Published 2025-03-26
Leaked: EU Plans Massive Tax Hike on Nicotine Pouches
A secret document seen by the team at Haypp reveals the EU's plans to drastically increase the tax on nicotine pouches, or ‘white snus’ as it is sometimes called.
The tax increase could be over 500%, and it may be introduced as soon as in the next few months.
Thankfully, since Brexit, the UK is not subject to EU laws and is not obliged to introduce this tax hike.
Industry Experts Criticise the Proposed Tax Hike
"This is absurd. The EU is trying to introduce massive taxes on an alternative nicotine product that is less harmful than cigarettes. For example, as recently as last year, Sweden's politicians decided to lower taxes on nicotine pouches and snus and raise it on cigarettes, but this is now being completely overturned by the EU. Sweden's tobacco policy has resulted in the country having the lowest proportion of smokers in Europe. The proposed EU tax hikes will undermine Sweden’s successful anti-smoking policy," says Markus Lindblad, Head of External Affairs at Haypp.
How Much Will Prices Increase?
Today, the tax rate applied to nicotine pouches is just over EUR 19/kg, but according to the leaked document, it will be increased to over EUR 125/kg.
The tax increase means that the price of nicotine pouches in the EU will rocket by over 60 percent.
The information comes from a secret EU document that Haypp has seen.
The document is a negotiated proposal for an update of the common EU regulations for taxes on tobacco and nicotine products. Haypp has chosen to publish the document in its entirety on its Swedish website.
The secret EU document can be found here.
Background to the Proposal
The background to the leaked document is the EU's ongoing work on two pieces of legislation: the revised Tobacco Products Directive (TPD3) and the Tobacco Excise Directive (TED). Both aim to harmonise the regulation of nicotine products within the Union.
Several member states, including Finland, the Netherlands, and France, have long pushed for stricter regulation of nicotine pouches. The countries have introduced national bans and restrictions and now want to see similar measures at the EU level.
"The fact that countries such as the Netherlands and Finland want to export their zero tolerance to the rest of Europe is a direct threat to both consumer choice and public health in the EU. Thankfully, pouch users in the UK do not need to worry about these shock taxes, as they are no longer subject to EU laws, but they should be aware of how some governments in Europe are pushing their nanny state agendas,"
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