{"id":8763,"date":"2025-10-03T10:25:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T08:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/?p=8763"},"modified":"2025-10-03T10:25:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T08:25:17","slug":"sweden-launches-new-warnings-to-france-spain-over-absurd-pouch-bans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/sweden-launches-new-warnings-to-france-spain-over-absurd-pouch-bans\/","title":{"rendered":"Sweden launches new warnings to France, Spain over ‘absurd’ pouch bans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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 Swedish tourists into criminals.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letters, penned by Swedish trade minister Benjamin Dousa, mark the clearest sign yet that Sweden is ready to go to the mat for what it sees as a vital tool in the fight against smoking \u2013 and a cornerstone of Sweden’s public health success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We are very worried,” Dousa told the Expressen<\/em> newspaper<\/a> in a sharp rebuke of France\u2019s impending ban. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It\u2019s as absurd as if we banned French baguettes \u2014 their trade minister would be on the first flight to Stockholm.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweden\u2019s smoke-free success under threat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

France’s planned law \u2013 set to take effect on April 1st, 2026 \u2013 would not only ban the sale of nicotine pouches, but criminalise their possession entirely, even by tourists. Spain\u2019s draft law, while not quite as extreme, would impose such a low nicotine limit (0.99 mg) that it would effectively remove most products from the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both measures come as the European Union begins to rethink its tobacco and nicotine framework. Sweden, the only EU country close to meeting the WHO\u2019s definition of smoke-free, sees these crackdowns not just as bad policy, but as an affront to common sense and scientific evidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The letters: a diplomatic warning shot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In separate letters dated 24 September 2025, Sweden lays out its case bluntly. To Spain, the letter warns<\/a> that the proposed rules “may hinder all exports of the product to Spain and have a deterrent effect on the companies concerned.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Sweden acknowledges Spain\u2019s public health concerns, it stresses that the ban goes \u201cfurther than necessary\u201d and violates the principle of free movement within the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To France, the tone is sharper still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are concerned that the legislation\u2026 prohibits all production, manufacture, import, export and even possession,\u201d the letter reads<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweden asks for urgent clarification on how France will allow nicotine pouches from other EU countries to \u201ctransit through French territory without restriction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the stern language, both letters reiterate Sweden\u2019s desire to find \u201cless restrictive\u201d solutions and emphasise the value of bilateral cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dousa: \u2018You should be able to carry a can in your pocket\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In fiery interviews in the Swedish press, Dousa didn\u2019t hold back in expressing his frustration with moves by France and Spain to restrict nicotine pouches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re a tourist in France, it should be obvious that you can bring your snus can without risking punishment,\u201d he told Expressen<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe French law criminalises simply having a pouch in your pocket, but we haven\u2019t been given any clarity on what penalties apply or how this will affect Swedish citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dousa added that the bans would hurt Swedish companies and threaten exports. Sweden is open to regulation, he added, but felt the French approach \u201cgoes too far\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking with Svenska Magasinet<\/em><\/a>,<\/em> a Swedish-language publication based in Spain, Dousa called the measures \u201can attack on the Swedish way of life\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany have managed to quit smoking thanks to snus, which means Sweden has lower rates of lung cancer than other countries,\u201d he told the publication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to EU statistics<\/a>, Sweden has the lowest standardised lung cancer death rate among all EU countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pouch bans lack scientific justification<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Experts agree that both France and Spain have failed to present scientifically grounded justifications for their bans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

France has been criticised<\/a> for using outdated data and ignoring modern evidence about the relative safety of nicotine pouches. Spain\u2019s defence, meanwhile, has been labelled \u201cideological posturing\u201d by Swedish snus industry leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe real issue here is a kind of nicotine panic \u2014 not science,\u201d Patrik Str\u00f6mer, Secretary General of the Association of Swedish Snus Manufacturers, previously told Snusforumet<\/a> in reaction to Spain\u2019s defence of its proposed restrictions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf Spain truly wanted to protect its citizens, it would copy Sweden\u2019s evidence-based regulation \u2013 not ban the very products helping people quit smoking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What happens next?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The letters from Sweden are part of the EU’s formal TRIS process<\/a>, which allows member states to raise objections to laws that may impact the internal market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweden could eventually choose to escalate the dispute to the European Commission or even the European Court of Justice. As the EU debates new regulations under the revised Tobacco Products Directive<\/a> (TPD III), Sweden\u2019s actions may shape how the bloc treats nicotine pouches for years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8766,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218],"tags":[604,536,273,324,311],"class_list":["post-8763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulations","tag-benjamin-dousa","tag-france","tag-nicotine-pouches","tag-spain","tag-tpd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSweden launches new warnings to France, Spain over 'absurd' pouch bans - Snusforumet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sweden has fired off formal letters to both France and Spain, urging the countries to backtrack on nicotine pouch bans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/snusforumet.se\/en\/sweden-launches-new-warnings-to-france-spain-over-absurd-pouch-bans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sweden launches new warnings to France, Spain over 'absurd' pouch bans - 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