It is now clear that the Netherlands will ban future sales of nicotine pouches in the country. This is after the government decided to enforce a legislative change that moves nicotine pouches from food legislation to be regulated under the Tobacco Act.
As Vejpkollen previously reported, the Dutch government has long pursued a hard line against all alternative nicotine products, except over-the-counter medicines. Nicotine pouches, which are currently regulated as food, cannot contain more nicotine than an eggplant (0.035 milligrams per pouch). Regular nicotine pouches typically have a nicotine strength of 8-10 mg/pouch. However, medicated pouches may contain a maximum of 4 mg.
"They want young people to become addicted"
According to the Dutch Minister of Health Maarten van Ooijen nicotine pouches, if not regulated even more tightly, could become a new way for tobacco companies to attract their customers in the Netherlands. And that tobacco companies
"They want young people to get addicted to nicotine. I am glad that we are now regulating these products in the same way as cigarettes. " says the Minister to Reuters.
Controversial harm reduction
The debate on nicotine and smoking has become infected in recent years, especially since the popularity of smokeless nicotine products. Most evidence suggests that nicotine is not the root cause to the harm caused by smoking. A growing number of researchers and health scientists believes that the availability of smokeless nicotine products can be of crucial importance, not only for smokers, but for public health in general.
Fierce competition for smokers
At the same time, competition in the broader nicotine market has intensified. Alternative nicotine products have been shown to be effective in helping smokers quit, although the degree of success can vary between products. For example, in clinical studies, e-cigarettes have been shown to be twice as effective compared to OTC nicotine medicines for smoking cessation. As more potent, and perhaps more importantly, consumer-friendly nicotine products have become available, the demand for milder nicotine products, such as weaker nicotine pouches, patches, gum, tablets and sprays, is decreasing. Pharmaceutical companies have in recent years sponsored lobby organizations pushing for tougher legislation on nicotine.
Does not want to favor tobacco companies
Also several major tobacco companies has recently declared that they want to replace cigarettes as the main source of income towards smokeless products such as snus, nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes. This is also true in the Netherlands. But according to the Minister Maarten van Ooijen this is not desirable.
"Nicotine is still addictive and harmful. " he tells Reuters.
The official position is that only nicotine replacement therapy should be used to support smoking cessation.
"More ideology than science"
The Dutch government has been criticized in the past for its strict regulation of smokeless nicotine products, especially when the government decided that e-liquids can only contain flavourings that are bitter and deterrent. In practice, this means that more 99 percent of the range in Dutch vejpshoppar will become illegal on August 1, 2023. According to a survey that the organization Acvoda published in 2021, the flavor ban is likely to lead many people who vejpar to go back to smoking to get their nicotine.
"The reasoning behind the Dutch government's proposal to completely ban nicotine pouches is based on the same illogical approach as the taste ban. This is a matter of ideology and has no basis in modern research, whether on nicotine or smoking cessation" wrote the European activist organization ETHRA in a press release.
One really wonders what drugs the Dutch Minister of Health is on😄