How Sweden Stop Smoking With out Quitting Nicotine

On an autumn afternoon in Stockholm’s fashionable Södermalm neighborhood, the terraces are brimming with locals sipping espresso, wine and beer. However as an alternative of ashtrays or lighters, tables are scattered with small spherical plastic containers bearing model names similar to Normal, Velo, Zyn, Göteborgs Rapé and Ettan.

They include snus, nicotine-filled pouches resembling tiny teabags that customers stuff underneath their higher lip. Conventional snus is made with moistened tobacco that’s been pasteurized and flavored, whereas its decade-old permutation, colloquially known as white snus, makes use of plant-based fibers in lieu of tobacco to ship nicotine. Swedes don’t differentiate between the 2 sorts: It’s all snus—and relying on whom you ask, the explanation why Sweden has, nearly, stop smoking.