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Tag: Nicotine Pouches

  • Pakistan’s Pouch Market Reshaping Tobacco Landscape

    With a smoking rate of 19.5% and high instances of smoking-related illnesses, Pakistan is beginning to embrace the shift to lower-risk alternative products, including a quickly expanding nicotine pouch market that is not only good news for health advocates but is creating business opportunities as well.

    Philip Morris (Pakistan) Limited recently began local production of ZYN at its Sahiwal facility, following British American Tobacco’s early entrance with Velo in 2019, solidifying Pakistan as a key growth market for modern oral nicotine products. Industry momentum is being driven by strong demand from adult tobacco users seeking alternatives to cigarettes and traditional oral products such as paan, naswar, and gutka. A recent LMIC case study cited Pakistan as having the world’s largest consumer base for nicotine pouches, noting toxicant levels far lower than in conventional oral tobacco.

    Local production is boosting jobs, tax revenue, and regulatory oversight, but authorities are expected to weigh stricter age controls, product standards, and monitoring as the category scales.

  • Swedish Pouch Manufacturer Opening U.S. Facility

    Swedish Pouch Manufacturer Opening U.S. Facility

    Swedish pouch manufacturer WiJo Pouches NA announced that is has been approved to establish its first U.S. manufacturing site, investing $13.5 million in Lexington County, South Carolina. WiJo Pouches North America, Inc. is expected to add 170 new jobs when it becomes operational by March 2026. The company provides contract manufacturing for nicotine, caffeine, and functional pouches.

    Lexington County Council and the South Carolina Department of Commerce supported the project, which passed council approval unanimously and faced no public opposition.

    Lexington County officials said the project strengthens the region’s international business profile, following other recent manufacturing investments from Cardiff Products, AllTape Adhesive, and Techo-Bloc, all currently under construction.

  • SGF Asks for Guidance on Nicotine Pouches

    SGF Asks for Guidance on Nicotine Pouches

    The Scottish Grocers’ Federation (SGF) reiterated its members’ commitment to responsible retailing in a letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting, following reports of illegal high-strength nicotine pouches circulating in the UK. As the Tobacco and Vapes Bill progresses through Westminster, SGF said retailers still have no official guidance on best practices for selling nicotine pouches, despite expected age-restriction measures. The group warned that it is often unclear which products entering the UK supply chain meet appropriate quality standards.

    SGF chief executive Pete Cheema said industry and government should work together to develop “clear, standardized guidance” on pouch sales and promotion, stressing that pouches are an adult smoking-cessation tool and should never be marketed to children. The federation has also written to Scottish health secretary Neil Gray, seeking meetings with both governments.

  • KT&G, Altria on Track to Expand Global Pouch Business

    KT&G told Nate News that its plans to enter the global nicotine pouch market in earnest next year are moving forward as planned, believing that its $176.8 million purchase of Another Snus Factory will be completed this year, followed by disposing of 49% of the company to Altria.

    “Starting next year, we plan to expand the nicotine pouch business beyond the five Nordic countries [Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland] to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and North America,” a KT&G official said.

    According to Euromonitor, the global nicotine pouch market reached $11.2 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow more than 30% this year.

  • Survey Challenges Perceptions on Youth Access to Pouches

    Survey Challenges Perceptions on Youth Access to Pouches

    Despite extensive media reporting about online and social media enabling youth access to nicotine pouches, survey data suggests that brick-and-mortar stores are a much more common source for minors in the UK. A new survey by Haypp found that two-thirds of Brits believe minors find it easier to buy nicotine pouches online than in physical stores. However, the Nicotine Pouch Report shows the opposite: 56% of under-18s who admitted purchasing pouches said they bought them from corner shops, 17% from supermarkets, and 31% via friends. Only 21% reported buying online.

    Currently, UK law does not prohibit the sale of nicotine pouches to under-18s, a loophole set to close under the forthcoming Tobacco and Vapes Bill. While reputable online retailers use strict digital age verification, many physical stores fail to enforce checks. Haypp is urging all retailers to adopt robust age verification measures to prevent underage sales, stressing that online systems often provide more consistent safeguards than in-person checks.

  • PMI Gets Approval to Produce Nicotine Pouches in Bangladesh

    PMI Gets Approval to Produce Nicotine Pouches in Bangladesh

    Philip Morris received approval from the Bangladesh government to open a factory in Narayanganj to produce nicotine pouches. The project, granted by the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (Beza), involves an initial investment of $5.8 million with a planned annual production of 536.3 million units, with operations required to start within a year.

    The news sparked opposition from anti-tobacco campaigners who are calling for the revocation of the approval. However, Beza described the pouches as “anti-nicotine” products and noted there is no explicit ban on their production or export, despite a government import ban on e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems.

    Authorities are reviewing environmental and regulatory compliance, with Philip Morris Bangladesh seeking clearance from the Department of Environment.

  • Nicokick Introduces Nicotine Pouch Advent Calendar

    Nicokick Introduces Nicotine Pouch Advent Calendar

    Nicokick.com announced the launch of its first-ever nicotine pouch advent calendar, a limited-edition release for adults aged 21 and over. Available beginning November 12, the calendar features 24 days of nicotine pouch samples from top and emerging brands, retailing for $69.99 exclusively on Nicokick.com. Designed to let adult consumers explore a variety of brands, strengths, and flavors, the collection includes Zone, Rogue, Zyn, FRE, Sesh, and Nic-S, among others, with pouch strengths ranging from 3 mg to 9 mg.

    “We created the advent calendar as a transparent, seasonal way for adults to explore the variety of nicotine pouch brands available on Nicokick.com,” said James Lees, vice president of retention. The company says the launch aligns with its goal of helping adult tobacco users discover smoke-free alternatives in an engaging, educational format.

  • Consumer Group’s Pouch Tour Hits Belgium

    Last week, the international consumer group Considerate Pouchers brought its Protect Pouches campaign to Brussels, calling for an end to Belgium’s ban on nicotine pouches. Volunteers engaged citizens and policymakers, distributed fresh Jet Pack coffee, and collected postcards urging Members of the European Parliament to lift restrictions.

    The campaign said that Belgium, with one of Western Europe’s highest smoking rates, denies smokers access to safer alternatives shown to be more than 95% less harmful than cigarettes. Global spokesperson Juan Rafael Taborcía emphasized that over-taxation and bans drive consumers back to cigarettes, and that Brussels should lead Europe in harm reduction.

    The Brussels action is part of a broader European tour.

  • Study Finds Nicotine Pouches May Aid Smokers in Quitting

    Study Finds Nicotine Pouches May Aid Smokers in Quitting

    Nicotine pouches may be helping some smokers and vapers quit more harmful tobacco products, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open. An article today (September 15) in U.S. News & World Report cited the study of 110,000 Americans that found people who had recently quit smoking were nearly four times more likely to use nicotine pouches daily than current smokers. Use was virtually nonexistent among people who had never used tobacco.

    According to the article, the findings suggest that pouches are being used as harm-reduction tools, even though they are not officially authorized as smoking cessation aids. Smokeless tobacco users were more than 10 times as likely to use the pouches, while occasional smokers and vapers were also significantly more likely to adopt them, the study said.

    The article acknowledged that while nicotine is addictive and carries cardiovascular risks, switching from combustible tobacco to pouches could represent a net public health benefit.

  • FDA Urges Child-Resistant Packaging on Nicotine Pouches

    FDA Urges Child-Resistant Packaging on Nicotine Pouches

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is calling on nicotine pouch manufacturers to use child-resistant packaging to prevent accidental exposure among young children, though the agency acknowledges that all 20 FDA-authorized nicotine pouch products currently feature child-resistant packaging, so the news release appears to be aimed at pending or future applications.
     

    “ZYN is the only nicotine pouch authorized by the FDA as appropriate to protect public health,” officials from Philip Morris International said in a response to the FDA announcement. “In making that conclusion, the agency noted that ZYN’s packaging is designed to be child-resistant—and has been since its launch 11 years ago.”


    The concentrated nicotine in pouches can be harmful to children even in small amounts. From April 2022 to March 2025, about 72% of reported nicotine pouch exposure cases involved children under age five.
     
    “The fruity flavors and bright, colorful designs of nicotine pouch products could resemble candy and seem attractive to children,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary. “Manufacturers should consider what steps they can take to prevent accidental exposures and ingestion.”
     
    The news release was paired with consumer information that advises parents to store all nicotine products securely and to contact Poison Control if ingestion occurs.