Pouch Patrol received an e-mail from Jarmo Manninen. A man living in Finland, curious about the issue giving rise to Pouch Patrols efforts and engangement on nicotine pouches.

Finnish pouch users are concerned about the future of alternative nicotine products in the EU. They are now urging their Finnish Members of European Parliament (MEP) to stand up for harm reduction, by sharing their personal testimonials.

Finnish pouch users are concerned about the future of alternative nicotine products in the EU. They are now urging their Finnish Members of European Parliament (MEP) to stand up for harm reduction, by sharing their personal testimonials.

On February 4th, the British government issued a press release announcing leads for an independent review into smoking-related health disparities. 

As the UK announces support for medical licensing of e-cigarettes, experts debate the issue in a recent published article in the British Medical Journal.

The independent German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has recently published its third preliminary health risk assessment for nicotine pouches, acknowledging its potential as a risk-reducing product for smokers.

In 2020, the European Parliament approved the creation of a Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA). BECA concluded its work on 9 December 2021, by adopting a report with calls for stronger EU action against cancer, on its last meeting before the end of BECA’s mandate. In the report, BECA introduces for the first time a tobacco harm reduction perspective on EU level, but regrettably also recommends measures counterproductive to this aim.

The nicotine pouch has an uncertain future in Germany. You may already have noticed that tobacco-free nicotine pouches are becoming increasingly rare in the country’s physical stores. The reason: some German courts and federal states incorrectly classify nicotine pouches as food. Since nicotine is practically not permitted in food under current law, this misinterpretation results in local sales bans.

The New Zealand government plans to increase the legal smoking age every year – effectively banning the sale of cigarettes for those born after 2008.

The results of a survey performed by the Ministry of Health in New Zealand show decreasing smoking rates, while the use of less harmful nicotine products increase.