France’s pouch ban ‘a cruel joke’ that will turn holidaying Swedes into criminals

Health experts slam EU policies driving smokers back to cigarettes.

International health experts have slammed France’s ban on nicotine pouches, warning that it will criminalise ordinary Europeans crossing borders with safer nicotine products and push millions of ex-smokers back to cigarettes. The ban means that Swedes, who have achieved Europe’s lowest smoking rates thanks to pouches and snus, will be treated as lawbreakers if they take their products on holiday to France. A smoker who quits in Italy with pouches would also become a criminal simply by stepping over the border into France.

The ban, due to kick in on April 1 2026, comes in the wake of leaked Brussels proposals to impose an EU-wide minimum tax on safer nicotine products, which will result in a 700% increase on pouches for Swedes.

“These measures are a cruel joke on Europe’s smokers,” said Dr Delon Human, leader of Smoke Free Sweden and a former secretary general of the World Medical Association. “Outlawing the very products that help people quit, while deadly cigarettes remain freely available, is public health turned on its head. “Effectively, the EU is telling Swedes to light up a cigarette for their holiday. It’s like banning seatbelts while raising taxes on airbags.”

Independent studies show smoke-free nicotine alternatives are at least 95% less harmful than smoking. Sweden’s policy of making nicotine pouches accessible, acceptable and affordable has earned them a smoking rate that is one-fifth of the EU average and record-low rates of tobacco-related disease.

“Instead of celebrating Sweden’s achievement, the EU and France are punishing smokers
who switch to safer alternatives,” said Dr. Human. “These bans and punitive taxes will drive people back to cigarettes, the most harmful form of nicotine. Europe is on the brink of a public health disaster of its own making. Instead of copying Sweden’s model, governments are turning their backs on science and common sense.”