By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• Voluntary cap: Haypp has limited nicotine pouches on its platforms to 20 mg per pouch and wants that adopted in UK law.
• Harm-reduction narrative: The company says 20 mg delivers an experience similar to smoking while restraining ultra-high-strength products.
• Regulatory moment: As the Tobacco and Vapes Bill progresses, nicotine limits and proportional rules are central to policy debates.

Online nicotine retailer Haypp Group has set a voluntary 20 mg per pouch nicotine ceiling across its e-commerce platforms and is urging the UK government to embed that limit in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill as it shapes a regulatory framework for nicotine pouches.

Haypp, which serves more than 1.1 million customers globally, said that a 20 mg maximum strikes a balance between offering adult smokers a satisfying alternative to cigarettes and preventing the proliferation of “ultra-strength” products, some industry sources report at levels as high as 150 mg per pouch.

“We believe that setting a legal upper limit of 20 mg of nicotine per pouch should form the cornerstone of an effective harm-reduction framework,” Haypp said in a recent position paper ahead of Parliament’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill deliberations. “To be an effective alternative to cigarettes, pouches must deliver nicotine in a manner that is competitive with cigarettes. A maximum level of 20 mg per pouch achieves this by providing a nicotine experience comparable to a cigarette.”

Dr. Marina Murphy, senior director of scientific affairs at Haypp, has publicly framed the 20 mg cap as a safety-aligned threshold that limits unnecessary high strength while preserving adult access to reduced-risk products.

Haypp’s voluntary policy reflects broader industry efforts to standardize nicotine pouch strength categories. The company’s strength guide classifies products with up to 20 mg per pouch as “ultra strong,” with lower tiers starting below 3 mg.

The UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill, introduced in 2024, would grant ministers authority to set maximum nicotine levels, regulate flavors and packaging, and enforce age-access measures for nicotine products, including pouches. Industry stakeholders and public health advocates have increasingly debated how to balance youth protections with harm-reduction opportunities for adult smokers.

Haypp has pitched the 20 mg cap as aligned with emerging European practice. The Swedish Institute for Standards and the British Standards Institution have both recommended similar limits in draft or adopted standards to reduce the risk of ultra-high nicotine products entering mainstream channels.

Beyond nicotine caps, Haypp and other industry voices have called for proportionate regulation grounded in scientific evidence on product use, nicotine delivery, and switching behaviors. Independent research indicates that most nicotine pouches deliver doses comparable to lower-to-moderate cigarette exposure, though very high-strength products can deliver significantly more nicotine.

Haypp’s stance comes as UK policymakers weigh how tightly to regulate nicotine pouches — a product category that falls outside traditional tobacco laws yet is increasingly included in broader nicotine-control policy discussions.