Nicotine sachets, a product that particularly targets young people, will soon be banned, Health Minister Genevieve Darrieussecq announced on Tuesday, a few days before the start of "no tobacco month" in November.
"The government has decided to ban these products, whether they are sachets containing nicotine to be placed in the mouth, against the gum or under the tongue, which are called pouches, but also similar products which are just as problematic, in the form of gum or balls," she explains in an interview with Le Parisien.
"The marketing of these products is directly targeted at young people and I hope that we can protect our youth," she adds, specifying that "a ban text will be published in the coming weeks."
"I am very concerned because poison control centres are receiving more and more calls from adolescents for acute nicotine syndromes, sometimes severe, linked to the consumption of pouches. They result in vomiting, convulsions, hypotension and even impaired consciousness," the minister describes.
"These are dangerous products because they contain high doses of nicotine. It is our duty to ban their marketing," she concludes.
Recently introduced, tobacco-free nicotine pouches contain polymer fibers impregnated with nicotine and flavors in a permeable fabric and are inserted between the lip and gum.
In November 2023, Anses called for "special vigilance" on these sachets, stressing that these products, like aromatic beads, were causing more and more poisoning. "Children and adolescents are the main victims," noted the health agency.
Last May, the National Committee against Smoking (CNCT) announced the filing of a complaint for "trafficking in poisonous substances" in response to the "illegal" sale of these nicotine sachets, calling for them to be banned.
Genevieve Darrieussecq also points out that the cross-party bill adopted by Parliament at the beginning of the year to ban "puffs", single-use electronic cigarettes also popular with young people, should be promulgated "in the coming weeks".
"My goal is to stop marketing them before the end of the year," she says.
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