Are Nicotine Pouches Legal in the Netherlands? (No, Sales Are Banned)

By PouchGuide Editorial Team · Published October 12, 2026

No, nicotine pouches can’t be legally sold in the Netherlands. A law passed by the Dutch Senate on October 1, 2024 brings tobacco-free nicotine products under the Tobacco and Smoking Products Act. The Senate’s own summary is blunt: “Nicotinezakjes worden hiermee verboden” (“nicotine pouches are hereby banned”). The new regime has applied since January 1, 2025, and the food and consumer safety authority NVWA can seize pouches.

This is general information, not legal advice. Check official sources before you buy or travel.

How did the Netherlands ban nicotine pouches?

In two steps:

1. 2021, food law. Pouches contain no tobacco, so the Tobacco Act didn’t cover them. The NVWA used the Commodities Act instead, treating pouches with more than 0.035 mg of nicotine as harmful food that couldn’t be sold. In practice that covered every real pouch.
2. 2024, tobacco law. The House passed bill 36.403 on May 21, 2024, and the Senate followed on October 1, 2024. It puts all tobacco-free nicotine products under the Tobacco Act and bans products for oral use, meaning pouches. Other tobacco-free nicotine products get an age limit of 18, plus advertising and display bans.

The government considered milder options, like age limits, warnings and flavor bans. It decided they weren’t enough for a product used in the mouth.

Is it illegal to use nicotine pouches in the Netherlands?

The ban targets selling pouches, not using them. The law also brings pouches under the smoking ban, so you can’t use them where smoking isn’t allowed. Enforcement focuses on shops and webshops. By July 2025 the NVWA had seized and destroyed 49,009 cans of nicotine pouches.

Can I order pouches online or bring them from abroad?

Dutch shops and webshops can’t sell them, and orders shipped into the country can be seized. Travelers carrying a small personal supply aren’t the target of the law, but there’s no explicit personal allowance either. Don’t count on being able to restock locally. See our travel guide.

What about snus?

Traditional snus is banned across the EU except in Sweden. So in the Netherlands, neither snus nor tobacco-free pouches can be sold.

How the Netherlands compares

The Netherlands is one of a growing group of European countries with a pouch sales ban, alongside Belgium and France, which goes further and also bans possession and use. Others regulate instead. Denmark caps strength and flavors, and Sweden sells them openly.

Bottom line

Nicotine pouches are banned from sale in the Netherlands. Since 2025 they fall under the Tobacco Act, which prohibits oral nicotine products, and the NVWA actively seizes them. See countries where pouches are banned.