Strong nicotine pouches are no longer classified as medicine in Finland, announced the medicines regulator on Thursday, freeing them from import restrictions applied to medications.
Finnish Customs announced it would implement the new designation immediately.
That meant companies could import pouches containing more than four milligrams of nicotine without special permits.
The deregulated situation is unlikely to last for long, however.
The Ministry for Social Affairs and Health is preparing tighter rules classifying the pouches (which do not contain tobacco) as a similar product to snus, the Swedish mouth tobacco popular with Finnish users and Premier League footballers.
According to Fimea, that would effectively mean an import and sales ban for the pouches, similar to that imposed on snus.
Imports of snus are limited to one kilogram per day, for personal use.
Finland's health agency THL classifies nicotine as an addictive stimulant.
A health ministry's working group is currently looking at ways to end tobacco and nicotine use in Finland by 2030. In practice, they define this as a situation where fewer than five percent of adults in Finland use tobacco or nicotine products.
The group is looking at policies including increased taxation of tobacco products and changes to regulation to allow rapid responses when new products — particularly those aimed at children and young people — are introduced.
Nicotine pouches are marketed in different flavours, which can tempt young people to try them. The working group is hoping the new government will implement its recommendations early in its four-year term.
