Brazil Warned Against Repeating Failed Nicotine Prohibition

Prohibition Does Not Work urges ANVISA to regulate nicotine pouches rather than drive consumers into illegal markets

29 June 2026. Brasília, Brazil.  

Prohibition Does Not Work has urged Brazil’s National Health Surveillance Agency, ANVISA, to adopt proportionate regulation for nicotine pouches rather than repeat the failures of Brazil’s vapour ban.

“Brazil has already seen what nicotine prohibition delivers,” said Tim Andrews, Director of Prohibition Does Not Work.

“It does not eliminate demand. It eliminates legal supply, hands the market to criminals, and leaves consumers exposed to products with no standards, no testing, and no accountability.”

Despite Brazil’s ban on vapour products, estimates suggest that as many as 2.9 million Brazilians continue to use them, while the illicit market is now worth more than US$1 billion.

“Prohibition has failed on every measure,” Andrews said. “Millions of consumers still buy the products. Young people still gain access. Organised criminal networks profit. Regulators lose control.”

The submission also points to Germany, where the classification of nicotine pouches as food created a de facto ban. Demand continued regardless, with an illegal market estimated at 444 million pouches worth more than US$114 million in 2024.

“Germany offers a direct warning to ANVISA,” Andrews said. “When governments force nicotine pouches into the wrong regulatory category, the products do not disappear. They simply move underground.”

“ANVISA should establish clear product standards, age restrictions, nicotine limits, licensing, traceability, and strict penalties for illegal sellers.”

“Countries such as Mexico and Australia show the criminal impacts associated with illicit nicotine products,” added Michael Ellis, former Assistant Director at Interpol and PDNW advisor.

“The prohibition of nicotine pouches will not impact consumer demand. A ban will only drive consumers to an illegal market controlled by organised crime gangs who meet demand by supplying substandard, harmful products.”

“The choice is not between nicotine pouches and no nicotine pouches,” Andrews concluded. “The choice is between a regulated market and a criminal one. Brazil should choose regulation, science, and harm reduction.”

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About Prohibition Does Not Work

Prohibition Does Not Work is an international initiative examining how bans and excessive restrictions on safer nicotine products create black markets, empower criminal networks, and undermine public health.

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The submission can be downloaded here.