Consequences of the de facto ban on nicotine pouches in Germany

Overview

The smoking of combustible cigarettes remains the leading cause of preventable death in the Federal Republic of Germany, attributable to 100,000 deaths annually. With over 17 million smokers, more than any other European country1, the reduction in smoking rates should be a public health priority. However, rather than prioritising policies that help smokers quit, the current German legislative and regulatory framework actively prevents millions of smokers from doing so.

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It is universally accepted in public health that transitioning from smoking deadly combustible tobacco, to less harmful forms of nicotine delivery, ought be a public health priority. Nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine gums have been available to help Germans quit smoking for decades, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has included oral nicotine replacement therapies on the list of essential medicines since 20092,

Despite the public health miracle that nicotine pouches have created, a legislative framework which considers nicotine pouches as a “food item” has effectively banned the sale of these products since 2021, depriving adult smokers of a critical legal and regulated way to quit smoking.

The data and evidence from this ban clearly demonstrates that failures of prohibition, and its devastating consequences. To put it simply: Prohibition Does Not Work.

Rather than eliminating the demand for nicotine pouches, prohibition has pushed many consumers to the unregulated black market, where the quality and safety of products, as well as to whom products are sold, can not be controlled. Furthermore, millions of other Germans who may have otherwise quit smoking, continue to do so, with stagnation in the decline in smoking rates. The flatlining of smoking rates in Germany particularly compared to other nations that embrace progressive science-based policies that help smokers quit.

As demonstrated in this analysis, comparing the consequences of the prohibitionist approach to a progressive one based on evidence, clearly demonstrates that prohibition does not work and should not be a solution for the government. Instead, the newly elected German Government should use this opportunity to embrace regulations that empower smokers to make the switch to less harmful products. Based on all available evidence, nicotine pouches have the opportunity to play a key role in not only accelerating the decline of smoking rates in Germany, but on Germany’s path to becoming a smoke-free country.