Norway Is Banning Cross-Border Online Sales of Nicotine and Tobacco Products

This ban means that if you try to order tobacco or nicotine products from an online shop in another country to be delivered to Norway, customs can stop and seize the products. Importantly, this ban does not apply to online sales within Norway.

• Norway has banned cross-border online sales of nicotine and tobacco products to restrict youth access.
• The fragmented EU regulatory landscape allows consumers to bypass national restrictions via online purchases.
• A harmonised EU-wide ban on cross-border online sales could support public health goals, secure tax revenues, and protect compliant domestic businesses.

This action was taken as part of Norway’s tobacco control policy, with a particular objective to address youth access to nicotine products. It’s a position that other European countries might soon follow.

The nicotine product market has evolved rapidly over recent years, with innovative new products such as nicotine pouches and vapes becoming an increasingly popular alternative to cigarettes. As governments have acted independently to regulate these new products, the outcome has been a disparate collection of laws and regulations pulling in different directions.

The policy objectives of different countries, and the means they use to achieve these objectives, differ considerably. For example, in some countries, such as Sweden and Finland, nicotine pouches are widely available, while others, such as Belgium and the Netherlands, have imposed total sales bans. This variation creates significant differences in the availability and prices of alternative products to citizens across different European countries.

This fragmented regulation is particularly an issue for online sales of nicotine products. Although some countries may introduce higher taxes on specific products, or limit nicotine levels, or indeed ban them entirely, these products are still just a click away from an online store in another EU state. Therefore, consumers are strongly incentivised to shop across borders. This undermines the ability of governments to implement their tobacco and public policies effectively aimed and creates unfair competition across different countries.

A good example of how this is playing out can be seen in the new EU Safe Hearts Plan. This is a major new EU strategy to tackle cardiovascular disease (CVD) — the leading cause of death and disability in the European Union — by focusing on prevention, early detection, innovation and health equity. It was published on 16 December 2025, and a central pillar is modernisation of EU tobacco control legislation.

A modernised framework for tobacco legislation has the potential to not only help reduce CVD, but it can also protect young people from accessing nicotine products. However, to do this effectively, it must be coherent across European states. With every EU country setting their own regulations on the online sales of tobacco and nicotine products, it becomes impossible to effectively deliver this important EU strategy. This is where a cross-border online sales ban could play a role.  

It must be stated that the online sales of nicotine products, while sometimes portrayed as being a potential problem for tobacco control policy, should be viewed as a solution. A well-regulated domestic online sales market can be a powerful tool for countries to achieve their governments’ tobacco and health policy goals.

For example, domestic online sales is:

• Easy to control and trace: A major advantage of online sales is that every transaction creates a digital footprint. This makes all sales easy for authorities to monitor and track.
• A powerful tool to ensure strict age-gating: Online sales make it possible to use technology to create strict barriers to underage sales.
• A way to inform and educate consumers: online sales processes can be set up to ensure that consumers are provided with accurate product information, health warnings, and ingredient lists—something that is impossible to guarantee in unregulated sales or brick and mortar stores.
• Safe and sustainable: Well-regulated digital sales can help ensure consumers access only legally authorised products that meet national standards.

The challenge for EU countries then is not domestic online sales of nicotine products, but in the lack of harmonised legislation on which nicotine products may or may not be sold within the bloc, and the variations in tax and excise duties on the products across European countries.

The absence of common rules in key areas means that European governments must be able to protect their national tobacco policy and public health strategy by other means. One effective way would be to follow Norway’s approach and ban the cross-border online sales of nicotine products within the EU.

Although the EU is founded on the principle of free cross-border trade, a cross-border online sales ban of nicotine products could be appealing for many governments.

The reasons are clear:

• National policy instruments must function: A cross-border sales ban would allow national tobacco policy instruments such as prohibitions or quality standards (e.g., nicotine strength limits) to function as intended. If a consumer can easily circumvent the laws of their own country by simply buying online from another country, the entire purpose of national policy and strategy is lost.
• It will protect against illicit trade. A well-functioning and robustly regulated domestic online market diminishes the appeal of international or black-market alternatives for consumers. These products, that may be shipped from countries outside the EU, for example, may not comply with national quality or safety standards. Consequently, diminishing the appeal of internationally shipped nicotine products will lead to safer products for consumers.
• It helps secure tax revenues: A cross-border sales ban can help ensure that tax revenues are retained in the country where consumption takes place. Losing the tax base to other EU countries or no tax being paid at all is economically unsustainable and unfair.
• We need to protect domestic businesses: Businesses that comply with national legislation, pay the necessary taxes face, and adhere to regulations must be protected from unfair competition from foreign online retailers who do not bear the same costs or adhere to national laws. A ban on cross-border online sales helps to protect compliant domestic businesses.

We could soon see other European countries follow Norway's example and push for a ban on cross-border sales in the upcoming revised Tobacco Products Directive. Cross-border sales bans would contribute to the achievement of national tobacco policy objectives within a fragmented European tobacco market, protect responsible domestic retailers, and importantly, serve as a powerful tool to prevent youth access.