Editor’s Note
France will ban nicotine pouches and similar oral products starting March 2026, citing their strong appeal to youth. The decree, announced in late 2024, aims to curb rising use among younger demographics.
France is preparing to ban various nicotine products starting in March 2026 due to their particular appeal to young people. The measure, announced in autumn 2024, will affect “oral nicotine-containing products,” as stated in the decree published on Saturday in the Official Journal. This includes pouches, nicotine bags that are especially popular among youth.
The consumption trend for pouches began in Sweden, a pioneer country in this type of product that has been marketing snus (tobacco pouches) for years. Unlike cigarettes or vapes, the small bags are placed under the upper lip and gradually release nicotine into the body through the gums. While snus is illegal throughout the European Union except for Sweden, the lack of specific regulations allows the sale of tobacco-free nicotine pouches in several EU countries, including Spain and France.
Both nations seek to regulate these products within their legal frameworks. France will do so by prohibiting their sale from March 2026. Specifically, the French government will ban “oral nicotine-containing products, with the exception of medicines and medical devices,” which include nicotine and tobacco pouches, “paste, pearls, liquids, gums, lozenges, strips, or any combination of these forms,” states the decree published on Saturday in the Official Journal.
The goal of this new legislation is to protect the youngest population, the target audience for these new tobacco industry products. The French Alliance Against Tobacco considers the measure “crucial to protect young people and counteract the pernicious strategies of an industry that thrives in the addiction market, to the detriment of public health.”
This is a consideration shared by the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR), which already expressed its “deep concern” in August 2024 regarding the arrival of pouches in the country. For the medical organization, “these products represent a risk to the population as a new gateway to tobacco addiction.”
According to SEPAR’s statement, the tobacco industry promotes “harm reduction” methods for tobacco and nicotine, a “deceptive solution” that “seeks to increase sales by hindering tobacco control, keeping smokers consuming tobacco and obstructing their attempts to quit this habit.”
Meanwhile, the Spanish government is working on its regulation through a reform of the tobacco law. The latest draft prepared by the Ministry of Health proposes applying the same existing restrictions for tobacco to electronic cigarettes, nicotine pouches, and any other recreational device containing this substance, as reported by EFE in June.
