Image. There is now a total ban on the use of white snus in France, but smoking and tobacco snus are permitted.
These days, Europe is being shaken by the news that France, starting April 1, 2026, will introduce a total ban on white snus (nicotine pouches). The news is dominating Swedish media: SVT is reporting on the ban on TV, Aftonbladet is writing about Swedes” concerns on location, and TV4 is posing the justified question: ”Is this an attack on the Swedish way of life?" Today it was also revealed that several Social Democratic EU parliamentarians have written protest letter to the President of the EU Commission and demands an immediate boycott of EU meetings in Strasbourg, as otherwise both politicians and officials would risk imprisonment for carrying white snus with them.
Million dollar fines and prison for damage limitation
What is colloquially known as ”the French April Fool's joke” is in reality a draconian legislative proposal. Anyone caught with a nicotine pouch in France risks not only confiscated goods but also penalties that can include hefty fines and even prison sentences of up to 5 years.
This seems completely absurd, given that 25% of the French population smokes—a rate five times higher than in Sweden. While deadly cigarettes are permitted, the alternative that is 99.9% % safer.
The Swedish Protest and France's Response
Sweden's Minister for Trade, Benjamin ”Dosa” Dousa, and the Swedish government sent a so-called “detailed opinion letter” to the EU Commission last summer to protest. In its official response to the Commission, the French government justifies the ban by, among other things, claiming that snus causes oral health problems:
”A study conducted in 2023 (Jackson et al.) concluded that prolonged regular use of oral nicotine products, such as pouches, may increase the risk of oral health problems, such as mouth pain, sores (ulcers), or receding gums.”
Science that silences arguments
The French government appears to be ignoring current research. An international study with 11 researchers and leading dentists, published in Acta Odontologica Scandinavica (2025), has evaluated Stingfree techniquewith fantastic results:
100 %: elimination of moderate to severe mucosal damage (Axéll grade 3–4).
90 % reduction in gum irritation.
Statistical significance at p=0.0002.
Furthermore, the study by R. Murkett et al. (2022) shows that the relative risk associated with tobacco-free snus is only 0.1% of the risk associated with smoking. This means that the health risk for a single smoker is equivalent to the combined risk for 1,000 users of white snus.
No more white snus on the soccer field
This also creates an absurd situation for the French national football team, Les Bleus. It is no secret that many French players use white snus to stay focused without damaging their lungs.
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA approaching, France's biggest stars now risk being surrounded by police at the training facility in Clairefontaine – not because they are suspected of doping, but for the ”crime” of choosing a nicotine pouch over a cigarette. The French players will simply have to wait to use their pouches until the plane lands in the USA, where they will once again be treated like adults with the right to harm reduction.
Do like Sweden instead
If France truly wanted to protect young people, it would be easy to ”copy-paste” the Swedish law on tobacco-free nicotine products (2022). It prohibits sales to minors and strictly regulates marketing, without banning safer nicotine alternatives for adults.
Sweden has Europe's lowest proportion of lung cancer and cardiovascular diseases, largely thanks to switching from cigarettes to snus. It's time for France to stop hunting snus users and start facilitating those who want to quit smoking instead.