She is the director of an association for some of the world's largest manufacturers of smokeless nicotine products. And she's used to her job not being the easiest to explain over an appetiser. VapeTjek met with Inger Schroll-Fleischer from the nicotine industry.
It's one of those questions she can always count on. At a dinner with friends. At a family party. At a conference where small talk flows easily until it's her turn: "What do you work with?"
Inger Schroll-Fleischer smiles. She has tried it so many times that she can almost guess the reaction in advance. She knows that everyone has an opinion. That some will be curious, others sceptical - and some downright hostile.
"I work in an industry where you sometimes answer slightly differently when asked what you do," she says.
"It depends on how much I want to explain. Because I know there will always be a reaction."
She is the CEO of the Nicotine Industry Association, a four-year-old trade association for some of the world's largest manufacturers of smokeless nicotine products. And she's used to the fact that her job is not the easiest to explain over an appetiser.
The mission: The divide between smoke and nicotine
"If you're an adult and you want to continue using nicotine, you should have the option to do so in a significantly less harmful way," says Schroll-Fleischer.
For her, the difference between cigarettes and smokeless nicotine products like nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes is crucial: nicotine is addictive - but it's the tobacco smoke that makes you sick.
"I'm not saying that smokeless nicotine products are healthy, but they are significantly less harmful than cigarettes."
And that's the difference that the industry association and Schroll-Fleischer believe should be recognised.
"It's almost too good to be true, but you can actually get the nicotine without the tobacco burn. That's what we call harm reduction. And it's our most important task to get legislation to reflect that difference," she says, before adding.
"It's a difficult task. "In decision-making contexts, cigarettes and smokeless nicotine products are often two sides of the same coin, as they are treated the same: high taxes, strict regulations and political scepticism."
Misunderstandings and resistance
It is precisely this juxtaposition that Schroll-Fleischer tries to challenge on a daily basis. And she does so with the clear realisation that many debates start on the wrong footing.
"The biggest misconception is that nicotine itself is carcinogenic. It isn't. It's not. It's the smoke that makes people sick," she says.
She compares it to sugar and alcohol:
"Sugar is what tastes good - and what can make you sick. Alcohol is what makes beer attractive - and what can harm you. But with nicotine, you can get the effect without the stuff that ruins your health."
Precisely because she stands on a foundation of research, she takes resistance calmly.
"I don't find it difficult to be accountable for what I do. When the waves are high, I remind myself that it's about fewer cigarettes and fewer diseases. It's hard to see anything more meaningful than that."
But she also realises that there are problems in her field. Young people's consumption of nicotine products is a particular sore point.
"It's a big challenge and we fully recognise that it's a problem. Just like we have an illegal market for puffbars that serves no one."
And then there's the waste: nicotine pouches that end up on the street.
"We try to inform people that there is a small container in the lid. Use it. It's a small thing, but it makes a big difference."
The rules must be fair
The nicotine industry has members such as British American Tobacco, Philip Morris International, Japan Tobacco International and Skruf Snus. But Schroll-Fleischer emphasises that the association is not a sales organisation.
"We are not a commercial organisation. Our job is to educate - to politicians, stakeholders and the public," she says, explaining that this is done through contact and dialogue with decision-makers, the public and journalists.
"I work to ensure that the rules are fair and reflect the difference between cigarettes and smokeless nicotine products. It's basically the same thing every other industry association does: ensuring that a legal industry with legal products has a voice in the system."
In five years' time, she hopes that the harm reduction message will have taken hold. That legislation distinguishes between cigarettes and the alternatives. That fewer people smoke - simply because they have better options to choose something else. Until then, she continues the conversations - the difficult, the uncomfortable and the enlightening ones. Because even though she has got used to the sceptical looks, she knows that her mission is not about making her work popular.
"I realise that everyone has an opinion about what I do," she says.
"But that's not important to me. The important thing is that fewer people get sick from smoke."
