As every year, World No Tobacco Day once again draws attention to the negative consequences of tobacco use. Nicotine pouches and Snus offer a promising opportunity to help smokers who wish to quit. In some EU member states, these smoke- and tobacco-free products are approved and freely available on the market – in Germany, however, they remain unregulated and can only be purchased online. This has led to growing calls for regulation of tobacco-free Snus. Below, you can read how the Federal Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products is now speaking out in this regard.
World No Tobacco Day and Awareness Campaigns
Since its inception by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1987, World No Tobacco Day has taken place annually on May 31 and aims to focus attention on the negative consequences of tobacco use, primarily smoking, and to promote non-smoking protection measures. A central concern is to raise awareness on the topic. Related information events and press work are therefore considered essential components for increasing awareness – whether to create stronger incentives to quit smoking, to promote tobacco prevention measures, or to highlight potentially less harmful cigarette alternatives that can significantly facilitate quitting smoking.
>> Feel free to read how the Nicotine Institute pointed out information gaps in society last year on the occasion of World No Tobacco Day and called for more awareness: Nicotine Pouches as a Cigarette Alternative – Awareness Could Encourage Quitting
Smoking Harms More Than Just Health
That smoking is harmful to health is widely known. However, the fact that tobacco use also has far-reaching negative societal consequences appears to be known to only a few.
Smoking is responsible each year for numerous cases of illness and death, which strain healthcare systems and lead to significant economic losses. At a recent expert conference on Tobacco Harm Reduction held at Charité in Berlin, there was even talk of 100 billion euros in economic damage per year in Germany.*1 Moreover, tobacco use is responsible for 127,000 deaths annually in Germany.*2
>> For deeper insights into the expert conference and what was discussed, feel free to read:
Such figures clearly seem to be attributable to tobacco smoke consumption. In this context, reference is often made to Sweden's epidemiological data, where the EU's lowest smoking rate exists and where there has been a massive reduction in such negative consequences of smoking within just a few years.
Since Sweden is not nicotine-free—but rather, smokeless alternatives like Snus and nicotine pouches have replaced smoking—it raises the question why nicotine pouches and Snus are still not regulated in Germany in a way that allows them to be sold in local shops and thus made accessible to a broader population of smokers wishing to quit.
The call is therefore growing louder to finally make such smokeless nicotine alternatives available in Germany as well—regulated and accessible in the local market for smokers and consumers who wish to quit. Until now, these products can only be purchased through online shops based outside Germany.
>> To learn about current regulations in Germany, read: Snus in Germany – Will It Be Allowed Soon?
Call for Nicotine Pouch Approval in Germany Is Growing Louder
In a press release published at the beginning of May, the Federal Association of the Tobacco Industry and Novel Products (BVTE) called for the approval of nicotine pouches in Germany. The statement emphasized their great potential for harm reduction – thus allowing for a targeted response to the harmful effects of smoking.
Jan Mücke, Chief Executive of the BVTE, commented in this context:
"Nicotine pouches are probably the least harmful option for nicotine consumption. [...] This alternative must no longer be withheld by policymakers from smokers in Germany."
The low harm potential of nicotine pouches is said to have been confirmed by assessments from both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). As a result, many adult cigarette users could be successfully supported in quitting smoking with tobacco-free nicotine pouches.
That Snus and nicotine pouches hold great potential for reducing national smoking rates is now also recognized by some experts. For example, a renowned German addiction researcher recently advocated for the EU-wide legalization of Snus.
Whether and to what extent nicotine pouches might be approved in Germany in the future remains difficult to predict. However, the fact that nicotine pouches are not yet included in the currently applicable EU Tobacco Directive offers a glimmer of hope – as a revision of this legally binding directive for member states was already announced last year. It seems clear that youth protection will play a significant role in this process.
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Sources (last accessed on 26/05/25):
*1 See: https://www.aerztezeitung.de/Politik/Raucher-sorgen-jaehrlich-fuer-100-Milliarden-Euro-Folgekosten--441515.html
*2 See: https://www.aerzteblatt.de/news/tabak-e-zigaretten-und-co-kommen-weitere-verbote-a1510213-e116-4180-b4d8-dce2a30aa9b8 , https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/service/begriffe-von-a-z/r/rauchen.html
