Legislation & policy

There are strong indications that nicotine pouches will be regulated or at least considered when the European Union revises its Tobacco Product Directive. Will EU legislators and EU countries understand the harm reduction potential of nicotine pouches when deciding how to regulate them?

The Czech Republic took over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union on July 1, 2022. While the Czechs will need to carry the EU through an energy crisis, a war in Ukraine, and galloping inflation, they will also have a six-month window to shape public health policies.

Last month Pouch Patrol reported that the European Commission had opened a “Call for Evidence” which would inform the future regulation of nicotine products. The consultation received a record number of almost 25,000 contributions from organisations and experts, but mostly: EU citizens.

In June 2022, Haypp Group, initiator of Pouch Patrol and the world largest e-retailer of nicotine pouches, responded to the European Union’s call for evidence on the legislative framework for tobacco control.

As Pouch Patrol reported earlier this year, the British government commissioned an independent review of smoking-related health disparities in February. The independent study, led by Javed Khan, was published last week and the recommendations align with harm reduction strategies.

The FDA has taken the first steps toward banning menthol flavors in cigarettes. There is already ample speculation both on how it might be the U.S’s biggest tobacco control triumph in years and how it might all go wrong.

The Danish Government has unveiled plans to ban the sale of cigarettes and nicotine products to anyone born after 2010.

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 Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency is inviting manufacturers to submit products for approval to be prescribed. This means that the U.K could become the first country in the world to prescribe e-cigarettes licensed as a medical product, to lower the smoking prevalence.