Fanna Ndow Norrby had never smoked or used snus when she was 30, but then she started using nicotine pouches. Here she talks about her journey in and out of addiction.
Text: Annika Lund, first published in Medicinsk Vetenskap no 2 2024 / Spotlight on new nicotine products
‘I started using white snus in the spring of 2020. In the autumn, I had seen the packs appearing but hadn’t thought about them. In the spring I tried it and thought it was a bit fun. Then I tried again, from another friend. And so it went on. In the end I bought my own tin because I didn’t want to mooch off others,’ says Fanna Ndow Norrby.
Before she started using nicotine pouches at the age of 30, she had never used nicotine.
‘Throughout my childhood, I was told that I absolutely shouldn’t start smoking because I have asthma and various allergies. I’ve always thought snus was disgusting,’ she says.
The question she has been asking herself is: how did the tobacco companies get her hooked on white snus? The answer is that she was influenced by her friends. But why did they start using snus?
The companies have succeeded
‘These products crept into our lives in a very clever way. When we were sitting in a bar, friends would come over with lots of cans and share them with us. They had got them for free at some event. These events were like parties where big artists performed, everything was very credulous,’ says Fanna Ndow Norrby.
They didn’t see the nicotine pouches as snuff.
‘We didn’t say we were snuffing, but like this: ‘I Lyft’ or ‘I use Velo’, she says.
Fanna Ndow Norrby is trained in strategic communication and public relations and can only say that the companies have been skilful.
– They have reversed a public health trend. They have succeeded in getting women to start using nicotine, after years of declining figures,’ she says.
Fanna Ndow Norrby has been snus-free since spring 2022 but had a hard time quitting.
– ‘I’ve felt annoyed with the tobacco companies that managed to lure me into this, but I was still 30 years old and made my own choice. I think it’s absolutely terrible that children start using snus. Children shouldn’t get addicted just because someone else wants to make money.’
Fanna Ndow Norrby
Age: 34 years old.
Does: Works as a podcaster and podcast producer. Has made the documentary Fångad av tjejsnuset, which is available on SVT Play.
The magazine Medical Science
The magazine Medical Science (Medicinsk Vetenskap) is published by Karolinska Institutet and targets the general public interested in medical science.
