Tag: Nicotine Pouches

  • France to Ban ‘Dangerous’ Nicotine Pouches 

    France to Ban ‘Dangerous’ Nicotine Pouches 

    French Health Minister Geneviève Darrieussecq said in an interview with the newspaper Le Parisien published on Wednesday that nicotine pouches “are dangerous products because they contain high doses of nicotine.” She added that a ban will be announced in the coming weeks.

    In Germany, while tobacco-free nicotine pouches are officially banned, they remain accessible and popular among young people, according to experts from the Tobacco Outpatient Clinic at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich.

    “I am very concerned because poisoning centers are receiving more and more calls from young people with acute nicotine symptoms related to the use of pouches,” said the French minister.

    These include vomiting, shaking spasms, low blood pressure and impaired consciousness, she said.

    The minister warned that “the marketing of this product is directly aimed at young people. ” She added that young people need to be protected.

    Michael Landl, director of the World Vapers’ Alliance (WVA), criticized the move as being detrimental to public health.

    “By banning nicotine pouches, Minister Darrieussecq is closing off an effective, far less harmful path for millions who struggle to quit smoking. Pouches have proven to help smokers transition away from cigarettes in other countries and are considerably safer,” he said. “Rather than offering options, France risks pushing people toward smoking or the black market.”

    The French health minister plans to ban similar products, such as chewing gum or balls, in addition to the pouches.

  • Cigarette Alternatives Gaining Ground in Europe

    Cigarette Alternatives Gaining Ground in Europe

    Photo: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Cigarette sales declined across Western Europe in 2023, but increased slightly at a regional level due to the strong growth in Turkey, where illicit trade was falling and the smoking population was growing, according to a new report published by Research and Markets.

    Sales of next-generation products continue to grow in Western Europe, with even an upcoming ban on disposable vapes in the U.K., their biggest regional market, not expected to significantly impact this trend, with Italy remaining the leading market for heated tobacco products regionally.

    Rising prices, due to the global inflationary environment and ongoing tax hikes, increasing health awareness and competition from next-generation products is resulting in declining unit volume sales of cigarettes across most of Western Europe, with little likelihood of this changing over the forecast period.

    Although slower than in the two previous years, closed-system single-use vaping products were still recording growth in the U.K. in 2023. However, with concerns about the throwaway nature of disposable vapes as well as their attraction to underage smokers, the U.K. government announced a ban on these products from early 2025, which force industry players to shift their focus toward open and other closed vaping products.

    The nicotine pouches category is expected to see strong growth over the forecast period. Sweden will continue to be the leading country market in Western Europe, but Finland is expected to take over from Denmark as the second biggest in the region over 2023-2028. This is due to the Finnish authorities deregulating the sale of these products in mid-2023.

    Heated tobacco products will be accounting for just over half of overall smokeless tobacco, e-vapor products and heated tobacco sales at the end of the forecast period, having recorded further growth in the coming years. Philip Morris International continues to drive the development of the category, rolling out its new IQOS Iluma devices and Terea sticks across the region, with the other tobacco giants also present with devices like Ploom (Japan Tobacco International), Glo (British American Tobacco) or Pulze (Imperial Brands).

  •  San Fran Seeks End to Online Flavored Pouch Sales

     San Fran Seeks End to Online Flavored Pouch Sales

    VV Archive

    San Francisco is cracking down on the online sale of flavored nicotine pouches. The new lawsuit targets a handful of online retailers that the city says are violating its prohibition on flavored tobacco products.

    Unflavored versions of the product, which are sold at corner stores and tobacco shops in the city, will remain available for online purchase.

    “The tobacco industry has gone to tremendous lengths to reinvent their products to addict young people,” said City Attorney David Chiu. “We aren’t going to allow these companies to disregard the law and unravel decades of progress on preventing youth from using tobacco.”

    The Standard obtained a draft of the complaint, which was filed Tuesday in San Francisco County Superior Court. The suit alleges that Northerner Scandinavia, Lucy Goods, Rogue Holdings, and Swisher International sell flavored nicotine pouch products online to San Franciscans despite the ban.

    “Tobacco companies market nicotine pouches as discreet — the ‘perfect way to enjoy the nicotine you love without getting noticed, and without the risk of staining your teeth’; and claim that they are smoking cessation devices that help users ‘focus better, think deeper, chill out smoother, and inspire creativity,’” the complaint states.