In an unprecedented diplomatic move, the Government of Sweden has formally written to both France and Spain urging them to reconsider national bans on nicotine pouches, warning that such measures violate EU single-market principles.
The two letters sent on 24 September 2025 by Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, mark Sweden’s strongest intervention yet in the ongoing regulatory battles surrounding nicotine pouches in the EU.
They express “serious concern” that the French and Spanish proposals would create barriers to the free movement of goods, and call for bilateral dialogue to identify “less restrictive options.”
Pouchforum can now publish both letters in full.
Sweden’s intervention comes at a critical time in the EU’s internal-market debate on nicotine pouches.
Both France and Spain have proposed near-total bans, by either prohibiting manufacture, import, sale and even personal possession, or in Spain’s case restricting nicotine content to minimalistic levels while Sweden, the home of tobacco-free nicotine pouches and the member states with the lowest prevalence of daily smokers in the EU, argues that such restrictions violate the EU’s foundational principles.
The letters signal that Stockholm will defend the right of EU consumers and businesses to access lower-risk nicotine products, and underline Sweden’s unique position as the only EU member that is rapidly approaching smoke free status according to the WHO <5% definition
This development is expected to reverberate through the Commission, Council and Parliament ahead of the upcoming Tobacco and Nicotine Framework revisions (TEDOR and TPD III).