“An attack on the Swedish way of life”. A ban in France generates criticism and discontent in Stockholm
A Swedish minister has accused France of launching “an attack on the Swedish way of life” by banning nicotine patches, sparking a row over how governments should regulate smokeless alternatives to tobacco, the Financial Times reports.
France last month implemented one of Europe's strictest bans on nicotine pouches, which users tuck under their upper lip.
But France's decree goes beyond the bans of other EU countries, banning not only the sale but also the import, possession and use of the sachets.
A Swede who transports a box of sachets legally bought in his country could theoretically be punished in France with up to five years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros.
“It's like banning French baguettes or French wine in Sweden,” Swedish Trade Minister Benjamin Dousa told the Financial Times.
“It's absurd,” he added.
A specific Scandinavian product
Sweden is one of seven countries, including Italy and Greece, which have expressed official concerns that the ban could breach EU law and create barriers to the single market.
Nicotine sachets were developed in Sweden in the 2010s as a tobacco-free version of snus, the powdered tobacco sachet used in Scandinavia for centuries.
Once a niche product aimed at Nordics, they have attracted global attention as tobacco companies believe they can become a profitable alternative to cigarettes.
“An attack on the Swedish way of life”
“In Sweden, we have a tradition of snus since the 17th century,” said Dousa.
“So this is an attack on the Swedish way of life,” he pointed out.
The diplomatic storm has also reached the European Parliament in Strasbourg.
Five Swedish Social Democrat MEPs have threatened to stop going to the French city, writing in a letter to Parliament President Roberta Metsola that France's decree “strikes at the heart of the Union's internal market”.
They argued that this has “direct consequences for the free movement of persons” as EU citizens risk sanctions when traveling to France.
Different restrictions
When Sweden joined the EU in 1995, it obtained an exemption from the bloc's ban on the sale of oral tobacco, allowing the product to remain legal on the Swedish market.
But nicotine packets, which do not contain tobacco, are not covered by EU tobacco rules, leaving member states to set their own restrictions before Brussels updates its legislative framework.
The bloc is currently revising its rules for the first time since 2014. The last revision was the subject of some of the most intense lobbying ever seen in Brussels, according to diplomats.
Other countries have taken different approaches: Belgium and the Netherlands have banned sales, while Finland has opted for stricter trade regulation. France went further, targeting the entire chain.
