May 15, 2026 (New York) — Today’s report from the World Health Organization, Exposing Marketing Tactics and Strategies Driving the Global Growth of Nicotine Pouches, lays out concerning evidence on nicotine pouches—including potent concentrations of nicotine and youth-oriented advertising—and important recommendations for regulating them. We commend the WHO for conducting this greatly needed research on a product that merits urgent attention from the tobacco control community.
Our takeaway from the report is that, where these products are not banned, the WHO MPOWER policy package—a set of evidence-based measures for reducing tobacco use—must be applied to nicotine pouches. This includes, among other priorities:
- Encouraging higher taxes on nicotine pouches to deter use by young people.
- Ensuring nicotine pouches are covered in bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS).
- Countering threats to cessation efforts presented by the increasing dual- and poly-use of nicotine pouches with other tobacco and related products.
- Pushing for nicotine pouch packaging to list accurate ingredients and nicotine strengths; for plain packaging requirements to reduce appeal; and for health warnings explaining nicotine’s harms, particularly to youth.
- Advocating for regulation on the levels of nicotine content in such products.
The report reveals that nicotine pouches are regularly advertised with youth-oriented themes, such as the ability to be stealthy with nicotine use in school or while playing sports. They are advertised via social media platforms frequented by youth, particularly by influencers and content creators with young audiences, as well as via brand sponsorship of youth-oriented events. And they are produced in youth-appealing flavors, such as mint, candy and fruit, which encourage adoption by young people who otherwise would not be likely to use nicotine or tobacco products. We strongly agree with the report’s corresponding recommendation to strongly regulate all forms of marketing and “minimize young people’s access, their appeal to young people and initiation of use by young people.” The next generation deserves protection from these products and their marketing, which the MPOWER framework can offer.
The report’s findings on nicotine pouch advertising that promotes dual- and poly-use are similarly concerning. The tobacco industry often suggests a role for nicotine pouches in smoking cessation, despite lacking formal authorization or evidence that they help people quit smoking. However, as the report lays out, pouches are also often co-marketed with tobacco companies’ flagship cigarette brands to explicitly encourage concomitant use. This promotion of dual- and poly- use presents not only a health risk but makes evidence-based cessation efforts more difficult. First and foremost, as the report recommends, deceitful cessation messaging and co-branding should be prohibited.
Finally, we are concerned by the levels of nicotine present in nicotine pouches and the lack of warnings for users of their addictiveness. The report exposes that some nicotine pouches claim to contain up to 50 mg/g of nicotine (more than 10 times the strength of approved nicotine replacement therapy products). And these highest-content products are specifically produced in youth-oriented flavors. Imposing nicotine content limits and mandating health warnings is the bare minimum response needed to this startling new reality.
The WHO report exposes worrying trends related to nicotine pouches that merit immediate attention. We call on governments to respond quickly and comprehensively to nicotine pouches, as the evidence shows they are currently being marketed at alarming volumes, especially to youth, while falling through significant regulatory gaps.
As the report asserts, “A strong regulatory approach is important to ensure that use of nicotine pouches does not lead to nicotine addiction or become a gateway to use of other forms of tobacco or related products,” particularly in light of increasingly nefarious industry marketing tactics that deliberately target children and adolescents. Vital Strategies wholeheartedly agrees. We will continue to prioritize this issue in our work with this new evidence in hand.
About Vital Strategies
Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes all people should be protected by strong and equitable health policies and systems. We partner with governments, communities and organizations around the world to reimagine public health so that health is supported in all the places we live, work and play. The result is millions of people living longer, healthier lives around the world.
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