Alternative to cigarettes
Nicotine bags in free sale? Companies stir advertising drum
They are small, made of cellulose and they taste like mint, berries or cocktails. We are talking about nicotine bags that are increasingly consumed in Germany. Despite the ban on sales in shops.
Germany’s tobacco industry penetrates the approval of nicotine bags, which are presented as less harmful alternative to cigarettes. “In many other EU countries, they are legally to be bought, but Germany does not allow this-so that the federal government does not use tax revenue and the control of the products,” said the Managing Director External Affairs from Philip Morris Germany, Torsten Albig, the dpa in Berlin.
The former SPD politician hopes that the new federal government legalizes the sale of the “Pouches” (English for bags) in shops. “Adult smokers can help you get away from the cigarette.” Health researchers and politicians, on the other hand, warn of the dangers of the Pouches, also with a view to young people.
The small bags are pushed under the upper lip so that the body absorbs nicotine. They do not contain tobacco, but aromas – they taste like menthol, cinnamon or fruits. The US authority FDA recently approved the marketing of certain nicotine bag products in the United States. The manufacturers understand this decision as a tailwind.
The tobacco industry is changing, the large corporations gradually want to save the cigarette and their business model with smoke -free products in the future, but billions have been invested. The products include e-cigarettes, tobacco heaters and nicotine bags. It goes up steeply: In 2024, Philip Morris sold 644 million can nicotine bags, 53 percent more than 2023. The group’s nicotine bag mark is called cyn.
Sales ban in shops
The situation in Germany is strange: the Pouches are, unlike the also tobacco-free e-cigarettes, do not classify as a tobacco-like product, but as food. Because food is not allowed to contain nicotine, they may not be sold in shops. However, they can be ordered on the Internet – for example from Sweden. “This is absurd: a German dealer must not sell it, but the consumer can have it sent to him from the EU,” says lobbyist Albig. In addition, many Kioske black market products. “There are serious faults on the market – and the federal government does nothing to end it.”
Albig admits that the products have risks. “Nicotine is addictive. But if you smoke, it is a very suitable alternative to avoid the damage to smoking.” The companies are primarily concerned with adult smokers.
The Minister of Consumer Protection of the federal states spoke in favor of a national pouches regulation in tobacco law. That was already in 2021, it was not implemented. And today? The Federal Ministry of Nutrition refers to Brussels. An EU-unit procedure and regulation is “urgently needed,” says a ministry spokesman.
Suitable means of lowering smoking quota?
In addition to Philip Morris, other tobacco companies also rely on nicotine bags. Japan Tobacco International (JTI, “Camel”) reports on his brand Nordic Spirit about strong growth in markets such as Great Britain, Sweden and Switzerland. Nicotine consumers were looking for alternatives to smoking, says a company spokeswoman. “Nicotine bags are not risk -free, but are generally considered less harmful to adult smokers than cigarettes.”
“Lucky Strike” provider British American Tobacco (BAT) relies on his Pouches brand Velo, which is sold in states such as Austria, Switzerland, Denmark and Poland. Finally, the amount sold rose by half. Regulation of the products in Germany is “essential if we want to successfully lower the smoking rates,” says a BAT spokeswoman. “We think it is important that tobacco-free nicotine pouches are also available in Germany.”
Rejection by health experts and politicians
The demands of the corporations are criticized. It is hypocritical that the companies advertise the products as a risk -reduced alternative to smoking, says Katrin Schaller from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). “The tobacco industry supposedly wants to solve a problem here that she has created and maintains with the sale of cigarettes – that’s why there are tens of thousands of cancer per year.”
But nicotine bags can help you get out of smoking? “Nicotine bags are not approved weaning products such as nicotine chewing gums or nicotine plasters that have undergone a medical process and have demonstrated their effectiveness,” says the biologist. “Nicotine bags are designed lifestyle products that particularly appeal to young people and bring their consumers into dependency.”
You don’t know anything about the exact harmfulness of the Pouches because there are no long -term studies. “Nicotine is a nerve poison that can lead to nausea and vomiting and in a higher dose of cramp and shortness of breath. It is also suspected to promote the growth of tumors.”
The Green member of the Bundestag Linda Heitmann also warns: Nicotine bags should not “be trivialized as a supposed blessing of the tobacco industry for public health”. Nicotine has a high potential for dependency, according to the Greens. “If you smoke early in life, you will be easier later – this applies to nicotine, whether smoked, evaporated, evaporated or packed under the lip.”
The CDU member of the Bundestag Tino Sorge emphasizes that every addictive substance is harmful. “Especially among young people and pregnant women, serious dangers threaten the amount of nicotine, which can even be higher than with cigarettes.” There is concern against sales approval in shops. “It would be wrong to facilitate access in this country without need.”
The Federal Lucky Commissioner Burkhard Blienert (SPD), on the other hand, is also: “I see the great danger that these products would make thousands of young people in a very short time.”
dpa
Source: Stern
