The issue of nicotine pouches has heated up in the EU. Anecdotal reports, albeit unconfirmed by officials, suggest that access to smokeless nicotine products such as white snus could be severely restricted. If the European Commission has its way.
"There is an imminent risk that the Commission will come up with a proposal to ban nicotine pouches already in February or March. But we don't have anything concrete on the table yet", MEP Johan Nissinen (SD) told Vejpkollen.
For years he has been promoting harm reduction, smoke-free nicotine and Swedish snus in Brussels. Aren't shirts and snus cans with the message "The EU should give a damn about snus" he shows up with seminars on relative risks with various forms of nicotine use, or ask critical questions to the Commission in Parliament. Johan Nissinen does not use snus himself, but has many friends who do, he says.
"Most of them to stop smoking, others because they just like it. Some vejpar too, although there are not as many back home in Sweden. For me, this is about saving lives. Sure, it's about strong nicotine products, but they actually help a lot of people to stop smoking. That's why I've chosen to pursue this issue," he told Vejpkollen.
Interest is growing - slowly
Together with Sara Skytterdal (kd) and party colleague Charlie Weimers Johan Nissinen has become a vocal advocate of harm reduction in the European tobacco policyiken. He wants nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes to be regulated much more lightly than cigarettes. And that the EU allows Swedish snus.
"There are not many of us pushing the issue and there is a lot of opposition to snus, nicotine pouches and vejps. A lot of it is ignorance, but many people think that harm reduction for smokers is a rather unimportant issue. At the same time, we have seen some change in attitude from some quarters in the Parliament, although not a majority." says Johan Nissinen.
More people smoke in countries without alternatives
Currently, an average of 20% of the adult population in the EU smokes. However, nicotine use differs between countries. In the Nordic countries, but also in the former Member State the United Kingdom, where the use of alternative, smokeless nicotine products is increasing the most, the proportion of smokers is significantly lower than in countries where cigarettes are the only alternative for nicotine users. Sweden also has the lowest smoking rate in the EU, at almost 5% of the population, while the use of snus and nicotine pouches is close to 15%.
Fewer people die from nicotine use
The figures come from EU barometer, which regularly publishes measurements and analysis of smoking and other nicotine use in the EU. In its analysis, EUbarometer attributes snus and other oral nicotine products as the obvious reason for the low smoking rate in Sweden. Additional statistics also show that the proportion of Swedes dying from smoking-related diseases is significantly lower than in other countries.
For Johan Nissinen, this is convincing enough to pursue a political line.
"There's no denying that Swedish snus, and now nicotine pouches, have led to better health for us in Sweden compared to other countries where people smoke more. That makes this a very pressing issue, in my opinion," he told Vejpkollen.
Sensitive issue in Brussels
According to Johan Nissinen, the Swedish model is key to reducing the harm caused by smoking in the EU too. But it's an idea that hasn't quite found its way into Parliament.
"The interest has grown, although it's not huge," he says. "It's a small issue, but it's very sensitive in the EU. Parliament once invited a professor from Sweden to talk about his research on the risks of nicotine and snus. It was a good interview, but at the same time he was treated really badly by some MEPs, even though what he was talking about was just very rigid and clear research results. He said bluntly that smokeless nicotine use does not harm the body anywhere near as much as smoking. Then he was accused of working for the tobacco industry, which is really not true. It was absurd and something that other MEPs also reacted to." says Johan Nissinen.
The EU Commission warns instead
Regardless of the reactions of some MEPs, others seem to have at least given harm reduction a second thought. Voices are being raised for the Commission to investigate the possibilities of smokeless nicotine products in the context of new tobacco directives, and according to Sara Skytterdal a majority voted in favor recently cautiously positive to just such an investigation.
At the same time, it is clear that the European Commission, the de facto government of the EU, has a completely different approach to both nicotine use and harm reduction.
"The growing popularity of nicotine pouches is a growing public health concern and an increasing challenge for the single market." recently wrote Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food in a statement to the European Parliament.
It was an answer to the question of when and how nicotine pouches will be regulated in the future. The questioner , a Nicolás González Casares from the EU's left-wing bloc, argued that nicotine pouches are more addictive than cigarettes, far too tasty and have been shown to be cheaper than cigarettes. He made demands and Stella Kyriakides stressed that the regulation of new nicotine products is at the heart of the ongoing evaluation of the Tobacco Products Directive. The Tobacco Products Directive is due to be revised this year, following a process postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
"The goal is to create the "tobacco-free generation", to better protect the health of citizens, and in particular young people, from the risks posed by tobacco and related products" wrote Stella Kyriakides.
High risk of ban proposals already this spring
According to persistent rumors over the past year, most recently in the form of an article in Politico magazine, the Commission will propose a ban on nicotine pouches, supported by an as yet unpublished report from an external health organization. And it will do so soon. The ban will be in line with the ban on Swedish snus, which the report describes as "successful".
Johan Nissinen says that there is a high risk that the proposal will come as early as February. This could spell disaster for nicotine pouches in their current form, even in Sweden.
"It would be chaos. Considering how many Swedes use nicotine pouches, most of them to stay smoke-free, it would be devastating. People would be furious and we would see even more demands for swexit. Not good for the EU at all, I would say"
What can consumers do to influence any proposed ban?
"Contact Swedish politicians and tell them what you think and what these products mean to you. Swedish politicians can stand up and say no. But they have to be a bit un-Swedish, I usually say. They cannot compromise on this issue. Nicotine pouches mean as much as snus to Swedes, and politicians must realize and channel that. If countries like Finland and Hungary, where nicotine pouches are popular, also speak out, it might be possible to stop this trend."
What do you think the European Parliament's position is on a ban on nicotine pouches today?
"Right now, things are looking bleak. What we can hope for is that the proposal will not be in front of the Parliament until after the June elections. Today, there is a red/green majority in the Parliament, and that faction is largely opposed to harm reduction. They would rather see bans and restrictions on smokeless nicotine products than more liberal legislation. However, there could be a different majority after the elections, which would increase the chances of stopping the Commission's supposed proposals," says Johan Nissinen.
