Make France Smoke Again? Pouches Banned Starting Spring 2026

Possessing and selling nicotine pouches will soon be a crime in France.

France has made it official; they have banned nicotine pouches. The French government has been flirting with the idea of banning oral nicotine, and on September 5, 2025, despite objections from many European countries, it published this extreme new law. Beginning March 2026, nicotine pouches will be illegal, with enforcement of the new law starting on April 1 2026.

Importantly for English nicotine pouch users, the law will apply to everyone in France. If you are visiting on holiday or on business, and are caught in possession of the product, you could face hundreds of euros in fines.

This is grim news for the quarter of the French population that currently smokes cigarettes and might be interested in switching to a less harmful nicotine product.

What Will this New Law Cover?

Scope: The new law prohibits the manufacturing, importation, distribution, possession, and use of all oral products containing nicotine, except for those that are classified as medicinal products or medical devices.
Products covered: Any products containing nicotine (synthetic or natural), packaged for sale, and designed for oral use are included within the ban. This includes non-medicinal pouches, gums, lozenges, beads, pastes, strips, and liquids.
Excluded products: The ban does not apply to smokeless tobacco products such as chewing tobacco, even though they are known to be cancer-causing.

What Might Be the Impact of the New Law?

Criminalises nicotine pouch users: Banning sale and possession means people who use pouches are now open to prosecution. This can only have the effect of pushing pouch users to the black market or even back to cigarettes.
Extreme regulation compared with other nicotine products: France already regulates cigarettes and vapes. Singling out pouches for a total ban—without showing they pose a higher health risk than other legal nicotine products— is completely counterproductive. Better outcomes could be achieved by adopting risk-based policies.
France’s smoke-free goals in jeopardy. Smoking rates in France barely moved between 2020 and 2023 (-1 percentage point). Banning alternatives to cigarettes when smoking rates remain so high is not going to bring France any closer to its smoke-free goals.

What Lessons Have We Learned from Bans and Prohibitions?

Bans fuel black markets: Criminalising possession doesn’t eliminate demand; it is driven underground and across borders.
More effective options exist: Sweden achieved the EU’s lowest smoking rate through regulated access to better alternatives, not bans.
Good regulation beats prohibition. Age limits, product standards, packaging rules, and responsible marketing can protect youth while preserving regulated adult access to less harmful alternatives.