For adults aged 18 and over. Nicotine is addictive. This article reports public regulatory news and is not legal or medical advice.
Eight EU governments have written to the European Commission asking it to stop new nicotine products from entering the EU market and to give countries the power to ban nicotine pouches outright. The letter was first reported by NRC on 6 October 2026 and detailed by Eunews on 7 October.
It is a request, not a law. Below is what it asks for, what it changes today (nothing), and the steps that would have to happen before anything did.
Who signed and who received it
According to Eunews, the letter was sent to EU Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi by the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, France, Hungary, Latvia, Slovenia and Spain. NRC reports that Dutch Health Minister Sophie Hermans announced it in a letter to the Dutch parliament (Tweede Kamer) on Tuesday 6 October.
The letter is aimed at the coming revision of two EU laws: the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) and the Tobacco Advertising Directive (TAD).
What the eight countries are asking for
The requests reported by Eunews fall into four groups.
1. A freeze on new products. The governments want to block the entry into the EU of any new product containing nicotine, substances with nicotine-like properties, or devices designed to deliver them. The freeze would also cover nicotine-free products designed to look like nicotine products.
2. Limits on existing products. For products already on the market, the letter calls for maximum nicotine levels, a broad ban on flavours, standardised products and devices, and plain packaging. It asks for the same rules across all authorised categories, so that consumers do not simply switch from one product to another.
3. Pouches specifically. Eunews describes the position on nicotine pouches as "particularly strict". The eight states want to strengthen the EU ban on oral tobacco and allow individual countries to adopt stricter national measures, up to a total ban on nicotine pouches.
4. Online sales and advertising. The letter calls for a ban on advertising for all nicotine products, including content shared by influencers and creators on social media, and asks the Commission to act against cross-border distance sales within the EU, which the signatories see as a loophole that undermines national rules.
The stated end goal is a "smoke-free generation" by 2040.
Why the Netherlands is pushing
NRC's report gives the Dutch government's reasoning. Countries such as Germany, Italy and Greece do not yet apply rules as strict as those in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, and the minister argues that tighter national rules work less well when products abroad stay more attractive, partly because of lower prices. NRC cites the Dutch public health institute RIVM as finding that 60% of smokers in the Netherlands bought their cigarettes across the border in 2025.
At home, NRC reports, the Dutch cabinet is also tightening tobacco advertising rules, wants to limit the ways nicotine products can be brought in from abroad, and is giving its food and product safety authority (NVWA) more enforcement powers.
The same week: Parliament's health committee
The letter lands alongside a separate signal from the European Parliament. As PouchDaily reported, the Parliament's Committee on Public Health (SANT) adopted a report on Europe's Beating Cancer Plan on 28 September by 27 votes to 8, with 5 abstentions. It calls for EU tobacco law to be updated so that it covers nicotine pouches, with plain packaging, flavour restrictions, ingredient reporting and stronger age checks for online sales.
That report is an own-initiative text: it states what the committee wants but imposes nothing by itself. PouchDaily lists the indicative plenary vote for 11 November.
Tax is on a separate track
Prices are shaped by tax, and EU tax talks are moving separately. POLITICO reported that a Council vote on new minimum tobacco and nicotine taxes was pushed from October to November, after Sweden opposed taxing nicotine pouches. The Commission initially suggested taxing pouches at either 25% of the retail price or €71.50 per kilogram; POLITICO notes Sweden's national levy is €18.36 per kilogram. Tax changes need the unanimous agreement of all 27 member states.
What changes for buyers today
Nothing. A letter from eight ministers does not change any law. Nicotine pouches are still regulated country by country, and the rules that apply to an order are the ones in force today in the delivery country.
For any of these requests to become binding, the Commission would first have to put them into a legislative proposal for the revised directives. That proposal would then go through the European Parliament and the Council, followed by national implementation. None of those steps has happened yet.
The current range is on our products page and grouped by maker on brands. Country-by-country delivery information is on our countries page and in our guide to shipping nicotine pouches in Europe.
What to watch next
- 11 November: the European Parliament's indicative plenary vote on the SANT committee report, as listed by PouchDaily.
- November Council meeting: the delayed vote on minimum tobacco and nicotine taxes, as reported by POLITICO.
- The Commission's TPD proposal: the document that would decide whether any of the eight countries' requests become draft law.
We will update this article when any of these move.
FAQ
Has the EU banned nicotine pouches?
No. Eight governments have asked the Commission to let countries ban them and to freeze new nicotine products. That is a request for future law, not a decision.
Which countries signed the letter?
The Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, France, Hungary, Latvia, Slovenia and Spain, according to Eunews.
Does the letter affect online orders?
Not today. It asks the Commission to act against cross-border distance sales in the future. No such rule exists at EU level yet.
When could anything actually change?
Only after the Commission publishes a proposal and it passes the Parliament and the Council. No date for the Commission's proposal has been set in the sources cited here.
