By Timothy S. Donahue

Top Takeaways:

• WHO warning: The World Health Organization says nicotine pouches are spreading through aggressive marketing, regulatory loopholes and rising nicotine concentrations.
• Industry backlash: Harm-reduction advocates and nicotine industry groups argue the report downplays the dramatically lower risks of smoke-free products compared to cigarettes.
• Global split: Governments are increasingly divided between strict restrictions and “risk-proportionate” regulation focused on adult smokers switching away from combustible tobacco.

The World Health Organization’s latest report on nicotine pouches is drawing both praise and backlash as regulators, researchers and the nicotine industry continue to debate how smoke-free nicotine products should fit into modern tobacco policy.

The report, Exposing Marketing Tactics and Strategies Driving the Global Growth of Nicotine Pouches, accuses manufacturers of using many of the same tactics historically associated with cigarettes — influencer campaigns, lifestyle branding, sports sponsorships, and flavored products — to rapidly expand the global oral nicotine category.

WHO says governments face an “urgent public health challenge” as nicotine pouches enter markets with little oversight. “Governments are seeing the use of these products spread quickly, especially among adolescents and young people who are being aggressively targeted by deceptive tactics,” said Etienne Krug, director of WHO’s Department of Health Determinants. “These products are engineered for addiction.”

But the report immediately drew criticism from parts of the nicotine industry, tobacco harm-reduction advocates, and some public health researchers, who argue that WHO is blurring the line between smoking and smoke-free nicotine products.

One of the strongest responses came from the Global Institute for Novel Nicotine (GINN), which issued a joint statement to Nicotine Insider, drafted by GINN Director Shem Baldeosingh, Michael Lovedale, Joe Sakr, María del Carmen Ordóñez López, and advisory board member Joel Rubenstein.

“The WHO’s framing misses a critical distinction: the difference between nicotine use and smoking,” the group wrote. “By treating nicotine pouches primarily as another expression of tobacco industry harm, the report underplays their potential role for adults who smoke and need lower-risk alternatives.”

Laura Leigh Oyler, vice president of regulatory affairs at Nicokick.com, also sharply criticized the report. “The World Health Organization’s latest report on nicotine pouches is alarmist and out of touch with reality,” Oyler said. “In the United States, the FDA has subjected nicotine pouches to years of scrutiny, including toxicology, behavioral data, youth use patterns, and manufacturing standards.”

WHO’s analysis focuses heavily on marketing tactics. The report repeatedly argues that nicotine pouch companies are using “tobacco industry playbooks” historically associated with cigarettes and vaping products. It highlights fruit and candy flavors, Formula 1 sponsorships, influencer campaigns, and discreet-use slogans such as “Anytime, anywhere,” “No smoke, no vapor,” and “More convenient, less noticeable.”

The report also warns that multinational tobacco companies are increasingly restructuring around smoke-free nicotine products amid a global decline in cigarette sales.

Philip Morris International now controls ZYN following its acquisition of Swedish Match. BAT continues to aggressively expand VELO globally. Altria markets on! nicotine pouches while building out its heated tobacco and vape portfolios.

WHO repeatedly suggests that those strategies may encourage dual use rather than complete switching away from cigarettes. “Co-marketing is designed to increase revenue by encouraging dual (or poly) use,” the report states.

At the same time, WHO argues that nicotine pouch regulation remains fragmented and inconsistent globally. The organization estimates that roughly 160 countries still lack specific nicotine pouch frameworks, while only 32 regulate the products in some form and 16 ban them outright.

Even many harm-reduction advocates privately acknowledge that the category likely needs stronger manufacturing standards, clearer nicotine labeling, child-resistant packaging, and tougher enforcement against youth-focused marketing. Dr. Harry Tattan-Birch, senior research fellow at University College London, said WHO was right to highlight regulatory loopholes.

“The WHO report shows the wide-reaching ways in which nicotine pouch companies are trying to sell their products, including in ways that may appeal to young people, and how these products have fallen between the cracks of existing legislation,” he said. “Because they do not contain tobacco leaf, and are not vapes, they have often not been covered by tobacco- or vape-specific rules.”

Still, critics argue that WHO repeatedly overlooks the single most important scientific distinction in the nicotine debate: combustion. “Cigarettes kill because tobacco is burned, and smoke contains thousands of toxicants, with more than 70 documented carcinogens,” the GINN statement said. “While nicotine is addictive and not risk-free, it is not a notable cause of smoking-related cancer, lung disease, or cardiovascular mortality.”

The debate is increasingly global. In the United States, the FDA has authorized multiple ZYN and on! PLUS nicotine pouch products through the PMTA process following scientific review. France recently moved toward broad restrictions on oral nicotine products, including pouches. Swedish officials have criticized those moves, arguing that they ignore Sweden’s low smoking rates and real-world harm-reduction experience with smoke-free oral nicotine products.

Meanwhile, WHO’s report calls for one of the most aggressive proposed global regulatory frameworks yet for nicotine pouches, including flavor bans, advertising restrictions, nicotine limits, plain packaging, social media controls, and tax increases.

Critics warn that those approaches could unintentionally strengthen cigarette markets by making lower-risk products less appealing, less accessible, and harder to communicate about legally.

“Nicotine pouches do not produce smoke or require inhalation into the lungs, meaning they are likely to be substantially less harmful to health than cigarettes,” Tattan-Birch said. “But an outright ban on nicotine pouches, while cigarettes remain widely available, could be counterproductive for public health.”

The broader fight now centers on whether governments should regulate nicotine products primarily based on addiction concerns or on their relative risk compared to combustible tobacco.