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Several countries have taken steps to restrict nicotine pouches absent EU-wide regulation.
ADVERTISEMENTFrance is the latest country in Europe to ban the sale of nicotine pouches as health experts warn about the risk of medical issues, nicotine addiction, and growing popularity among young people.
Nicotine pouches are small bags of powder containing nicotine, flavourings, and other ingredients that people put in their mouths to absorb nicotine through the gum.
They are different from tobacco pouches, commonly known as snus, which are popular in Sweden but banned elsewhere in the European Union.
Common brands include ZYN, on!, VELO, and Nordic Spirit.
Nicotine pouches are marketed as a tobacco-free alternative to cigarettes. But health advocates warn that they can contain high levels of nicotine, which can pose risks to brain development and the cardiovascular system.
Because nicotine pouches are only about a decade old, their long-term health effects are unclear.
As of 2021, nicotine pouches were used by just 0.3 per cent of European adults – but that level could triple by this year as they become more popular among young people, according to a European Parliament report.
There has been a “huge boom in use across the EU,” Nico Latteur, a policy officer focused on cancer prevention at the Association of European Cancer Leagues, told Euronews Health.
Eastern Europe and the Nordic countries are the largest markets in Europe, the report said, with 12 per cent of youth ages 15 to 24 in Denmark using nicotine pouches.
Sales have also risen in recent years in Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan, according to an analysis from the advocacy group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
Nicotine pouches aren’t subject to the EU’s tobacco rules, so regulation – about nicotine limits, advertising, and whether they should be sold at all – lies with member states.
According to a survey published last year, many EU countries are waiting for guidance from the European Commission, which has delayed updating its tobacco directives last updated in 2014.
A few countries have taken their own steps. Here’s how they stack up.
France
France banned nicotine pouches in February, citing concerns over their appeal to young people and similarities to snus, such as “the possibility of discreet and invisible use”.
French authorities identified 131 cases of intoxication linked to nicotine pouches in 2022, up from 19 in 2020, the regulation said.
ADVERTISEMENTLast year, health minister Geneviève Darrieussecq told the French newspaper Le Parisien that the pouches are “dangerous” and that it is the government’s “duty to prohibit the marketing of these products”.
Netherlands
Nicotine pouch sales have been banned since January of this year.
But even before that, stores rarely carried them because the pouches could be sold only with very low nicotine levels, prompting people to turn to illegal online shops to buy pouches with higher nicotine content, Jeroen Bommelé, a senior researcher at the Netherlands Expertise Centre for Tobacco Control, told Euronews Health.
The new rules are similar to Dutch restrictions on snus, with bans on advertising and use in areas where smoking and vaping are not allowed.
ADVERTISEMENT“Despite the ban, unfortunately, illegal sales of nicotine pouches continue to some extent,” Bommelé said.
Latvia
As of January, nicotine pouches cannot be sold to people under the age of 20 in Latvia. The ban is part of a broader effort to curb the availability of tobacco and related products.
Germany
Germany classifies nicotine pouches as food rather than tobacco products. That’s been used to get some products off the market due to their nicotine content, which is considered a health hazard, the 2024 study said.
The pouches can still be ordered online, and tobacco companies hope the new German government will legalise their sale in shops.
ADVERTISEMENTBelgium
Nicotine pouch sales have been banned in Belgium since 2023 as part of a broader plan to achieve a smoke-free generation, with then-health minister Frank Vandenbroucke reportedly describing them as a “stepping stone” to smoking.
However, an investigation by The Brussels Times last year found that they are still widely available in local shops and online.
Denmark
The Danish parliament approved a multi-year plan to curb nicotine and alcohol use among young people, including several rules that will affect nicotine pouches.
Effective from April 2026, nicotine pouches cannot taste or smell like anything other than tobacco or menthol, while the health ministry can also set a limit on nicotine levels in pouches.
ADVERTISEMENTDenmark has also taken steps to crack down on illegal sales to minors and raised taxes on nicotine products, with the goal of making them cost about the same as a pack of cigarettes.
Luxembourg
In 2024, Luxembourg banned sales of nicotine pouches to minors, forbade advertising promoting them, and introduced new taxes on them. Lawmakers in the country have also reportedly considered restricting the flavours and nicotine levels that can be sold.
Czech Republic
Under-18s in the Czech Republic have been banned from buying nicotine pouches since 2023. The government also set nicotine limits at 10 milligrams per bag, which is equivalent to about three cigarettes.
Finland
In October 2024, Finland passed a new law to categorise nicotine pouches as tobacco products and restrict most flavours – but then swiftly rolled it back after it was revealed that industry players may have helped decide which flavours should still be allowed. That list included menthol, mint, tea, rosemary, ginger, and wood.
ADVERTISEMENTLawmakers have since agreed to enact a ban on all flavours except for mint and menthol.
More action could be on the way. As part of the country’s plans to eliminate the use of all nicotine products by 2030, a former proposal would have limited pouches to 20 milligrams of nicotine, force retailers to get a licence to sell pouches, and require health warnings on packaging.
Poland
Nicotine pouches are legal in Poland, but last year health minister Izabela Leszczyna said pouches that use synthetic nicotine – which is lab-made rather than being derived from tobacco leaves – would be banned. The country is preparing a broader overhaul to its tobacco policies that aim to limit access for minors.
Austria
Last month, Austria’s health ministry proposed several restrictions on nicotine pouches to treat them more like cigarettes, such as strict advertising rules and health warnings on packaging. While several parts of the country already limit sales to minors, the new proposal would extend the ban nationwide.
ADVERTISEMENTHungary
In 2024, Hungary required health warnings and limited nicotine concentration to 17 milligrams for all “nicotine-containing smoking substitutes,” though it did not specifically call out nicotine pouches.
