Lisbon, Oct. 6, 2026 (Lusa) - Regulations on nicotine pouches are due to be debated in the Portuguese parliament on Wednesday – an issue that divides experts, some of whom see them as a stepping stone to giving up smoking whilst others view them as a gateway to smoking, warning that the permitted concentrations exceed those found in medication.
Speaking to Lusa, pulmonologist Daniel Coutinho, from the Portuguese Society of Pulmonology's working group on smoking, says that the ideal solution would be to ban them, recognises that it is important to close the «legal loophole», but warns that the permitted nicotine concentrations are much higher than those in smoking-cessation tablets or gum.
«The primary need would be to prevent yet another new nicotine product from entering the market, given that this is a market which is by no means short of alternatives – quite the contrary,» laments Daniel Coutinho, who says the Government's strategy did not involve a ban «because there is always the possibility of further tax revenue».
Saying that the current situation «is the worst possible», as these products are on the market and are sold «as if they were a food supplement», he regrets that the possibility of products containing mint or menthol has also been allowed, rather than completely banning flavours, which are more appealing.
«It seems like a brilliant move by the ‘players' who are keen to put this sort of product on the market, because without any flavour at all or with a neutral flavour, they would be very unappealing,» he says.
This appeal of flavours is recognised by some health professionals who signed one of the submissions received by the legislative body during the public consultation, including the former Secretary of State for Health, António Lacerda Sales, who view nicotine pouches as a lower-risk alternative to traditional cigarettes.
«By making the product unattractive or unavailable to adult smokers, the measure may reduce the likelihood of smokers switching from cigarettes to smoke-free alternatives,» write these professionals, who argue that, before adopting measures with a potentially prohibitive effect, the consequences for public health, adult consumers, competition, small businesses, tax revenue and illicit trade must be assessed.
They point out that the 2026 state budget created a specific tax category for nicotine pouches and that the product is on the market and subject to tax.
They therefore believe that if the Government were now to put forward a proposal to remove the product from the market, this would mean that the State was adopting two contradictory positions – deciding to tax something it would subsequently ban – which they consider inconsistent from a public policy perspective.
They also believe that regulation – the approach taken by the European Union – should be based on three pillars: a ban on sales to under-18s and on practices that make the product appealing to minors, as well as the provision of clear information to adult consumers, including criteria for labelling, health warnings and maximum nicotine levels.
As for the fact that they could serve as an alternative to traditional cigarettes, Daniel Coutinho points out that «the marketing is not being targeted at this section of the population [smokers]».
Over the summer, nicotine pouches entered the public debate following a complaint about the advertising of these products at music festivals.
«I speak to many smokers and, up until then, none of them knew that these [nicotine pouches] existed,» says the expert, adding: «The sponsorship of summer festivals aimed at young people, the attractive packaging available in stationery shops and near schools, in a completely unregulated consumer market – I think it's quite clear who the ‘target' is.» He also highlights the permitted nicotine concentration in these pouches (up to 12 mg), which he considers excessive, and warns against arguments that seek to confuse this nicotine with that used for smoking cessation.
«There is, deliberately on the part of the industry,» an almost deliberate attempt to confuse. «In the practice of smoking cessation counselling, we use nicotine replacement therapies, prescribing pharmacological nicotine, which is entirely synthetic in origin and not derived from tobacco,» he explained, emphasising that «they are completely different products».
He also points out that the permitted dosages for this medication have been scientifically studied, adding that the maximum allowed is 4 mg per lozenge or gum and 21 mg in transdermal systems (patches), which release the substance over a 24-hour period.
In fact – he adds – nicotine pouches are «a product with a relatively rapid and extremely high dosage and absorption rate». By comparison, he says that nicotine concentrations per cigarette vary between 2.4 and 2.8.
«Allowing 12 mg of nicotine in pouches is unnecessary and scandalous,» states Coutinho, adding that the Government's bill is «an attempt to minimise the damage caused by the market, which is a Wild West, whilst allowing it to remain a semi-Wild West».
On Wednesday, parliament will debate the draft bill authorising the Government to adopt the legal framework governing the manufacture, import, distribution, placing on the market, marketing, labelling, advertising, taxation, supervision and penalties relating to nicotine pouches.
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