As France moves toward banning nicotine pouches, it risks pushing users back to cigarettes or into unregulated and potentially harmful markets. Sweden, by contrast, offers a more balanced approach with strict age limits, labelling requirements, and limits on ingredients, but no ban. Countries should follow the latter model and implement regulation rather than prohibition, providing adults with safer alternatives while protecting public health.
Nicotine pouches have become a popular alternative to cigarettes, vaping, or traditional smokeless tobacco in the past years. They satisfy nicotine cravings and some smoking behavioral habits, without the smoke, smell, or much of the health risk. As a result, many see them as a potential alternative to smoking.
They are safer than smoking cigarettes because they carry fewer toxic chemicals and no combustion. However, there is unscientific pushback. Many want to group nicotine and tobacco products together, banning nicotine pouches alongside smoking traditional cigarettes.
In France, anti-tobacco groups are urging the government to ban nicotine pouches following the EU’s approval, which is also expected to lead to less promotion on social media. Activists say keeping pouches legal will increase nicotine addiction among young people and normalize use. But Sweden’s experience shows strict regulation, not prohibition, can curb tobacco-related harm while allowing adults access to safer alternatives.
The Scandinavian country has gone further by formally opposing France’s proposed ban on nicotine pouches, highlighting that regulated access to safer nicotine alternatives has helped Sweden achieve the lowest smoking rates in Europe while protecting adult consumer choice and supporting harm reduction.
France’s upcoming ban leaves smokers with fewer options to switch to less harmful alternatives. Such prohibitions risk pushing users toward the black market or back to cigarettes, driving them back to smoking, and restricting adults’ access to safer alternatives, which means the regulation can be counterproductive to public health goals in the long run.
On the other hand, focusing on regulation instead strikes a balance protecting youth and keeping adult options available, eventually maximizing public health benefits without the unintended harms which come with prohibition.
Sweden’s experience backs these claims. There, products like snus (a specialized Swedish tobacco pouch thought to have reduced carcinogenic content) and regulated nicotine pouches have been widely available to adults under strict rules. Combined with maximum nicotine content limits and mandatory labelling, these measures have contributed to one of the lowest smoking rates in Europe.
Experts attribute the low smoking rates to decades of anti-smoking campaigns and strict tobacco legislation, while others also highlight the role of smokeless products like snus, banned in much of the EU, but widely used in Sweden as a safer alternative. More recently, regulated nicotine pouches have also contributed to this trend, providing adults with a less harmful option and reinforcing the country’s harm-reduction approach. Conversely, countries which impose outright bans often see little or no reduction in smoking prevalence, while legal alternatives remain inaccessible to adults seeking safer options.
Rather than banning nicotine pouches, policymakers in France and across the EU should copy Sweden’s successes. Regulation, education, and labelling are key: monitoring nicotine content, strictly enforcing bans on sales to minors, and informing users of the risks ensures a responsible approach. This balances the potential benefits as a harm-reduction tool with the need to protect public health.
Keeping the nicotine pouch market legal allows regulators to set limits on maximum nicotine content and crack down on sales to minors. They might also choose to pursue mandating clear health warnings like those present on tobacco products. The aim ought to be to support smokers in quitting while keeping addictive substances under control. Outlawing the products altogether makes that impossible.
Regulating tobacco is not and should never be about promoting nicotine use. Instead, it should focus on reducing the harms of combustible tobacco, potentially through measures such as regulated nicotine alternatives or other safer products which help smokers transition away from cigarettes.
Bans may seem like a fix, but they risk sweeping the problem under the carpet. Europe should look at the example from Sweden which tells us careful regulation, instead of prohibition, is the most effective path toward lowering smoking rates and saving lives.
