Why Finland's Proposed 16.6 mg Nicotine Cap Is Proving Controversial

Nathan Chilcott

Pro Tips

As of January 2025, Finland is debating about updating their nicotine pouch regulations. Specifically, they are considering placing a limit on all nicotine pouches of 16.6 mg per gram. In reality, this means a standard 0.7 gram pouch would contain just 12 mg of nicotine.

Why Finland Thinks This Is A Good Idea

The Finnish government is worried about the health implications of high nicotine content in pouches. The strongest nicotine pouches have close to 50 mg/g: they aren’t for use by the faint-hearted.

Until 2023, Finland allowed nicotine pouches to be sold in pharmacies. They were classified as medicinal products. Since then, they have been reclassified as tobacco products and can now be bought and sold in almost any store.

It’s believed that the proposed nicotine cap will help in several ways.

Improve public health as consumers would no longer be exposed to very high levels of nicotine, which could be dangerous, especially for those who haven’t built up a tolerance for nicotine.

Simplified regulations across Scandinavia would make it easier for manufacturers to comply and create products suitable for all marketplaces.

By setting limits on nicotine content, it would be harder for people to benefit by ordering from other Scandinavian countries. This should reduce the amount of nicotine pouch smuggling between countries.

"Nothing is straightforward, and there are many reasons why the proposed cap is not a good idea.”

Problems Created By The Proposed Cap

Limiting Finland's nicotine pouch strength means consumers are deprived of the ability to purchase goods on a free market. It can be argued that this is the start of a slippery slope where average people are no longer able to make decisions about their own lifestyles.

Perhaps more concerning is how this cap will drive black market sales. In theory, it prevents access to strong nicotine pouches. In practice, people will go elsewhere to get what they want.

It’s notoriously difficult to police the black market. The legislation will force those needing stronger pouches to deal with less reputable individuals. This increases the risk of poor-quality products and the associated health risks.

The Finnish government may be hoping to save money and improve health. The truth may be that this cap creates additional spending to deal with health issues and policing the new regulations.

Finally, limiting pouch strength is likely to make it harder for heavy smokers to quit. Many are using nicotine pouches to quit smoking, but they need a comparable level of nicotine.

A cap may make this impossible, as heavy smokers won’t find anything strong enough to satisfy their craving.

Summing Up

In principle, the cap is a good idea. Unfortunately, in reality, it is likely to create more problems than it solves. It may be time for the Finish government to look at other options, such as identifying and helping those who need high nicotine content.

The eyes of the world are on Finland, the success or failure of their proposed cap will help other countries decide their own nicotine pouch regulations.