WHO Issues Strong Warning on Nicotine Pouches
The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a stern warning regarding the rapid global expansion of nicotine pouch products, condemning the tobacco industry's aggressive marketing tactics aimed at hooking young people. In a fresh report released on Friday, the WHO highlighted that these small sachets, placed between the gum and lip to release nicotine through the mouth lining, are rapidly reshaping the global tobacco and nicotine market.
Aggressive Marketing to Youth
Etienne Krug, head of WHO's health determinants, promotion and prevention department, stated, "Governments are seeing the use of these products spread quickly, especially among adolescents and young people who are being aggressively targeted by deceptive tactics." He warned that these products, which contain nicotine and typically sweet flavoring, "are engineered for addiction." Often marketed as "modern," "discreet," and "tobacco free," nicotine pouches are spreading across countries so fast that regulations are failing to keep pace, according to the WHO's first report on the products.
Soaring Sales and Market Growth
Sales of nicotine pouches reached over 23 billion units in 2024, an increase of over 50 percent from the previous year, the report said. The global nicotine pouch market was worth nearly $7 billion last year, with sales highest and swelling in North America. One popular brand, available in around 9,000 US retail shops in 2017, was on sale in over 150,000 retail shops by 2024. Outside the United States, the pouches are most popular in European countries like Germany, Poland, and Sweden, but are forecast to grow rapidly in other countries, including Pakistan.
Public Health Challenge
Vinayak Prasad, who heads WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative, told reporters, "This is not simply a market trend; it's a rapidly evolving public health challenge." WHO emphasized that nicotine itself is "highly addictive" and particularly harmful for young people whose brains are still developing. Nicotine exposure during adolescence can affect brain development, including impacts on attention and learning, and increases the likelihood of long-term dependence and use. The report highlighted well-documented health risks associated with nicotine use, including cardiovascular risk and mental health issues.
Industry Tactics Under Fire
The WHO slammed widespread industry tactics to appeal to young people, including sleek packaging and flavors like bubble gum and gummy bears. Influencer marketing and heavy social media promotion were also used, as was sponsorship of concerts and sporting events like Formula 1. The report decried messaging promoting "discreet" use to avoid detection by parents and teachers, with slogans including "Forget the rules" and "Anytime, anywhere," alongside images of places where smoking is typically banned, like restaurants and public transport. Prasad slammed efforts by companies to present nicotine pouches as safer than traditional cigarettes or as tools to help smokers quit, asking, "If these products were truly intended primarily as smoking cessation tools for adult smokers, why are they being marketed with candy flavors?"
Call for Regulation
Jorge Alday, head of global tobacco industry watchdog STOP, described nicotine pouches as "little seeds of an epidemic that the tobacco companies are planting everywhere." In a statement to AFP, he warned that "nicotine pouch marketing today looks a lot like what we saw 10 years ago before the youth vaping epidemic took off." WHO urged countries to step up regulations. Currently, around 160 countries have no specific regulations for nicotine pouches. Only 16 ban their sale, while 32 others have some regulations. The report called for bans or strong restrictions on flavors, bans on advertising, promotion and sponsorship, strong age-verification and retail controls, clear health warnings, plain packaging, and steep taxes to reduce affordability.
