French nicotine pouch ban is ‘attack on Swedish way of life’, minister says

{"text":[[{"start":10.6,"text":"A Swedish minister has accused France of mounting “an attack on the Swedish way of living” with its ban on nicotine pouches, setting aflame a single market fight over how governments should regulate smoke-free alternatives to tobacco. "}],[{"start":23.9,"text":"France last month implemented one of Europe’s strictest bans on the pouches, a flavoured sachet that users tuck under their lip to release nicotine. "}],[{"start":33.099999999999994,"text":"France’s decree goes beyond other EU countries’ prohibitions by banning not just sales but import, possession and use of the pouches. A Swede carrying a tin of pouches legally bought at home could face French penalties of up to five years in prison and a €375,000 fine. "}],[{"start":51.949999999999996,"text":"“It is as if we would prohibit French baguettes or French wine in Sweden,” Swedish trade minister Benjamin Dousa told the FT. “It is absurd.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":60.3,"text":"Sweden is one of seven countries, including Italy and Greece, to raise formal concerns that the ban could be a breach of EU law and create barriers to the single market. “From our perspective, it is not in line with the single market,” Dousa said. "}],[{"start":70.6,"text":"Nicotine pouches were developed in Sweden in the 2010s as a tobacco-free cousin of snus, the powdered tobacco sachet used in Scandinavia for centuries. Once a Nordic niche, they have attracted global attention as tobacco companies bet they can become a profitable alternative to cigarettes. "}],[{"start":88.3,"text":"“In Sweden, we have had a relationship with snus since the 1600s,” Dousa said. “So this is an attack on the Swedish way of living.”"}],[{"start":97.05,"text":"The diplomatic firestorm has torn into the European parliament’s monthly sessions in Strasbourg. Five Swedish Social Democrat MEPs have threatened to stop going to the French city, writing that France’s decree “strikes at the heart of the Union’s internal market” in a letter to the Parliament’s president, Roberta Metsola."}],[{"start":115.25,"text":"It had “direct consequences for the free movement of persons”, they argued, because EU citizens risked sanctions when travelling in France."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":124.3,"text":"When Sweden joined the EU in 1995, it secured an exemption from the bloc’s ban on the sale of oral tobacco, allowing the product to remain legal on the Swedish market. "}],[{"start":136.65,"text":"But nicotine pouches, which do not contain tobacco, are not covered by EU tobacco rules, leaving member states to set their own restrictions before Brussels updates its framework. The bloc is currently reviewing its rules for the first time since 2014. The last review was subject to some of the heaviest lobbying ever seen in Brussels, diplomats say. "}],[{"start":158.05,"text":"Other countries have taken diverging approaches, with Belgium and the Netherlands banning sales while Finland has opted for tighter marketing regulation, among other measures. France goes further by targeting the whole chain. "}],[{"start":172.10000000000002,"text":"One European diplomat said France’s position was “ironic”, given its history of championing single-market rules. "}],[{"start":179.65000000000003,"text":"Parts of the French ban, passed by decree last September, have been temporarily suspended by the Conseil d’Etat, France’s highest administrative court, with regard to the production and exports of the pouches, after a local producer challenged the measure. "}],[{"start":195.35000000000002,"text":"The ban on possessing and selling the pouches still stands. French campaigners, however, say they are more concerned by production."}],[{"start":202.90000000000003,"text":"“We’re not focused on consumers as much as on producers. It’s the commercialisation of the pouches that’s of real interest,” said François Topart of anti-smoking association CNTC."}],[{"start":214.50000000000003,"text":"In practice, the penalties applied may not be as harsh as announced. "}],[{"start":220.20000000000002,"text":"Philip Morris International’s Europe boss Massimo Andolina said a new EU tobacco directive was necessary because the market had changed significantly since the current rules were drawn up. "}],[{"start":231.95000000000002,"text":"“We find ourselves in this senseless situation where nobody is talking about regulating or banning cigarettes anymore, but everyone is talking about banning smoke-free products,” he told the FT. "}],[{"start":243.8,"text":"The European Commission and French health ministry did not respond to requests for comment. "}],[{"start":249.20000000000002,"text":"Data visualisation by Clara Murray"}],[{"start":259.45000000000005,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779689867_5971.mp3"}