Nicotine Pouches Hit a Wall in Belgium?

Today, news emerged that Belgium will require a ban on nicotine pouches starting in October. This could mark another country in Europe imposing a ban on the nicotine pouch market.

According to Belga, Belgium will stop the sale of nicotine pouches starting October 1. This is part of an anti-smoking plan signed by 24 ministers from the Belgian health department. They believe that although nicotine pouches do not contain tobacco, their nicotine content is quite high. Some pouches contain up to 90 milligrams of nicotine, which is nearly nine times the nicotine content found in other regular cigarettes.

(Belgium ends nicotine pouches?)

The core reason for the ban is the nicotine content.

In fact, Belgium began proposing the ban in July. At that time, wholesalers in Belgium were restricted from selling nicotine pouches starting July 1, but retailers could continue selling until October 1 to clear their inventory. Meanwhile, in May of this year, tobacco giants British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International (PMI) appealed to the Belgian National Council, seeking to overturn the regulations. These two companies claimed that nicotine pouches are a lower-harm alternative to smoking.

However, Belgium's move to ban nicotine pouches follows the lead of other European countries. For example, the Netherlands has already banned the sale of pouches containing more than 0.035 milligrams of nicotine, and Finland has restricted the market for nicotine-containing products. However, in Sweden, nicotine pouches containing tobacco and nicotine replacement patches remain legal, and there is still a market in some Eastern European countries like Poland.

Data also shows that currently, 24 countries allow nicotine pouches, including the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ukraine, Switzerland, and Poland.

Belgium, located east of Germany and with a population of over 10 million, is also one of the most lenient immigration countries in Western Europe.

This country has a certain aversion to nicotine, even regarding disposables, but despite mentioning disposables this year, there has been no legislative progress. However, this country recognizes the potential of electronic vaping in smoking cessation. In terms of sales, Belgium prohibits bars and restaurants from using tobacco vending machines but does not prohibit supermarkets from using such devices.

It is also evident that European countries are searching for healthier alternatives, indicating that the electronic vaping market has development prospects in these recognized regions.