Portugal is about to get its first real legal framework for nicotine pouches — and it comes with a 12mg cap per pouch, a total ban on online sales and a full advertising ban that includes influencer marketing. Parliament's debate on the government bill started this week and is still ongoing.

What happened

The Assembly of the Republic debated a government bill this week that authorises rules covering the manufacture, import, distribution, sale, labelling, advertising, taxation and enforcement of nicotine pouches. The government proposal was presented on 1 June; until now pouches have sat in a legal grey area, even though they are already sold and taxed — the 2026 State Budget created a specific tax category at €0.065 per gram under the Special Consumption Tax code.

The framework on the table includes:

• A ban on sales to under-18s
• A ban on all advertising, including on social media and through influencers
• Restrictions on flavours and packaging designed to appeal to minors — menthol and mint are restricted rather than banned outright
• A full ban on online sales
• A maximum of 12mg of nicotine per pouch and 20 pouches per pack
• Sales only through authorised tobacco retailers, in reserved areas with staff intervention — no vending machines, and none near schools, hospitals, sports facilities or public transport

Before this regime, some pouches sold in Portugal carried up to 36mg or even 50mg per pouch, according to sector research cited in Portuguese media. The 12mg cap is the single biggest market change.

Why it matters

Portugal is choosing regulation over prohibition, and the medical establishment is split. Daniel Coutinho, a pulmonologist with the Portuguese Society of Pneumology's smoking cessation group, told Lusa the government's route reflects a choice not to ban because tax revenue is at stake, and called the 12mg allowance "unnecessary and scandalous." He also pointed to pouch marketing at summer music festivals and in stationery shops near schools as evidence of who the industry targets.

On the other side, health professionals including former Secretary of State for Health António Lacerda Sales argued in the public consultation that pouches can serve as a lower-risk alternative for adult smokers, and that taxing a product while moving to ban it would mean the state took two contradictory positions. Their position: restrict youth access and marketing, keep labelling and limits clear, and don't make the product unappealing or unavailable to adults who want to switch from cigarettes.

That is the same fault line now running through the EU's eight-country push to freeze new nicotine products, which PouchDaily covered earlier this month. Portugal's answer is closer to the Swedish/Member-State regulated-market model than to a ban — but with a hard online-sales ban that will reshape how Portuguese consumers can actually buy pouches.

What's next

The parliamentary debate continues, and the bill still needs to pass before any of this takes effect. Watch for the final flavour rules — the menthol-and-mint carve-out is the detail the health side wants tightened — and for how the 12mg cap forces high-strength brands to reformulate or exit the Portuguese market.

Compare prices across retailers at PouchFinder.

SOURCES:

• Tobacco Reporter, 6 October 2026: https://tobaccoreporter.com/2026/10/06/portugal-moves-to-regulate-nicotine-pouches/
• The Portugal Post, 9 October 2026: https://theportugalpost.com/posts/portugal-sets-new-rules-for-nicotine-pouches-sales-banned-for-under-18s-and-online
• SAPO, 6 October 2026: https://sapo.pt/artigo/regulacao-das-bolsas-de-nicotina-chega-ao-parlamento-e-divide-especialistas-6ac4a5e0251665e3d63aa433