Leaked Document Shows EU Nicotine Pouch Ban?

We’ve recently covered the news that there is potential of Nicotine Pouches being banned in the United Kingdom as part of the new legislations that have been proposed by the UK Government.

Another news story broke prior to this which has indicated that there could be a EU wide ban on Nicotine Pouches as details from a “leaked document” from the European Commission showed their intentions to align this with the current standing Snus ban.

We take a look at what has been said in this document and why a EU wide ban on Nicotine Pouches could have more negative effects than positive.

Has The EU Snus Ban Really Been Successful?

The news broke about this document via an MEP from Sweden on their X account, and within the post, they outlined what this document said.

It started off with a hailing of success for the SNUS ban that had been put into force in the early 1990’s. If you didn’t already know, SNUS is the name for small pouches that contain actual tobacco leaf and is used in the same way what Nicotine Pouches are.

SNUS was banned in all countries of the European Union because of health concerns as well as aggressive marketing campaigns from SNUS manufacturers to try and encourage people to buy their product.

However, despite being included as part of the European Union, Sweden is exempt from this ban as they made it a condition for when they joined the EU in 1994.

Snus originates from Sweden and has been around for centuries, and it’s still massively popular by their patrons as a smokeless tobacco option which has driven people away from smoking cigarettes and played a crucial part in Sweden almost reaching the UN’s goal of becoming a “smoke free state” as their smoking prevalence is just over 5%

The question is asked that has the ban really worked if the smoking prevalence within the EU is still so high? Whilst Snus does carry some risk with being an oral tobacco product, it certainly is a lot safer than what smoking cigarettes is which is why patrons of Sweden have turned to using them as their source for Nicotine.

Whilst Snus does carry risk, Nicotine Pouches have started gaining traction in popularity as people seek use an oral nicotine product that does not contain tobacco, but now the proposal has been made to treat these like Snus and ban them from sale in the EU, but why?

Is A Nicotine Pouch Ban A Good Idea?

The suggestion to ban Nicotine Pouches alongside Snus is one that’s been bounded around for a while, but now looks like it could be coming to fruition according to this leaked document.

Governing bodies are convinced that Nicotine is not only addictive, but it is harmful and wants to eradicate the options available for people to use, most notably teens and young people.

We’ve covered previously a fact-based piece about Nicotine and within it explain that while Nicotine is addictive, it is not harmful like the large majority of people believe it is.

Alternative nicotine products such as Nicotine Pouches offer people a safer way to consume nicotine without having to ingest the copious amount of toxic chemicals and carcinogens that are found in cigarette smoke.

Imposing a restriction on what alternative products for Nicotine are available on the market could end up being counter productive for the goal of a country reaching smoke free status which many countries within the EU currently have.

What Countries Are Nicotine Pouches Banned In?

Whilst an EU wide ban on Nicotine Pouches is merely a proposal at this stage, there is one country which has already initiated a ban on the sale of Nicotine Pouches in the EU and that country is the Netherlands.

Netherlands had previously already imposed restrictions on Nicotine Pouches where they could only be sold with a very specific, and also very miniscule amount of Nicotine in. Unlike the variable nicotine strengths seen in the more well known brands of Nicotine Pouches such as Nordic Spirit or VELO.

But earlier this year (2023) the Dutch Government announced that they would be introducing a complete BAN on the sale of Nicotine Pouches in the country.

This move came as a shock, as despite the fact that a restriction on nicotine strength had already been imposed, it wasn’t expected that a total ban on the sale of them would be coming and so fast as well.

The ideology behind implementing this ban was to protect youths/younger people from having access to nicotine products that they could become addictive to, and to quote the health Deputy minister of the country:

“Nicotine is addictive and nicotine is harmful.”

Whilst it is understandable to want to protect the youths from gaining access to nicotine, especially if they are underage, there shouldn’t be the delivery of a message regarding nicotine being harmful, because it’s not true as we have previously mentioned in this article.

The upcoming months will be interesting for certain for the EU and whether Nicotine Pouches will remain free to be sold or if these proposed restrictions do come to light.

We will keep you updated with all of the latest news and happenings regarding this right here on Snusmail.