Policy Update: Could the EU Move Toward Pre-Market Authorisation for Novel Nicotine Products?

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The European Union is reassessing whether its tobacco and nicotine framework remains fit for a market that has changed significantly since the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) was adopted. Nicotine pouches, e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and other novel products have expanded rapidly, creating regulatory questions that the existing framework does not address consistently. One possibility receiving…

How Much Nicotine Is Enough? Why Effective Smoking Substitution Requires More Than Counting Cigarettes

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When adults attempt to stop smoking using nicotine replacement therapy, e-cigarettes or other non-combustible nicotine products, one practical question quickly emerges: how much nicotine is enough? The answer matters because cigarette dependence varies considerably between smokers. Two people who smoke the same number of cigarettes each day may not absorb the same amount of nicotine…

India’s Nicotine Pouch Debate Shows Why Regulatory Classification Matters

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The debate over nicotine pouches in India is increasingly becoming a debate about regulatory classification. Tobacco-free nicotine pouches do not fit comfortably within some of the legal categories created for cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes or medicinal nicotine products. Recent commentary has therefore focused on whether existing Indian laws adequately cover them and which authorities…

Beyond the Evidence: Why the Nicotine Sector Needs Credibility, Collaboration and Long-Term Thinking

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The scientific evidence surrounding smoke-free nicotine products is only one part of the challenge facing the nicotine sector. Even where manufacturers believe the evidence supports differentiated approaches to regulation, that evidence does not automatically translate into public understanding, regulatory acceptance or proportionate policy. That disconnect was at the centre of the GINN panel “We’re Right…

Making Evidence Travel: Building a Regulatory Strategy Across Markets

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Reporting contributed by Kiran Sidhu   “There is definitely an opportunity to foster collaboration among all the different stakeholders in the industry, from the manufacturers and independent research companies, to build an evidence-based toolkit that can be utilised when facing regulators,” said Monica Andrade De Orbe.    De Orbe was hosting a panel titled, ‘Making…

Evidence Is Not Enough: Why the Nicotine Sector Must Strengthen Its Case

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Reporting contributed by Kiran Sidhu   “For those in the pouch industry, the harm reduction benefit of choosing a non-combustible nicotine product is irrefutably evident,” Joel Rubenstein told the audience. However, he said, step outside and the environment is hostile to this evidence-based fact.    Rubenstein, an independent commercial consultant, was speaking at InterTabac, an…

PouchXchange 2026: What Does It Take to Build a Winning Nicotine Pouch Brand?

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Reporting contributed by Kiran Sidhu   Key players in the nicotine pouch industry gathered at InterTabac’s PouchXchange in Dortmund, Germany, on September 15 to discuss the rapidly changing landscape of safer nicotine products.   The global market for nicotine pouches is fast evolving and showing an exponential rise in popularity. This comes as no surprise…

GINN Response: Nicotine Pouches Are Not “Beyond the Law” in India

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A recent explainer asks whether nicotine pouches are “beyond the law” in India and concludes by suggesting that the government could quickly prohibit their import and sale on health grounds. The article identifies genuine uncertainty around the treatment of tobacco-free nicotine pouches under India’s existing legislation. However, the suggestion that these products effectively occupy a…

The Pouch Effect: Could Nicotine Pouches Help Close Sweden’s Smoking Gender Gap?

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Sweden’s unusually low smoking prevalence has long attracted international attention. Much of the discussion has focused on the country’s long history of snus use, particularly among men. But Sweden’s nicotine market is changing. Tobacco-free nicotine pouches have grown rapidly, and their uptake among women raises a new question: could a product category with broader appeal…

The Nicotine Pouch Evidence Base Has Changed: What a New 2026 Scoping Review Tells Regulators

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The evidence surrounding oral nicotine pouches has expanded rapidly. Questions that only a few years ago were being considered using a relatively small body of research can now be examined across studies covering product characteristics, nicotine delivery, toxicant exposure, patterns of use, smoking behaviour, marketing and consumer perceptions. For regulators, this expanding evidence base creates…