The controversial French ban on nicotine pouches begins today. France is now the only European country to prohibit not just the sale of the popular oral nicotine product, but also personal possession and use—and to back up the ban with criminal penalties.
The ban was not passed by France’s parliament, but rather imposed by health ministry decree. The new rule, which classifies nicotine in oral consumer products as a dangerous “toxic substance,” also covers all consumer nicotine gums, lozenges, and other oral products.
The decree exempts products medically approved for smoking cessation, like nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) gums. The ban also doesn’t apply to chewing tobacco, cigarettes or vapes.
Because it classifies pouches as being among the most dangerous substances and an extreme threat to public health, people found using or possessing them could theoretically face fines of up to €375,000, or even five years in prison under French health laws.
In December a French court stayed enforcement of the portion of the decree prohibiting manufacture and export pending a final ruling, according to Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.
Five other European Union countries—Austria, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands—either ban or highly restrict nicotine pouch sales. But only France has criminalized use of the products, which is almost unheard of in liberal democracies.