Denounced for their toxicity and addictive nature, particularly for children and adolescents, nicotine sachets, balls and gum will be banned in France from March 2026, a "victory" for anti-tobacco associations.
The ban, published in the Official Journal on Saturday, follows the ban on disposable electronic cigarettes, which have been prohibited from sale since the end of February, and the ban on smoking in public spaces such as gardens and parks, beaches and around schools, which has been in effect since July 1.
The ban on pouches "aims to protect public health: nicotine is now considered a poisonous substance due to its harmful effects, and its recreational use presents a risk of initiation to smoking, particularly among young people," the Ministry of Labor, Health and Solidarity told AFP.
Minister Catherine Vautrin thus confirms her commitment against the risks associated with addiction, according to this source.
The Barnier government announced in the fall of 2024 its intention to ban nicotine pouches, also known as pouches, due in particular to an increase in poisoning among adolescents.
The global pouch market has been valued by Global Markets Insights at $6.6 billion (€5.6 billion) by 2023, and could reach $27.4 billion (€23.4 billion) by 2032.
Recently introduced, tobacco-free nicotine pouches contain polymer fibers impregnated with nicotine and flavorings in a permeable fabric and are inserted between the lip and gum.
The government's ban applies to all "oral products containing nicotine, with the exception of medicines and medical devices." It does not apply to chewing tobacco.
– “Financial El Dorado” –
These include "portion sachets" or "porous sachets," "paste, beads, liquids, chewing gum, lozenges, strips, or any combination of these forms," the text lists.
The Alliance Against Tobacco, a federation of anti-smoking associations, hailed it as a "victory." "This is a crucial measure to protect young people and counter the pernicious strategies of an industry that thrives on the addiction market, to the detriment of public health," it said in a statement.
"Faced with the decline in cigarette consumption in developed countries, nicotine pouches and new nicotine products (heated tobacco and electronic cigarettes) are the new financial El Dorado for cigarette manufacturers," underlines the organization for which, "far from being weaning tools, nicotine pouches and their derivatives (balls, pearls) only aim to expand the nicotine addiction market."
Manufacturers British American Tobacco France and Philip Morris France denounced the ban. The former criticized France's "dogmatic approach, without debate or consultation," which "runs the risk (...) of depriving adult smokers of regulated alternatives" to tobacco. For the latter, "France is persisting with an ineffective ban strategy."
The tobacconists' confederation sees this as a "proclaimed victory for trafficking."
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 National Agency for Health Security.
Like snus (tobacco in the form of pouches for oral use, which is banned from sale in Europe), nicotine pouches "can cause acute nicotine syndromes, sometimes severe: prolonged vomiting with risk of dehydration, convulsions, impaired consciousness, hypotension requiring vascular filling," according to the study, which specifies that the majority of those poisoned are between 12 and 17 years old.
Aromatic beads also pose a risk of domestic accidents, particularly for children under three years old who ingest them. The number of calls to poison control centers regarding these products increased from three in 2020 to 86 in 2022, according to ANSES.
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