Nicotine pouches were banned in Belgium a year ago but are still widely available for sale in local shops, new figures reveal.
Government data shows that this year, 318 out of 1,781 retailers checked by the authorities did not comply with the ban. This resulted in 3,273 packets being seized.
“[Sellers] are very inventive in finding ways to bypass legislation,” Annelies Wynant, spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, said. “They are very creative in hiding the products: in washing machines, chip boxes, ovens, etc.,”
Nicotine pouches are small bags that contain flavouring and a nicotine powder. They are placed between a person’s gum and lips, allowing the nicotine to be absorbed into the body.
The products were banned in Belgium in October 2023, as a part of a series of measures to achieve a ‘smoke-free’ generation. Despite not containing tobacco, outgoing Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke argued at the time that pouches can be a "stepping stone" to smoking.
Slipping through regulatory gaps
However, the ban appears to have had little effect on sales as local and online shops find ways to slip through regulatory gaps.
In April, Vandenbroucke said stricter action would be taken against shops that continue to sell the pouches. He said mystery shoppers would be actively used to identify and sanction violations. However, these warnings appear to have fallen on deaf ears.
A recent investigation by The Brussels Times newspaper found that one corner shop had six different flavoured pouches for sale.
“Every shop has them, they just put them in there,” the shopkeeper told a reporter, while casually pointing to a bottom shelf on a wooden cabinet close to the counter.
Online sales a significant hurdle
Online sellers have also been a major hurdle to the ban. Wynant said: “We have an e-commerce service, but for the moment they focus on online sale of e-cigarettes and online advertisement for e-cigarettes and not yet on nicotine pouches.”
She admitted that online sales would be more effectively tackled through police investigations rather than by the Ministry of Health, which “lacks the necessary expertise and resources to handle this effectively.”
While the nicotine ban relates to food product laws, putting it under the Ministry of Health’s jurisdiction, the police do also carry out compliance checks.
Illegal sales of nicotine pouches can result in fines ranging between €208 and €120,000, according to Wyant, although she admitted they can be difficult to enforce.
She said a successful ban requires a greater understanding of the sector as well as sharing information and insights about where the pouches tend to be hidden.
However, while the challenges of the "ever-changing" nicotine market remain, Wynant insisted that proposed bans of the pouches in neighbouring countries, including France and the Netherlands, should make it easier to implement the ban in Belgium.
In October, Denmark announced it will limit the strength of nicotine pouches.
Ignoring the rules
In 2019, Belgium raised the age limit for buying tobacco products from 16 to 18, with sellers required to ask customers for their ID card if they are in any doubt over their age.
However, five years on, data shows this rule is also largely ignored. Sellers ignored the ban in as many as 782 out of 1,100 checks (71 per cent). This means a massive two-thirds of traders still sell tobacco products to minors, the newspaper Het Nieuwsblad reported.
Advocates for safer nicotine alternatives, including pouches and vapes, argue that bans simply fuel the illicit trade of those products with dangerous implications for public health.
They say regulated alternative products from recognised producers is the only viable way of both achieving the health benefits of reduced cigarette smoking and tackling the illicit trade.
