Portugal has made a significant shift in its policy on alternative products to tobacco by announcing that, from January 2026, nicotine pouches will be regulated and taxed with excise duties. This decision marks a clear departure from the approach taken by Spain, which plans to impose much harsher restrictions that would kill the product. Until now, nicotine pouches – smokeless oral products that release nicotine through the oral mucosa – were not subject to specific regulation or excise duties in Portugal. INFARMED, the national medicines agency, issued a letter in March 2024 restricting its import if the products were not accompanied by a medical license, which amounted to a de facto ban. T... [Read more]