Berlin: On the Other Side of the Wall

Berlin. A city that knows walls, and what it means to tear them down.

This week, we brought the Protect Pouches European Tour here, with our coffee jetpack, cinnamon buns, and a simple message: don’t build new walls between people and the choices that save their lives.

Coffee, Cinnamon Buns, and Conversations

Right in the heart of Berlin, our coffee bike became a magnet. People stopped for coffee, grabbed cinnamon buns, and, most importantly, shared their stories. Smokers who had quit. Friends who no longer breathe second-hand smoke. Families who no longer worry about the smell of cigarettes.

Every postcard signed was a message to lawmakers: don’t confuse pouches with cigarettes, don’t ban what works.

Brussels Wants Barriers. Berliners Want Health.

While Berliners were talking to us about liberating from cigarettes, Brussels is busy drafting a Cardiovascular Health Plan that might, unbelievably, classify pouches as “risk factors.” 

That’s like banning seatbelts because they remind you of car crashes.

The science is clear:

• Pouches are smoke-free, tobacco-free, and far less harmful than cigarettes.
  
• Sweden’s model proves it: the lowest smoking in Europe (5.6%), 44% fewer tobacco deaths, and the lowest lung cancer rates in the EU.
  
• And yes, lower heart disease and stroke rates than their neighbors.
  

If the rest of Europe followed Sweden’s example, 3.5 million lives could be saved in the next decade.

Germany at a Crossroads

Here in Germany, pouches sit in a legal grey zone:

• Sales are prohibited, but  over 1.4 million people already use them.
  
• That means uncontrolled imports, no quality standards, and missed opportunities for both poucher’s health and future non-smokers.
  

Germany doesn’t need confusion or bans. It needs clear rules:

• Safe quality standards.
  
• Legal sales in shops, not in the black market.
  
• Flavours and fair consumer access are protected.
  

Berliners told us the same thing over coffee and buns: they want choice, safety, and a real chance to quit smoking.

The Only Wall That Matters

Standing in Berlin, you can’t help but remember what division looks like. People on one side of the wall, trapped. People on the other, free.

Europe faces the choice now: keep smokers trapped in unhealthy habits, or break down the wall and let adults choose significantly safer alternatives.

Our Message From Berlin

From Paris to Berlin, the message is the same:

• Let adults choose a better way out of smoking.
• Let us quit realistically and live healthier lives.
• Don’t ban and overtax pouches like cigarettes.
  

Berlin showed us that people understand harm reduction. Now it’s Brussels’ turn.

Protect pouches. Protect choice. Protect our lives.

Next stop: The European Parliament, Brussels.