Luxembourg’s War on Common Sense: A Nicotine Cap Nobody Asked For

So here’s the story: Luxembourg — a tiny country with very few smokers but apparently a lot of free time — has decided to pick a fight with one of the most promising harm reduction tools in modern public health: nicotine pouches.

Their draft bill, submitted to the EU, proposes a nicotine cap of 0.048 mg per pouch.

Yes, you read that right. Not 4.8. Not even 0.5. Zero-point-zero-four-eight.

That’s not even enough to take the edge off a craving — unless you’re a hamster. Anyone who’s ever actually used a pouch knows that level of nicotine does nothing. It’s a placebo, not a policy.

That’s not a regulation. That’s a polite way of saying, “We’d rather you went back to smoking.”

Now you might be wondering: why this number? Is there a study? A scientific rationale? Any data at all?

There isn’t.

And the EU noticed. Greece called the cap “disproportionate”. Sweden — the only country in Europe that’s virtually smoke-free thanks to pouches and Snus — warned the measure would wipe out the entire market. And even the European Commission raised legal concerns, reminding Luxembourg that graphic health warnings don’t even apply to these products under EU law.

But the real question is: why is this happening at all?

Nicotine pouches are significantly less harmful. They don’t burn. They don’t create smoke. They don’t stink up your clothes or affect the people around you. They’re discreet, clean, and — for millions of smokers — they work.

So what’s the threat?

Ironically, the threat, apparently, is that people might choose them instead of lighting up. The threat is that adults could actually quit smoking and be healthier.

At Considerate Pouchers, we believe that if a product doesn’t harm others, helps people quit smoking, and has a lower risk profile, then governments should get out of the way and let people choose safer alternatives.

The only logical explanation is that Luxembourg’s proposal isn’t about health. It’s about optics. It’s about being seen as “tough” on nicotine — even if it means pushing people back to smoking.

Let’s call this what it is: an excessive cap dressed up as regulation on something that helps people quit smoking, and a direct attack on innovation, choice, and personal responsibility.

We urge lawmakers in Luxembourg — and across the EU — to reject fear-based policies, and instead follow the facts.

Because in the fight against smoking, nicotine pouches aren’t the enemy.

They’re the solution.