COP11 preview: ‘Why won’t the WHO simply look at what works?’
COP11 preview: ‘Why won’t the WHO simply look at what works?’
As delegates head to Geneva for the WHO’s COP11, the world faces a crossroads in tobacco policy. With over a billion smokers still lighting up, some argue it’s time to shift focus from ideology to impact. “If you want fewer smokers, look at Sweden,” says Patr...
Cochrane moves toward seeing nicotine pouches as a smoking cessation aid
Cochrane moves toward seeing nicotine pouches as a smoking cessation aid
The highly respected Cochrane Library has published a review looking at nicotine pouches as a smoking cessation aid. Despite current limitations, the study marks an important step toward giving pouches serious...
COP11 vs COP30: 7 ways FCTC falls short on transparency and harm reduction
COP11 vs COP30: 7 ways FCTC falls short on transparency and harm reduction
As the WHO's FCTC COP11 prepares to gather in Geneva, the UN-backed COP30 is also set to kick off in Belém: two COPs, two countries – and two wildly different approaches to tackling global challenges. Snusforu...
Norway snus policy: ‘illogical and unrealistic’
Norway snus policy: ‘illogical and unrealistic’
Norway wants to become a nicotine-free society, yet has banned tobacco-free nicotine pouches, resulting in cross-border trade, smuggling, and lost tax revenue. Bjørn Magnus Bjørnstad, CEO of the Norwegian trad...
COP11: Leaked EU doc ‘puts future of nicotine pouches in doubt’
COP11: Leaked EU doc ‘puts future of nicotine pouches in doubt’
A leaked European Commission document ahead of the upcoming WHO COP 11 has revealed that the EU plans to push for “strict regulation or bans” on all smoke-free nicotine products, a stance critics warn could be...
Sweden launches new warnings to France, Spain over ‘absurd’ pouch bans
Sweden launches new warnings to France, Spain over ‘absurd’ pouch bans
In a last-ditch effort to protect nicotine pouch access in Europe, Sweden has fired off formal letters to both France and Spain, urging the countries to backtrack on nicotine pouch bans that risk turning Swedi...
InterTabac 2025: Sweden shines as role model at world’s largest tobacco and nicotine fair
InterTabac 2025: Sweden shines as role model at world’s largest tobacco and nicotine fair
InterTabac in Dortmund showed an industry in transition. The fair confirmed a clear trend: the smoke-free segment is growing rapidly, with nicotine pouches at the forefront. Patrik Strömer, Secretary Genera...
Why have smoking rates fallen so far in the Nordics?
Why have smoking rates fallen so far in the Nordics?
Smoking has dropped dramatically in the Nordic countries, especially compared to many other countries in the EU. But even in the Nordics, there is wide variation in how things look from country to country. Why...
Most pouch consumers are former smokers, US study shows
Most pouch consumers are former smokers, US study shows
Nicotine pouches are more likely to serve as a tool for tobacco harm reduction and don’t appear to be the gateway into nicotine use that many fear, new research on pouch consumers from the United States shows....