Altria Worried About Illicit Pouches

Altria Group is worried about growing illicit sales of modern oral products in the United States, reports Reuters. The company has shared data on illegal nicotine pouches with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“This illicit market echoes the beginning of the illicit e-vapor market several years ago,” Altria CEO William Gifford told analysts during a financial update. “We believe it is critical that the FDA acts decisively to regain control of the oral nicotine pouch category to prevent another widespread illicit market from taking hold,” he added.

Altria said it had identified more than 350 unique illegal nicotine pouches on sale, with new brands launching every month.

Gifford said Altria had also observed an increase in illicit cigarettes, one survey of discarded packs in California finding that some 25 percent were non-U.S. brands, mostly originating from duty-free channels or China.

Last month, Philip Morris International said it had observed sales of its nicotine pouches intended for the Scandinavian market on sale in the United States.

Recently, British American Tobacco’s CEO expressed concern about the continued lack of enforcement against unauthorized single-use vapes in the U.S., which makes it difficult for authorized brands to compete in that market.