The World Health Organisation has issued a stark warning to governments worldwide. Nicotine pouches and children are at the centre of a growing public health crisis, the WHO says. Tobacco companies are deliberately targeting young people with sweet flavours, social media influencers and aggressive advertising. The goal, the organisation argues, is to hook a new generation on nicotine before stronger rules arrive.

Why Nicotine Pouches and Children Are a Public Health Concern

Nicotine pouches are small sachets placed between the gum and the upper lip. They deliver nicotine without combustion or tobacco leaf. Some industry voices present them as a safer alternative to cigarettes. The WHO rejects that framing for younger users entirely.

The products carry high nicotine concentrations and drive strong addiction. The organisation also warns they can act as a gateway to cigarette smoking. Risks include cardiovascular harm and impaired brain development in adolescents.

The market numbers tell their own story. The global nicotine pouch sector grew by 125 percent between 2019 and 2020 alone. That made it the fastest expanding segment across all tobacco and related products, according to data from Philip Morris International. The European market for oral nicotine products, covering pouches, gums and lozenges, now stands at 1.6 billion US dollars.

“These products are engineered for addiction,” said Etienne Krug, director of the WHO’s health determinants, promotion and prevention department. “There is a strong need to protect our youth from industry manipulation.”

Sweden and the Nicotine Pouch Debate

Sweden sits at the heart of this argument. It leads Europe in nicotine pouch consumption, ahead of Germany, Poland and the other Nordic nations. Smoking rates there have fallen sharply over the past two decades. Tobacco companies and affiliated consumer groups cite this as proof that liberal oral nicotine policies work.

The WHO disagrees. Sweden’s falling smoking rates reflect a broad mix of tobacco control measures: taxation, advertising restrictions and cessation services. The pouches themselves do not deserve credit for that progress.

“Sweden’s overall positive experience is not as a result of snus or nicotine pouches,” said Ranti Fayokun, a scientist with the WHO’s smokefree initiative. She warned that the tobacco industry uses the Swedish example to “promote nicotine addiction” elsewhere.

The concern around oral nicotine products and youth also has a structural dimension. Sweden holds an exemption from EU restrictions on oral tobacco and snus. That exemption dates back to its EU accession and gives it legal room other member states do not have. Direct comparisons with the rest of Europe do not hold up.

Industry Tactics That Target Oral Nicotine Products and Youth

The WHO report lays out a deliberate industry playbook. Tobacco companies design nicotine pouches with fruit and mint flavours. They commission colourful packaging. They work with influencers on social platforms to reach teenagers directly.

This approach is not new. Nicotine marketing has always chased younger consumers. The link between nicotine pouches and children is not a side effect of broader campaigns. The WHO says companies make these choices to build a new consumer base as traditional cigarette sales fall.

Governments need to regulate pouches with the same rigour applied to cigarettes. That means flavour restrictions, advertising limits and age verification at point of sale.

What Europe Is Doing to Protect Young People

European policymakers are acting, though progress is uneven. EU members are negotiating minimum tax rates on nicotine pouches and oral nicotine products. The European Commission wants a rate of 50 percent of retail price, or 143 euros per kilogram, by 2032. Member states want that figure halved. Their current position sets the target at 25 percent, or 71.50 euros per kilogram.

The Commission also plans to revise its Tobacco Products Directive by the end of 2026. That revision will tighten marketing and sales rules for products aimed at young people.

France moved first. It banned nicotine pouches last month, threatening heavy fines and potential criminal penalties for people caught carrying them. Sweden responded with a formal complaint to the European Commission. It argued the French ban breaks single market rules.

An investigation by Swedish public broadcaster Sweden Radio found something telling. Swedish trade officials used arguments drawn directly from tobacco industry submissions to challenge the French ban. Sweden’s trade minister, Benjamin Dousa, stood by the approach. “This government will always stand on the side of Swedish snus users,” he said.

That episode shows how deeply industry interests have shaped national positions. For public health advocates, oral nicotine products and youth protection have become a contested political question, not just a medical one.

The Case for Stronger Controls

Science does not dispute the risks tied to nicotine pouches and children. Nicotine addiction in adolescence damages brain structure and reduces impulse control. It also raises the likelihood of future substance use. Regulators have been slow to act on products that are discreet, sweet tasting and socially acceptable among young people.

The WHO report sends a clear message. The organisation does not see oral nicotine products as a harm reduction tool. It sees them as a market expansion strategy for the tobacco industry. Countries that treat Sweden’s policy exemption as a model risk repeating the mistakes of early cigarette regulation. Decades of delay then allowed addiction to spread across entire populations.

The question now facing European governments is direct. Do they hold the line on meaningful taxes and marketing restrictions? Or do they let industry lobbying chip away at protections at the moment those protections matter most?

Source: politico