Sweden

From SCUD Missiles to a Scientific Breakthrough: My 30-Year Journey in Harm Reduction The date was early 1991. The air in Riyadh was thick, not just with the desert heat, but with a paralyzing tension. Three days before the first SCUD rockets began raining down on the city, I stood on the tarmac of the airport, watching the last chartered evacuation plane disappear into the sky. On that plane were my wife and three children. I was alone, facing a looming war, and I was a heavy smoker as well as a snus user i.e. dual user. In that moment of extreme stress, I made a choice that would change the trajectory of my life: I quit smoking. My lifeline wasn't a patch or a gum; it was Swedish snus. Little did I know then that this personal victory would, decades later, evolve into a global movement and a patented dental innovation. Becoming an Accidental Advocate For over twenty years, I lived a smoke-free life, thanks to snus. But in November 2017, my perspective shifted from consumer to advocate. I discovered the New Nicotine Alliance (NNA) UK and began following the landmark ECJ trial in Luxembourg, which challenged the EU’s ban on snus. Frustrated by the lack of consumer representation, I founded #EUforsnus (now EU4snus on X). What started as a small group exploded into an international movement with members from 100 nations. Our data told a powerful story: roughly 84% of our thousands of members are former smokers who quit for good using snus or nicotine pouches. While we lost the court case in 2018, the tide was shifting. Tobacco Harm Reduction (THR) was no longer just about vaping; it was about the "Swedish Experience"—safe, oral nicotine. The "Crazy" Idea That Saved My Gums and Oral Mucosa However, after two decades of use, my own journey hit a wall. My dentist issued a stern ultimatum: quit snus or face permanent oral damage. I had developed severe oral lesions, inflamed gums, and recurring gingivitis. For me, going back to cigarettes was never an option, but I wasn't ready to give up nicotine. Then I had a "crazy" idea. I took a standard band-aid and applied it to the gum-facing side of my nicotine pouch to act as a mechanical barrier. The result was a miracle. The stinging sensation—the "burn" that many users associate with the product—vanished instantly. Within one week, my gingivitis had cleared. Within a few weeks, the severe oral lesions that had plagued me for years disappeared and never returned. From a 7-Page Letter to the Karolinska Institute I initially wrote a seven-page letter to Swedish Match, explaining that they needed to bring a "gum-protected" pouch to market. But a voice in my head stopped me from hitting send: “You can’t be the only one in the world with these problems.” Instead of giving the idea away, I turned to Startup Stockholm. My "band-aid" theory was awarded government innovation grants and was eventually validated by a dentist at the Karolinska Institute and I got Professor of Odontology Tony Axell as my initial mentor. They recognized the mechanical solution as a genuine breakthrough for preventing the tissue damage caused by alkaline nicotine products. In 2021, I convinced my son, Daniel Wiberg, to join me as CEO of our startup, Stingfree AB. By 2023, we launched the first-ever factory-produced tobacco-free nicotine pouch with an integrated gum protector called Stingfree Strong Blue Mint. The Science: p=0.002 The most rewarding moment of this journey came in 2025. A clinical study was conducted with pouch-using dentists who switched their ordinary brands (Velo, Zyn, General, etc.) to the gum-protective technology (product name: Stingfree Strong Blue Mint) for a trial period of 5 weeks. The results, published in Acta Odontologica Scandinavica, were staggering. The study showed a statistically significant improvement in oral health, with a p-value of 0.002. In the world of science, a p-value that low indicates that the results were almost certainly not due to chance; the technology works. Other results included gum irritation (-90%), gingivitis (-100%), and a reduction in oral lesion severity (52%). Today, it remains the most downloaded study in 2025 of that prestigious publication. The study can be read here: https://medicaljournalssweden.se/actaodontologica/article/view/43805 The Final Barrier: Media and Industry Despite the data, the journey remains an uphill battle. It is notoriously difficult to capture the media’s attention regarding “something good” about a nicotine product in the THR space. There is a strange silence from the industry as well; it seems many manufacturers are hesitant to acknowledge that oral lesions and gum irritation affect nearly all long-term pouch users worldwide. We see the consequences of this neglect today. France has recently moved to ban nicotine pouches, citing oral health concerns as a primary reason. It is a tragic irony: a life-saving tool is being banned for a problem that already has a patented (US/EU) solution. A Message to the 100 Nations I started as a CFO trying to survive a war zone. I ended up an inventor trying to survive a dental crisis. Today, our father & son technology reaches 100 nations, helping smokers switch to a product that is not only 99% less harmful than cigarettes but is also kind to their mouths. The stinging "burn" of a nicotine pouch is the single biggest deterrent for smokers looking to switch. By removing that barrier and protecting the gums, we aren't just selling a product; we are perfecting a life-saving alternative. To the millions of users and the regulators in places like France: the solution exists. We don't have to choose between our lungs and our teeth anymore. More info about the technology on: Stingfreesnus.se