Poland Aims to Regulate Nicotine Pouches, Filling Regulatory Gap

Key points:

1.Nicotine pouches entered the Polish market in 2020 and have lacked regulation for the past five years, allowing minors to legally purchase them.

2.The latest draft legislation proposes setting a limit on nicotine concentration, requiring health warnings on packaging, and banning online and vending machine sales.

3.The Ministry of Finance estimates that the market for nicotine pouches will rapidly expand, and anticipates that within three years it could generate 170 million Zloty (approximately 45 million USD) in tax revenue for the country.

4.The legislation has passed the EU technical notification period, but experts are worried that political maneuvering may continue to delay the implementation of the regulation.

According to Biznes.Newseria's report on May 7th, the Polish Legal Development Forum, Forum Prawo dla Rozwoju, has called for urgent legislation to regulate the nicotine pouch market. The organization pointed out that since the product entered the Polish market in 2020, it has been operating for five years without effective regulation, posing a significant threat to public health. The Forum emphasized the need to establish a comprehensive set of regulations covering factors such as nicotine content limits, sales channel management, and packaging labeling responsibilities, with a particular focus on restricting youth access.

According to the organization's project director Konrad Hennig, despite the think tank proposing regulatory suggestions early in the product's market release, such as imposing a consumption tax, prohibiting minors from purchasing, and setting a limit on the amount of nicotine in each pack, successive governments have not responded. This has resulted in nicotine pouches being legally available for purchase in physical stores, online, and from vending machines, with no age verification or quantity restrictions. He stated that this situation is "not only unusual but also surprising".

Due to the absence of tobacco components and a different usage method from combustible tobacco, nicotine pouches are not currently covered by the Tobacco and Tobacco Substitute Harm Prevention Act, nor are they included in e-cigarette regulations. Therefore, there are no mandatory standards in the current legal system regulating their nicotine content, ingredients, or advertising practices. Currently, the Polish Parliament is advancing the review of a new bill that proposes to regulate nicotine pouches. The relevant draft has completed the EU technical legislative notification process, which lasts for three months, during which the European Commission did not raise any substantial objections. According to the legislative plan, on May 7th, the Parliamentary Health Committee will officially review the case. If approved, the regulation will be submitted to the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate, and signed by the President.

The main contents of the draft include:

·Selling nicotine pouches to individuals under the age of 18 is prohibited; 

·Online and automatic sales of nicotine pouches are also prohibited; 

·Packaging must include health warnings; 

·The nicotine content in a single pouch is limited to no more than 20mg/g; 

·The addition of any known carcinogenic substances is prohibited.

Currently, the highest nicotine content in single packs on the market can reach up to 50 milligrams, far exceeding traditional cigarettes, raising widespread concerns among experts about the risk of misuse.

Despite clear regulations, Henrich expressed concerns about the progress of the bill. He pointed out that even after the EU technical notification is completed, there may still be a situation where members propose amendments, thereby delaying the implementation of the regulation. He believes that such political maneuvering is unnecessary, stating that "the issue has been pending for five years and should not be further delayed," and that "we should first pass the basic version and then optimize it in the future.

According to data from the Polish Ministry of Finance, in October 2024, the parliament approved the implementation of a consumption tax on nicotine pouches, with an estimated revenue of 170 million zloty (approximately 45 million USD) for the country within three years. Henrich criticized the move, stating that there is a conflict between financial objectives and public health goals. He pointed out that although the Ministry of Health claims to support the World Health Organization's "comprehensive tobacco control" policy, in practice, different products are subject to different standards. He called for measures to avoid "tax loopholes" and "accessibility gaps," advocating for all nicotine-containing products to be included in a unified regulatory system to prevent the trend of peripheralizing the management of recreational consumer goods.