Smoke Free Sweden: Spain’s Nicotine Pouch Ban Will Deprive Women of Best Tool to Quit Smoking

MADRID--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On International Women’s Day (March 8), Spanish policymakers are being warned that a proposed ban on oral nicotine pouches will deny women access to an innovation linked to one of the world’s sharpest declines in female smoking.

The warning accompanies the release of Empowerment in a Pouch, a report documenting how access to tobacco-free nicotine pouches has accelerated Sweden’s progress towards becoming smoke-free, particularly among women.

“Sweden’s experience shows what happens when women are given realistic alternatives to smoking,” said Professor Marewa Glover, behavioural scientist and co-author. “When safer options are accessible, women quit at scale. When they are regulated as if they were cigarettes, that opportunity is reduced.”

Since nicotine pouches became available in Sweden in 2016:

• Women’s smoking rates have fallen by nearly 50%, now among the lowest globally.
• Women’s quit-smoking rates increased around threefold, putting Sweden on track to become the first smoke-free country (adult daily smoking below 5%).
• Female smoking is declining six times faster in Sweden than elsewhere in Europe, according to WHO statistics.

These findings are highly relevant for Spain, where smoking remains a major public health burden. Adult smoking stands at around 25.8%, including 22.6% of women, and female lung cancer mortality is projected to continue rising through 2026, contrary to the declining trend in the rest of Europe.

A major new survey shows nicotine pouches are already delivering measurable harm-reduction outcomes in Spain. Among Spanish pouch users, 68% report smoking fewer cigarettes or quitting entirely since switching, with 6% having stopped smoking altogether.

The government’s proposed regulations would effectively ban nicotine pouches, removing a smoke-free alternative at a time when smoking still causes an estimated 49,510 deaths annually in Spain.

“If Spain bans nicotine pouches it will close the door on one of the most effective tools for helping women quit,” said Dr Delon Human, co-author and former secretary-general of the World Medical Association. “Banning lower-risk alternatives does not eliminate nicotine use and entrenches cigarette smoking, with predictable consequences for women’s health.”

Nicotine pouches contain no tobacco and involve no combustion. Used under the lip, they deliver pharmaceutical-grade nicotine without smoke or vapour. Research participants rated them the most effective quitting aid, outperforming vapes and traditional nicotine replacement therapies.