WHO warns nicotine pouches risk hooking a new generation
The World Health Organization warns that use of nicotine pouches is expanding rapidly worldwide, with weak regulation leaving young people exposed to aggressive marketing and addiction
WHO’s report ‘Exposing marketing tactics and strategies driving the growth of nicotine pouches’ finds retail sales of pouches exceeded 23 billion units in 2024, up more than 50% year on year. The global market was worth nearly $7 billion in 2025.
“The use of nicotine pouches is spreading rapidly, while regulation struggles to keep pace,” said Dr Vinayak Prasad, unit head of WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative. “Governments must act now with strong, evidence-based safeguards.”
One website we looked at praised a nicotine pouch for its “excellent craftsmanship and pharmaceutical-grade nicotine” making them “an excellent and safe choice for consumers”, it congratulated the brand for its “eye-catching and colourful” new packaging, as well as the “exciting new range of flavours” that had “something for everyone” and said that the brand was the “starting point for many users’ nicotine pouch journey”, going on to write that “It’s everywhere, and that accessibility played a massive role in its growth.”
The website described the brand as “truly versatile in its broad appeal. With options starting at just 4mg per pouch, it’s ideal for beginners, but it doesn’t stop there. Pouches like [X] 17mg and newer fruit-focused extra-strong options cater to more experienced users too.” An average cigarette contains around 10mg of nicotine.
The tobacco industry which owns many of the nicotine pouch brands present them as a healthy alternative to smoking, but the marketing analysed in the report shows that it isn’t targeted at helping an older generation quit, but to create a new generation of addicts.
WHO’s Tobacco Free Initiative scientist, Dr Ranti Fayokun said the products are being sold in ways that clearly appeal to children: “If they were truly cessation aids, they would not be marketed that way.”
WHO highlights youth-oriented tactics, including sweet and cocktail flavours, such as bubble gum and mojito, influencer marketing, social media campaigns, sponsorship of concerts and Formula 1 events, and branding that encourages use in schools or smoke-free settings.
WHO warns that nicotine is highly addictive and harmful, particularly for children. “Nicotine harms the developing brain and can increase cardiovascular risk by raising heart rate and blood pressure,” says Fayokun.
And the situation is getting worse, WHO found that over the last two years brands have been increasing the amount of nicotine and that many of the pouches have introduced “pearls technology” to increase the speed and intensity of nicotine delivery. WHO’s Dr Etienne Krug, who works on prevention says that pouches are being aggressively targeted on the young: “These products are engineered for addiction and there is a strong need to protect our youth from industry manipulation.”
Catherine Feore
The report says around 160 countries have no specific regulation, while only 16 ban sales and 32 regulate the products in some form. Canada is held up as one jurisdiction where the regulators have stepped in. Prasad said Canada had authorised only certain nicotine pouches, with specific nicotine concentrations, to help adult smokers quit, while not allowing access to the wider consumer market. Fayokun added that Canadian products are only available under medical supervision and prescription, with enforcement against products sold through convenience or retail channels.
The EU now faces similar questions as it reviews tobacco taxation and prepares future tobacco product rules. Prasad said Europe’s decline in tobacco use has been among the slowest globally, while vaping and pouch use have grown.
Catherine Feore
However, Sweden which has one of the highest levels of pouch use, also has the lowest levels of smoking in the EU. Fayokun said Sweden’s low smoking rate reflected “decades of strong tobacco control measures”, not simply snus or nicotine pouches. WHO warned that promoting the Swedish model elsewhere would increase nicotine addiction.
The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to which all EU Member States and the EU itself are parties, requires signatories to adopt effective legislative and other measures for preventing tobacco consumption and nicotine addiction.
The EU has already proposed higher taxation on these products - one of the WHO’s key recommendations - but it is currently under negotiation and facing strong pushback from some countries, including Greece, Romania and Sweden. The long-awaited revision of the Tobacco Products Directive and the Tobacco Advertising Directive, expected later this year, could provide a broader opportunity for the EU to align its legislation more closely with WHO recommendations.
As nicotine products continue to evolve, policymakers are struggling to keep pace with products that are growing in popularity among the young.
Catherine Feore