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  • Report: Non-U.S. Manufacturers Capture 75% of Pouch Search Visibility

    Report: Non-U.S. Manufacturers Capture 75% of Pouch Search Visibility

    Although North American consumers drive the majority of the nicotine pouch industry’s revenue (78.4%), a new report from eCig One finds that manufacturers outside the United States capture the majority (75%) of modeled search visibility for white-label production queries. The study estimates search-driven demand by capturing the rankings of 29 white-label pouch manufacturers across 14 high-intent search keywords. A modeled click-through rate is then applied to each ranking. The analysis uses a ranking snapshot from December 2025 and sources monthly search volumes from Ahrefs.

    chart visualization

    Number of White-Label Nicotine Pouch Manufacturers by Nation


    The top six contract manufacturers hold about 76% of modeled search-driven demand for white-label nicotine pouch manufacturing, according to the report. The top three manufacturers—NicoKickers (24.9%), Daily Manufacturing (15.5%), and TJP Labs (13.4%)—account for more than half of modeled search visibility across the 14 tracked keywords.


    “The data suggests a gap between where demand is forming and where manufacturers are capturing it,” said study author Jason Artman. “There may be an opening for white-label manufacturers to attract more business by meeting clients where they are.”


    The report notes that the model estimates relative share of search-driven opportunities and that conversions and revenue depend on many other factors in addition to search visibility.

  • Over a Fifth of Irish Vape Shops Caught Selling to Minors

    Over a Fifth of Irish Vape Shops Caught Selling to Minors

    More than 22% of vape shops inspected in Ireland were found selling vaping products to under-18s despite a legal ban in place since December 2023, according to figures from the Health Service Executive (HSE). Between January and October last year, 51 out of 224 retailers failed test-purchase checks conducted by inspectors, up from 40 violations recorded in 2024.
    The HSE’s National Environmental Health Service, which gained test-purchasing powers in March 2024, carried out hundreds of inspections to enforce the law. Retailers caught selling vapes to minors face fines of up to €4,000 and up to six months in prison. Authorities also issued dozens of prohibition orders against shops selling unregulated products.
    The data emerged in response to a parliamentary question, as Ireland considers further tightening vape laws. A proposed bill would ban disposable vapes, restrict flavors, and limit packaging colors and imagery to reduce youth appeal and environmental harm. Lawmakers are calling for even tougher measures, arguing that flavored and brightly packaged vapes continue to target young people despite existing restrictions.

  • Zimbabwe Pushing Tobacco Processing for Value Addition

    Zimbabwe Pushing Tobacco Processing for Value Addition

    Zimbabwe will intensify tobacco processing and value addition from 2026 as part of efforts to boost exports of finished tobacco products, a senior government official said. Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water, and Rural Development permanent secretary Professor Obert Jiri said plans are underway to encourage the establishment of local processing plants, shifting the industry away from raw leaf exports toward higher-value products, including cigarettes.

    Zimbabwe produced a record 355 million kg of tobacco in 2025, generating about $1.2 billion in sales, and production has the potential rise to 500 million kg by 2030, Jiri said. He argued that converting locally grown tobacco into finished products could dramatically increase export earnings, estimating the potential value of more than $40 billion if current volumes were processed domestically.

    The industry has also undergone a structural shift, with more than 140,000 farmers—over 80% of them smallholders—now involved following land reform. The government says expanding beneficiation will help farmers capture more value and create jobs, building on recent investments such as a $100 million tobacco processing plant commissioned in Harare in November.

  • Malaysian Dealers Doing Bait-n-Switch on Drug-Laced Vapes

    Malaysian Dealers Doing Bait-n-Switch on Drug-Laced Vapes

    Drug-infused vape liquids marketed as “magic mushroom” products in Malaysia are largely mislabeled and instead contain synthetic drugs such as cannabinoids or MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy or molly), according to police and medical experts. While psilocybin mushrooms are classified as an illegal drug in Malaysia, they are at least naturally occurring. Monash University Malaysia addiction psychiatrist Dr. Anne Yee said most vape users—and even sellers—do not know what is actually contained in the products, commonly called Kpods.

    Police data show that about 65% of vape liquids and devices seized in 2023 tested positive for synthetic cannabinoids or ecstasy, with no confirmed cases involving psilocybin, the hallucinogen found in real magic mushrooms. Authorities say the “magic mushroom” label is a marketing tactic rather than a reflection of the contents. The Narcotics Crime Investigation Department and Malaysia’s National Poison Centre have both confirmed that chemical analyses have found no mushroom-derived hallucinogens in seized samples, but instead detected new psychoactive substances that can cause hallucinatory effects. Experts warn that the unknown composition of these products poses serious health risks, as symptoms can range from dissociation and hallucinations to anxiety, psychosis, and impaired motor control.

    Medical professionals stress that diagnosing affected users is challenging because patients are often unsure what they consumed. Yee said clinicians rely heavily on symptoms and patient accounts, noting that effects beyond nicotine indicate drug-laced products.

  • Croatia Raises Tobacco Taxes

    Croatia Raises Tobacco Taxes

    Croatia increased excise duties on cigarettes, tobacco products, and e-liquids from the start of the new year, pushing cigarette prices up by as much as €0.20 per pack, according to public broadcaster HRT. The government expects the tax hikes to generate nearly €130 million in additional revenue and says the measures are intended to curb smoking and nicotine use as part of its public health strategy.

    Business groups cautioned against sharp increases, warning they could drive consumers toward the black market. Smoking remains widespread in Croatia, with about 900,000 smokers and high usage among youth, including e-cigarettes. Tobacco production also remains economically significant, with around 300 domestic producers accounting for roughly 6% of European output and generating about €400 million annually.

  • Malaysia Vape Retailers Call for Fair Tobacco Controls

    Malaysia Vape Retailers Call for Fair Tobacco Controls

    The Malaysia Retail Electronic Cigarette Association (MRECA) has criticized what it sees as an unbalanced regulatory focus on vaping, while conventional cigarettes—long linked to greater health risks—continue to be sold with limited enforcement. MRECA president Datuk Adzwan Ab Manas said public health policy should be fair and evidence-based, noting that vape products are regulated under the same legal framework as cigarettes through Act 852 and that the industry has invested heavily to meet government compliance requirements.

    He warned that sweeping bans or excessive restrictions on vaping could drive users back to combustible cigarettes or illicit markets, undermining health goals and harming legitimate businesses. MRECA urged the government to pursue balanced regulation, strengthen enforcement against cigarette misuse, engage in open dialogue with industry, and focus on realistic public health outcomes rather than symbolic prohibitions.

  • Indian Tobacco Stocks Slide After New Tax Announced

    Indian Tobacco Stocks Slide After New Tax Announced

    Shares of Indian tobacco companies fell sharply after the government imposed a new excise duty on cigarettes, raising costs for an estimated 100 million smokers. Market leader ITC dropped more than 9%, hitting its lowest level since April 2023, while Godfrey Phillips India, distributor of Marlboro, sank over 14% in its steepest fall in nearly a decade. The sell-off made ITC the biggest decliner on the Nifty 50 and dragged down the FMCG index.
    India’s finance ministry said the new excise duty, effective February 1, will range from 2,050 to 8,500 rupees per 1,000 cigarette sticks, depending on length, on top of the existing 40% Goods and Services Tax. Analysts said the move could raise overall costs for some cigarette categories by 22% to 28%, likely prompting price hikes of 2–3 rupees per stick for longer cigarettes.
    Brokerages warned the tax increase could pressure volumes and revive concerns about a shift toward illicit cigarettes.

  • Retailers Feeling Huge Hit as Denver Flavor Ban Begins

    Retailers Feeling Huge Hit as Denver Flavor Ban Begins

    Denver began enforcing its ban on flavored nicotine and tobacco products as of January 1, following voter approval of Referendum 310 in the November election with nearly 72% support. The measure, originally passed by the Denver City Council in 2024, prohibits the sale of most flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco, while exempting hookah tobacco sold at licensed hookah retailers. Possession and use of flavored products remain legal.

    About 575 tobacco retailers in Denver are affected. Enforcement is being led by the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment through routine and undercover inspections. Retailers found in violation face escalating penalties, starting with a minimum 30-day suspension after two violations within a year and extending to up to one year for repeated offenses. From 2027, the suspension thresholds will tighten further.

    Vape and smoke shop operators say the ban is already having a major business impact. Some retailers report losing up to half of their revenue tied to flavored products and are exploring alternatives such as expanding non-flavored inventory, shifting operations outside Denver, or increasing online sales.

  • Bangladesh Bans Vapes, Tightens Tobacco Laws

    Bangladesh Bans Vapes, Tightens Tobacco Laws

    Bangladesh’s interim government issued an ordinance banning e-cigarettes and other emerging tobacco products, significantly tightening the country’s tobacco control regime. The Smoking and Tobacco Products Use (Control) (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, promulgated on December 31, expands the definition of tobacco to include electronic cigarettes, heated tobacco products, and nicotine pouches, bringing them under a single legal framework. Smoking and the use of all tobacco products are now prohibited in all public places and on public transport, with fines raised to a maximum of Tk 2,000 ($16.40).

    The ordinance makes the production, import, export, storage, sale, and use of e-cigarettes and similar products criminal offences, punishable by up to six months’ imprisonment, fines of up to Tk 500,000 ($4,100), or both. It also introduces a comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship across all media, prohibits tobacco displays at points of sale, and bans sales within 100 meters of schools, hospitals and playgrounds. Packaging rules have been tightened to require health warnings covering at least 75% of packs, while enforcement powers have been strengthened to allow license cancellations, seizures, and criminal prosecutions.

  • The Global Tobacco Industry is Solving The Wrong Problem

    The Global Tobacco Industry is Solving The Wrong Problem

    A new opinion piece, titled “The Global Tobacco Industry Is Solving the Wrong Problem,” by Zimbabwean entrepreneur Smart Chireru argues that the global tobacco industry is misdirecting its focus by optimizing branding, regulation, and distribution while ignoring a major structural inefficiency in where tobacco is processed. Chireru contends that large volumes of African flue-cured Virginia tobacco are exported unprocessed, shipped overseas for manufacturing, and then redistributed globally—an approach he describes as a legacy supply-chain flaw that adds cost, risk, and complexity without creating value.

    The article calls for a shift toward processing tobacco closer to where it is grown, citing examples from other industries that have adopted near-source manufacturing, bonded facilities, and integrated traceability. Chireru argues that modern compliance tools—such as serialization, blockchain tracking, and export-only processing—can mitigate risks often cited as barriers to origin-based manufacturing, while reducing logistics costs and working capital strain.

    Using Zimbabwe as a case study, the piece highlights the country’s combination of high-quality tobacco, skilled labor, and special economic zone frameworks as an opportunity for globally competitive processing at origin. Chireru concludes that the next competitive advantage for tobacco companies will come from supply-chain intelligence and structural efficiency, not incremental gains in marketing or tax strategy.