From the betel-stained smiles of Southeast Asia to Scandinavia’s sleek pouch packaging, the rise of oral nicotine is not a one-size-fits-all story. Regional traditions, risk perceptions, and regulatory choices are shaping the path of harm reduction around the world, highlighting both promise and pitfalls. Southeast Asia: Tradition Meets Resistance Southeast Asia is home to more…
By Joseph Magero Kenya is on the brink of a pivotal decision in its tobacco control journey. The Tobacco Control (Amendment) Bill 2024, now under review by the Senate, is poised to introduce long-overdue regulation of new nicotine products, specifically nicotine pouches, e-cigarettes, and other smokeless alternatives that have until now existed in legal limbo.…
India’s tobacco landscape is uniquely complex and deeply rooted in social, regional, and cultural practices. This narrative review examines how tradition, yes, but also inequality and economic factors, shape tobacco use, and what that means for policy. Deep Roots: Tobacco as Tradition and Livelihood Tobacco in India isn’t new, it’s woven into rituals, social ceremonies,…
As the European Commission pushes forward on its most ambitious tobacco tax reform in over a decade, Portugal has stepped up as a strong opponent to key elements of the proposal. The sweeping reform, designed to align with the EU’s Beating Cancer Plan and introduce minimum tax levels on novel nicotine products like vapes and…
When nicotine pouches and vapes are confined to pharmacy sales, governments may intend to protect youth, but the effects can limit access, fuel illicit markets, and undermine harm reduction goals. Canada: Pharmacists Push Back on Expanding Retail Access In late July 2025, a national association of Canadian pharmacists firmly rejected proposals to expand nicotine pouch…
As global tobacco control architecture evolves, there’s growing concern that the WHO is reading its own treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), too narrowly. Ironically, while the FCTC explicitly includes harm reduction strategies in its mandate, WHO has sometimes dismissed reduced-risk nicotine products as part of industry rhetoric to be disregarded. This contradiction…
A shift from prohibition to regulation may soon reshape the French nicotine landscape. France is at a pivotal moment in determining the future of nicotine pouches, a tobacco-free oral product increasingly used by adult smokers as a lower-risk alternative to cigarettes. In 2024, the French government took a prohibitionist stance, notifying a draft decree that…
In response to: “Nicotine Pouch Poisonings Spike in Young Children“ A recent study published in Pediatrics has revealed a troubling rise in child nicotine poisonings in the U.S.—more than 134,000 cases involving children under 6 were reported to poison control centers between 2010 and 2023. Since 2020, exposures linked to nicotine pouches in particular have…
The European Commission’s approval of the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework signals a seismic shift in how tobacco taxation will function across the European Union. While touted as a modernization of fiscal policy, the measures raise critical questions about the future of harm reduction and whether safer alternatives to smoking will remain accessible and incentivized. 🔍…
A leaked draft of the European Commission’s proposed Tobacco Tax Directive has sent shockwaves across public health and policy communities. Among its most controversial measures: an unprecedented tax hike on nicotine pouches—Sweden’s leading tool in its harm reduction strategy. The plan suggests increasing the tax on pouches in Sweden by over 650%, from 207 SEK/kg…