of the day in his mouth. It is the efter lunch-prillan (after-lunch pouch), the most satisfying one. But not the only one. He alternates between snus and nicotine pouches, which are sold in eye-catching circular boxes with 20 pouches inside. They come in different nicotine concentrations and flavors: apple with mint, mango, eucalyptus, citrus, coffee with cocoa, and caramel...
While Lundell speaks, he has a pouch in his mouth, but it is not noticeable. Only when he removes it to store it inside the lid does it reveal his use. "I take about 20 a day and they last me about 20 minutes," he explains. "I space out the snus more, although I have taken it while sleeping. I had it in my mouth all night, and I would say that the biggest damage comes if you have white pillows. Some days I woke up with a big brown stain, and my ex made me stop using it," he reveals.
The origin of snus dates back to the 17th century, as explained in its own museum in Stockholm, located a few meters from the ABBA museum. The Snus and Match Museum details how both industries influenced Swedish social interactions. It all started with snuff, a finely ground tobacco preparation flavored with essences like lavender or bergamot that was inhaled through the nose and became popular at the court of King Louis XIV of France. It was a symbol of status and refinement that diplomats and aristocrats quickly spread throughout Europe, and its legacy still survives, in one way or another.
In Spain, it is responsible for the expression "to have a powder." When sniffed, it sometimes caused sneezing, so in social gatherings, many upper-class gentlemen would retire to consume it... and inside, their lovers awaited them for secret sexual encounters. In Sweden, the trend spread to the lower and rural classes, who did not find it convenient to stop and sniff while hunting whales or working in the iron mine, so they mixed tobacco with water, herbs, and salt and proceeded to place it under the lip: a more discreet and simple way to consume in cold climates. The product became one of Sweden's driving forces: it made the Ljunglöf family wealthy - who in 1822 developed the Ettan, a snus that is still marketed today - and in 1915, the country nationalized production to generate income for the Army and promote a universal pension system. Pure Nordic pragmatism.
Pragmatism that almost disappeared when its entry into the EU was jeopardized by prohibiting the sale of 'snus' throughout the bloc. "For us, it was an offense. It was as if Spanish Rioja or German beer were banned," recalls Patrik Hildingsson, Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs at Swedish Match. "In 1995, Sweden, along with Finland and Austria, became EU members with a 52.3% yes and 46.8% no vote. In an incredibly close vote, the yes vote prevailed after Sweden obtained an exemption from the snus ban through a treaty," Hildingsson points out while removing a pouch from his mouth. The sticker "EU? Not without my snus" that adorned cars is still remembered.
"In 1900, we consumed about 7,500 tons of snus per year. It is the same amount we consume today. It was very popular among men. But with the two world wars, cigarettes arrived and became very famous and sophisticated, with Hollywood movies, smoke, Clark Gable, Marlon Brando... They smoked, and we also acquired the habit. Snus declined, and smoking increased. But in the 1960s and 1970s, things happened," explains the executive, whose physique and gestures resemble Pierce Brosnan in Mamma Mia!.
The Swedes paid special attention to the Health and Smoking Report presented in 1964 by Luther Terry, Director of Public Health in the US. For the first time, citizens were informed that smoking kills. "It had a big impact here, with everyone glued to just one TV channel," recalls Hildingsson. "So, we innovated. We put snus in pouches, which benefited the consumer. Then we changed the cans. And with the growing awareness, smokers started to consistently switch to snus. About 10 years ago, we also launched the pouches, which we call Zyn."
Nicotine pouches, therefore, are not snus. They do not contain tobacco and, due to their color, they are popularly known in Sweden as "white snus," a name that terrifies tobacco companies. Their creation sought to attract women and appeal to the American market in a context where the country's regulations encouraged innovation. They were launched there in 2014, in line with a comprehensive plan by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
"We have an internal quality standard, Gothiatek, which is the strictest in the world for any tobacco product," says Thomas Isilar-Söderman, a scientist in Regulatory Affairs at Swedish Match. Founded in 1917 in Jönköping, The Match City, it is the largest snus manufacturer in Scandinavia. With Jöns Jacob Berzelius, the Swedish chemist who discovered thorium, cerium, and selenium as a reference - his plaque shines in one of the corridors of his Stockholm laboratory - few expected the resounding success of nicotine pouches in the land of the stars and stripes.
In the US, nicotine pouches have become the preferred solution for young people to endure long workdays and party until dawn, attracting media attention, with articles reminiscent of those Swedish journalists dedicated to snus consumers. In The New Yorker or GQ, scientists mingle with users, who are not 19th-century Swedish lumberjacks but DJs, executives, or designers. They consume them in any context: gyms, planes, work meetings, family dinners, and nightclubs. They feel in their mouths a cycle described as "tingling, burning, a rush of euphoria, and slight numbness." And it has its own nickname: nicokick.