The Netherlands banned nicotine pouches. It's working. Can Europe follow?

Sursa Foto: Sanatate INFO

Irina Papuc

25 iunie, 2026, 00:07

Vizualizări: 387

I met Pieter Rijswijk, Coordinating Specialist Inspector for Alcohol and Tobacco at the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA), in Milan, at the 10th European Conference on Tobacco or Health, where he presented the Dutch legal framework for banning nicotine pouches, a model that stands out both for its ambition and its legal relevance for other European countries.

The Netherlands is among a small handful of EU countries to have enacted a complete ban on nicotine pouches, regardless of nicotine content, and it has done so with a clear focus on making enforcement both effective and cost-efficient.

Notably, Dutch authorities have also established a dedicated unit to monitor emerging tobacco and nicotine products that may pose a risk to public health, with a particular focus on young people. Pieter Rijswijk kindly agreed to share more about this experience and what other countries might take from it.

My first question would be, of course, to explain a bit how the regulations around nicotine pouches came about. As far as I understand, it started in 2021?

Pieter Rijswijk: Yes. Well, we had some concerns about nicotine pouches. We were already seeing signs that they were on the rise. We were already familiar with snus, a tobacco-containing product that came mostly from Sweden, which is also banned in the Netherlands, though it was never particularly popular among young people here. Then, around 2020, nicotine pouches emerged as something new, and we started noticing that they were gaining popularity in other countries. Journalists were writing about them, and we were seeing a lot of activity online.

When you say "we," you're referring to the Agency?

Pieter Rijswijk: Yes, of course, the enforcement organization. We were monitoring social media and noticed a significant amount of content coming from the United Kingdom, suggesting that young people there were using nicotine pouches. That's when we said to each other: we need to look into this. Because we work on a risk-based approach. That means we prioritize issues based on where the risk is highest. If no one had been using these products, it simply wouldn't have been on our radar.

At that time, were nicotine pouches already available in the Netherlands?

Pieter Rijswijk: They were just starting to appear, and that's when we realized that nicotine pouches weren't actually covered by the Dutch Tobacco Act. We began discussing how to handle this with the Ministry of Health and the RIVM, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. That's when the idea came up - and we also saw this approach being used in Germany - that nicotine pouches could potentially be classified as food, since they are placed in the mouth.

I've come across that approach, and I think it's quite a smart one. In some countries, even when it's regulated under tobacco legislation, it occupies this grey area; it's treated as tobacco, but it's not tobacco, it's nicotine without tobacco leaf in it. That makes effective regulation through the Tobacco Act difficult. Classifying it as a food product, on the other hand, is actually a very practical and effective way to regulate it.

Pieter Rijswijk: Exactly. And in the Netherlands, drafting new legislation takes time. So we asked ourselves: we can see this problem emerging right now, what can we actually do about it? By classifying nicotine pouches as food, the enforcement process becomes much more straightforward. All we need is a risk assessment. And if that assessment concludes that there can be little to no nicotine in the pouch, we have the grounds to act and start enforcement proceedings.

So legally, you started this risk assessment before 2020?

Pieter Rijswijk: No, we started in 2020. Nicotine pouches were eventually brought under the Dutch Tobacco Act in 2025, but in the period before that, we were still able to enforce because we had classified them as a food product.

Before the full regulations were in place, you essentially regulated them as food, which allowed you to have them banned during that interim period.

Pieter Rijswijk: Exactly. But now the Dutch Tobacco Act is a much stronger framework, it also includes an advertising ban, which makes it better legislation overall.

So before 2025, nicotine pouches were banned, but advertising for them was still permitted?

Pieter Rijswijk: Yes. But it was a start. You either choose to do nothing, or you move forward step by step. And when you can't sell a product, there's not much point in advertising it anyway.

Photo: ECToH 2026

You also mentioned something quite interesting earlier. That parents were alarmed. What would be the message for other countries? How much can public opinion and broader society actually influence the regulatory process?

Pieter Rijswijk: Policymaking itself falls under the Ministry of Health. What I can say, from my position, is that there has been a great deal of media attention, with NGOs actively advocating for a smoke-free generation. Social support for these measures has been growing steadily. People were already concerned about electronic cigarettes, and then they started seeing nicotine pouches, these unfamiliar products being used by young children. They began asking questions: "What is this? Isn't it banned? What is the enforcement agency doing about it?" From 2020 onwards, we started seeing these questions appearing online. That told us something was shifting in society.

Are nicotine pouches banned regardless of whether they actually contain nicotine or not?

Pieter Rijswijk: Nowadays, yes. Since 2025, all nicotine pouches are banned. This makes enforcement considerably easier. Previously, if a tin claimed to contain nicotine, but not the exact amount, we had to take samples and send them to a laboratory to determine whether the nicotine content exceeded the legal limit of 0.035 mg. That process costs public money and adds complexity. Now, it doesn't matter what the packaging says — a nicotine pouch is a nicotine pouch. From an enforcement perspective, having clear, unambiguous rules with no exceptions is always preferable for enforcement.

How effective has the ban actually been? And how do you check whether sellers are complying?

Pieter Rijswijk: In 2022, we carried out 100 random inspections and found that 15% of shops were still selling nicotine pouches. That means 85% compliance which, for an early-stage ban, is a very good result. Now we work on a risk-based approach. Rather than random checks, we focus on the types of outlets where violations were more frequently observed. In the first year, we conducted random inspections to get a picture of where the problem was concentrated. In the second year, we shifted our focus specifically to those categories of shops that had shown higher rates of non-compliance. And naturally, we will then also go to whoever supplies those products in the Netherlands, in order to be able to check and take action at the beginning of the supply chain as well.

Advertising is also completely banned. How do you monitor compliance, especially online? This is an issue many countries are dealing with right now, so good practices are always welcome.

Pieter Rijswijk: We have specialized inspectors dedicated to this. They operate undercover accounts on social media platforms and actively search for illegal advertising targeting users in the Netherlands. Enforcing advertisements originating from other countries is more challenging, because it's difficult to prove they are directed exclusively at a Dutch audience. So we concentrate our efforts on the domestic situation, where we have a clearer legal basis to act.

Neighboring countries still have nicotine pouches freely available. How does that affect the efforts being made by the Netherlands?

Pieter Rijswijk: That's exactly why we engage with other countries on this topic. It would be far more effective if Europe as a whole moved toward banning these products. The Tobacco Products Directive is currently being revised, and having consistent legislation across all member states would make a significant difference.

Is there any mechanism in place to detect nicotine pouches entering the country?

Pieter Rijswijk: We work closely with Customs at key border points, such as the port of Rotterdam and major airports. If products arrive from outside the EU and pass through Dutch Customs, they flag them for us. If those products fall under the ban, they cannot be brought into the country. However, if they are in transit to another market where nicotine pouches are legal we don't have the grounds to hold them.

What type of penalties does the law contain for sellers who don't comply? And are they significant enough to actually make sellers think twice before breaking the rules?

Pieter Rijswijk: For a first violation, the penalty ranges between €450 and €2,250. On top of that, we seize and destroy the products, and the cost of destruction is charged to the owner. For the second, third, and fourth inspections the penalties increase. By the fourth violation, the fine can be between €4,500 and €22,500. Shop owners tell us they really "feel it" now that the fines are at this level. We are also in conversations with the public prosecutor's office about the possibility of pursuing criminal cases for these violations, rather than handling them purely through administrative law.

I would like to touch on the topic of industry interference, as it is something many countries struggle with. From Moldova's experience, and from what tobacco industry interference reports consistently reveal, the industry tends to request extensions of three to five years to "prepare" whenever new regulations are introduced. In reality, of course, this preparation time is a strategy to delay and weaken public health legislation. How did the Netherlands manage to push through such a significant regulatory change without giving the industry that window?

Pieter Rijswijk: In late 2021, we sent a letter to importers informing them that nicotine pouches were classified as food and no longer allowed. They had to find another destination or destroy them. When the new Tobacco Act legislation was introduced, the Ministry usually gives a transition period of six months to a year.

It's interesting. In the Republic of Moldova, the industry has managed to negotiate extensions of several years for certain measures, like flavor bans. The Dutch experience shows it doesn't have to take that long.

Pieter Rijswijk: It's also worth keeping in mind that by the time legislation is officially published, the industry has already been aware for some time that it was being developed. They have a much longer window than it might appear to consider their next steps before the law actually takes effect.

The 2025 Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index ranks the Netherlands 4th out of 100 countries worldwide — one of the best performances globally. Yet the index also shows that most countries still struggle significantly with industry interference in public health policy. From your position within the enforcement agency, what would you say are the key factors that have allowed the Netherlands to maintain such a strong level of protection against industry influence?

Pieter Rijswijk: Well, we take Article 5.3 of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control very seriously. There is a dedicated website for government organizations outlining how to handle any contact with the tobacco industry. If I respond to a technical question by email, for example, I register that interaction online. All agencies are required to comply with this transparency framework.

Photo: Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control

The Republic of Moldova is one of the few countries in Europe that has managed to ban nicotine pouches, though not without facing serious pushback and interference from the industry. Based on the Dutch experience, what would be your key advice for countries that are just beginning this process?

The first thing I would say is: make sure there is an organization in place that is actually capable of enforcing the legislation, and that it has the resources to do so effectively. Enforcement without capacity is just legislation on paper. Beyond that, monitor your compliance levels consistently and don't assume the work is done once the law passes. In the Netherlands, it took eight years to make the hospitality sector entirely smoke-free — and even now, with compliance above 90%, we still conduct monitoring every few years to make sure those gains hold.

You mentioned that you were already monitoring nicotine pouches before they became widely popular. Are you doing similar forward-looking assessments for what might come next?

Pieter Rijswijk: Well, we are not magicians, but we do have what we call a "product monitor." We evaluate all kinds of nicotine-related products currently in development to assess whether they are likely to be attractive to young people. We monitor the internet for new products emerging globally and discuss internally whether they could become a problem in our country.

I would like to add one more thing, because it's very important: having a strong network makes all the difference. I actively encourage schools, teachers, and parents - if you see something concerning, reach out to us. We stay in close contact with NGOs, research institutes, and addiction specialists. Having the eyes and ears of all these people in society means we often get early signals about things we might not have noticed on our own.

Photo: ECToH 2026

Thank you so much for your time and for sharing the Dutch experience so openly. I hope it proves useful for other countries that face the same challenges!

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