Considerate Pouchers is touring Europe with harm reduction as its message. At the same time, several countries, with the support of the European Commission, want to see tougher measures to reduce harm reduction opportunities in the nicotine market.
"It is ironic that the President of the EU is advocating the importance of preventing misleading health messages in the EU while doing so at the top level of harm minimisation for nicotine users" says Juan Rafael Taborcía, Considerate pouchers.
While EU President Ursula von der Leyen emphasised the importance of countering disinformation and myths about health before the EU Parliament, a group of snus users stood outside the French Parliament and noted that the message had not reached the French government. At least not in terms of the harm caused by different forms of nicotine use.
Animals and young children in the debate
Following the European Commission's silence on the issue, the French government finally decided to classify nicotine pouches, the tobacco-free variant of snus that can actually be sold outside Swedish borders, as a poison. Nicotine pouches will be totally banned from sell but also hold in France. Judging by the debate and the government's chosen investigators, the mere presence of nicotine pouches on the market threatens to kill everything from animals to small children.
More and more French snus users
The truth is that the number of cases of potential poisoning due to suspected consumption of nicotine pouches has increased in France since the products started to grow in popularity. From zero to more in a few years - or "a sharp increase" as the media put it. At the same time, the same increase in incidents suggests that significantly more French people have picked up the Swedish product. And many French people are now using nicotine pouches, and even e-cigarettes, to quit smoking.
"Many of the people we speak to in Paris are absolutely appalled by the French government's decision. Many did not know it was going to happen and cannot understand the logic behind a total ban." says Juan Rafael Taborcía, spokesperson for the organisation Considerate Pouchers, a user-driven association that lobbies for harm reduction in the nicotine market.
Visited Stockholm for inspiration
On the same day that the cold shower from the French government watered the streets of Paris, Conciderate Pouchers had set up their banners and coffee tables outside the Parliament. The action was part of a tour across Europe, aimed at gathering voices from the street and providing a consumer perspective on the nicotine issue. Just a few days earlier, they stood on Mynttorget outside Rosenbad (the Swedish Parliament, for those who don't know) and did the same thing.
"For us, it is very important that consumers have their voices heard. I myself have quit smoking with the help of nicotine pouches and my commitment is based on that experience. We were in Sweden to 'go to the source', so to speak, and meet non-smokers who want to share their experiences and how they feel about the debate around nicotine pouches. It was inspiring. We often highlight Sweden as an exemplary country when it comes to harm reduction. You don't smoke anymore, unlike in other EU countries," said Juan Rafael Taborcía as we spoke over a shaky Whatsapp line.
Low smoking rates in Sweden
Sweden was one of several countries that protested against French plans to ban nicotine pouches altogether. But this is obviously a sensitive issue. In Sweden, oral nicotine use has long since replaced smoking in many groups. The proportion of smokers is the lowest in the EU (almost 5%). At the same time, there is a bitter dispute about what, who or what measures are actually behind what has happened in the Swedish nicotine market.
Tobacco companies and anti-tobacco
On one side is the state-based anti-tobacco movement, which lobbies for smoke-free spaces, high taxes and restrictions on the marketing of nicotine products.
On the other side are tobacco companies, along with independent producers of e-cigarettes and other smokeless nicotine, who have used some pretty bold marketing and financial incentives to attract enough retailers to market smokeless products to both smokers (and potential smokers).
"Deal with smoking pragmatically"
Whatever the reason, cigarette sales have fallen to a fraction of what they once were while sales of nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes have soared.
"The Swedish experience shows us what happens when you deal with smoking problems pragmatically. Regulation instead of prohibition. Choice instead of punishment. This is what both legislators in Brussels and Paris need to learn from." says Juan Rafael Taborcía to Vejpkollen.
Aiming for Brussels meeting
Juan Rafael Taborcía and Conciderate Pouchers continue their tour through the EU. Via Berlin, Warsaw and Prague to Brussels. The testimonies collected from users on the street will then be presented to decision-makers in the EU apparatus.
"Given that there is a huge lack of knowledge about harm reduction and that the message that senior EU policy makers are spreading about nicotine pouches is at best grossly misleading, we hope that the campaign will at least make our politicians act more wisely", Juan Rafael Taborcía told Vejpkollen.
