Politics

The vape flavour ban in the Netherlands seems to have spectacularly backfired, with 10% of vapers having returned to smoking and the rest finding ways around the ban. In 2023, the Dutch government introduced a ban on vape flavours and then introduced further restrictions – capping the total number of compounds that can be used […]

During Thursday’s meeting, the Swedish government decided to give new tasks to the National Board of Health and Welfare and to the Public Health Agency to develop a new public health strategy. A mission that highlights the government’s continued focus on tobacco and nicotine harm reduction. Since 2021, the National Board of Health and Welfare […]

The latest Eurobarometer – a survey published by the European Commission – reveals some fascinating facts about Europeans’ attitudes towards tobacco and nicotine products. But despite the growing need to find solutions to real problems, neither the Commission nor Eurobarometer has actively promoted the results. The Commission does not have support for its proposals The […]

Led by Denmark, several EU health ministers are now trying to push through a position paper to speed up proposals for nicotine regulation, flavour bans and even bans on certain nicotine products. Proposals that lack sufficient evidence and therefore risk having far-reaching consequences for public health. “The ministers are trying to get around the European […]

The bill to ban smoking in the UK could be scrapped. This is the outcome after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called a general election for 4 July and dissolved the UK Parliament. “The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will most certainly be binned if Labour wins the election. They will want to go forward with their […]

In a debate on Wednesday in the Swedish Parliament, Minister for Public Health Jakob Forssmed emphasized how much greater health hazard cigarettes are compared to snus and how important it is to strengthen the diversification of taxation. It was when a member of parliament from the Sweden Democrats asked the question of how the government […]

On Wednesday, an incredibly strong statement came from the Swedish government in response to the Chairman of the Committee on Industry and Trade in the Swedish Parliament regarding nicotine pouches. More and more people have begun to celebrate the Swedish success in soon becoming smoke-free. There are several reasons for this success, and much is […]

On friday morning, the news agency Bloomberg drew attention to Sweden’s low smoking rates and delved into the underlying reasons for this trend. He is Pouch Patrol’s comments on the article. Sweden have 135 smoking-related deaths per 100,000 men, compared to the EU’s 296 smoking-related deaths per 100,000 men. If Swedish tobacco and nicotine legislation […]

On Wednesday, December 13, the European Parliament will vote on the report on non-communicable diseases prepared by the Committee on Public Health. We at Pouch Patrol encourage all Members of the European Parliament who care about reducing smoking-related mortality to vote in favor. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) account for the majority of premature deaths worldwide, including […]

Leading up to the WHO’s session on tobacco control (COP-10), concerning news has emerged that the European Commission has proposed excluding member states and the European Parliament from the negotiations. The proposal allows the Commission to alter the EU’s position, a move without precedent, according to Swedish Member of the European Parliament, Sara Skyttedal.