{"id":8534,"date":"2025-06-05T09:59:34","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T07:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/?p=8534"},"modified":"2025-06-05T09:59:35","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T07:59:35","slug":"drive-to-legalise-nicotine-pouches-gains-momentum-in-norway","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/drive-to-legalise-nicotine-pouches-gains-momentum-in-norway\/","title":{"rendered":"Drive to legalise nicotine pouches gains momentum in Norway\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Several Norwegian political parties want to see the country legalise nicotine pouches, arguing they are a less harmful alternative to traditional snus and cigarettes. <\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Nicotine pouches have been banned in Norway since 2017. However, a 2024 survey shows that over 20 percent of Norwegians use the product &#8211; often by bringing it in from neighbouring Sweden, despite the risk of fines.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>\u2018Tragic\u2019 to fine healthier alternatives<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, three out of four center-right parties in Norway, including the Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet), want to legaliise nicotine pouches. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>B\u00e5rd Hoksrud, deputy chair of the Norwegian parliament\u2019s Health and Care Committee, calls the ban \u201csilly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s tragic that those seeking a healthier alternative are fined because it\u2019s illegal in Norway. It should be a product that is encouraged,\u201d Hoksrud tells <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrk.no\/ostfold\/vil-gjore-hvit-snus-lovlig_-flere-partiet-gar-til-kamp-mot-forbudet-1.17407698\">Norway public broadcaster NRK<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Erna Solberg from the Conservative Party (H\u00f8yre) also wants to see more sensible regulation in Norway.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI find it very strange. We have a clear goal in Norway to reduce tobacco use. So we believe we should open up to allow the sale of (nicotine) snus without tobacco,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nrk.no\/ostfold\/vil-gjore-hvit-snus-lovlig_-flere-partiet-gar-til-kamp-mot-forbudet-1.17407698\">she told NRK<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The need for \u2018risk-proportionate\u2019 regulation<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Even Norway\u2019s public health agency acknowledges that nicotine pouches are a healthier alternative to cigarettes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Karl Erik Lund, researcher at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fhi.no\/en\/\">Folkh\u00e4lsoinstitutet<\/a>), believes nicotine pouches can help reduce smoking and its associated health risks.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAs a matter of principle, I believe that a risk-proportionate regulation of nicotine products should guide policy, including taxation, marketing rules, and product presentation,\u201d he tells Snusforumet.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A complex equation<\/strong>&nbsp;<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, the Norwegian Directorate of Health (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.helsedirektoratet.no\/english\">Helsedirektoratet<\/a>) opposes legalisation. The agency argues it could lead to increased youth usage that results in nicotine addiction. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Karl Erik Lund is not convinced.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe product\u2019s net contribution to public health depends on the relative composition of users \u2013 smokers versus never-smokers \u2013 as well as the magnitude of the health damage or benefit each group experiences,\u201d he explains. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a complex equation, but our calculations, based on usage patterns of tobacco snus, show that health benefits outweigh health risks. The same likely applies to nicotine pouches.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legalise nicotine pouches to save lives in Norway<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sweden\u2019s public <a href=\"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/fakta\/the-swedish-experience\/\">health results speak for themselves<\/a>, says Patrik Str\u00f6mer, Secretary General of the <a href=\"https:\/\/snustillverkarforeningen.se\/\">Association of Swedish Snus Manufacturers<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sweden is the first smoke-free country in the EU. That should be Norway\u2019s top reason to make nicotine pouches available to adults, he argues.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSwedish men have the lowest incidence of lung cancer in Europe, and our low smoking rate shows we\u2019re doing something right. Norway could save many lives by adopting Sweden\u2019s harm-reduction stance,\u201d says Str\u00f6mer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Policymakers should listen to researchers<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Lund believes public agencies must be more willing to listen to researchers instead of \u201cfollowing advice from activists with perfectionist agendas.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cGiven nicotine\u2019s many and varied uses, a nicotine-free society is as utopian as a drug-free society. Politicians have long understood the latter is impossible and have gradually adopted a more pragmatic stance. I hope this will eventually happen in the nicotine field as well,\u201d he tells Snusforumet.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Several Norwegian political parties want to see the country legalise nicotine pouches, arguing they are a less harmful alternative to traditional snus and cigarettes. \u00a0&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218],"tags":[282,273,283,345],"class_list":["post-8534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulations","tag-karl-erik-lund-2","tag-nicotine-pouches","tag-norway-2","tag-public-health"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Drive to legalise nicotine pouches gains momentum in Norway\u00a0 - 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