The WHO warns of the global explosion in nicotine sachets

The World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of the rapid spread of nicotine sachets worldwide and denouncing marketing strategies comparable to those used by the tobacco industry, which is at the root of the tobacco epidemic. In a report published on May 15, 2026[1], The WHO describes an extremely rapid expansion of this market, driven by major multinational tobacco companies, including Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, and Japan Tobacco International. These products, with high nicotine concentrations, are promoted through attractive flavors, massive digital campaigns, the use of influencers, and strategies explicitly targeting young people. The WHO also highlights the risks associated with nicotine addiction, the consequences for adolescent brain development, and points to the normalization of new nicotine use in public spaces.

In a context marked by upcoming revisions to European directives on tobacco products, taxation, and advertising, this report comes at a time when the tobacco industry is intensifying its lobbying efforts within the European Union to promote the expansion of new nicotine products, drawing in particular on the Swedish example. In France, the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT) has been warning for several years about the problematic and illegal nature of these products, as well as the regulatory circumvention strategies employed by manufacturers.

A booming global market driven by tobacco companies

The WHO report shows that nicotine pouches are now one of the most dynamic segments of the global nicotine market. Faced with the gradual decline in cigarette sales in several regions of the world, major multinational tobacco companies have invested heavily in this market to maintain their profits and reinvent nicotine use. Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Imperial Brands, and Japan Tobacco International now largely dominate this sector.

According to data compiled by the WHO, global sales of nicotine pouches exceeded 23.4 billion units in 2024, representing an annual increase of over 50%. The global market is now estimated at nearly $7 billion in 2025. The United States currently represents the largest global market, with nearly 80% of global revenue, but Europe is emerging as a major strategic expansion area, particularly Sweden, Germany, Poland, and the Nordic countries.

The WHO also highlights the exceptional speed of this commercial expansion. The ZYN brand, owned by Philip Morris International through Swedish Match, has grown from approximately 9,000 points of sale in the United States in 2017 to more than 150,000 in 2024. The report emphasizes that this growth is not simply due to changing habits but to a structured industrial strategy aimed at repositioning the tobacco industry around products presented as "modern," "clean," or "smoke-free," while maintaining nicotine addiction.

The organization also points out that some sachets contain extremely high concentrations of nicotine, up to 150 mg/g, using technologies designed to accelerate absorption and enhance the products' addictive potential. The report further highlights the rapid growth in nicotine sachet use among young people. In the United States, the use of these products among adolescents and young adults is projected to nearly quadruple between 2022 and 2025, while in 2024, nearly half a million American middle and high school students reported using them.

Marketing strategies similar to those used to promote tobacco products

The report describes a particularly sophisticated marketing arsenal aimed at attracting new consumers, especially adolescents and young adults. The WHO emphasizes that the strategies used largely replicate the methods employed by the tobacco industry to promote cigarettes: identity marketing, emphasis on freedom, performance, seduction, and social integration.

Manufacturers are investing heavily in social media and digital platforms frequented by young people. The report cites, in particular, the use of paid influencers to promote these products to hundreds of millions of potential users. The campaigns frequently feature festive or sporting environments, or those associated with socially valued lifestyles.

The WHO also emphasizes the importance of flavors in the appeal of these products. Many sachets are marketed with sweet, fruity, or candy- and alcoholic-inspired flavors, such as "Bubble Gum," "Gummy Bears," "Cherry Punch," or "Frosted Apple." These flavors are explicitly identified by the organization as factors that encourage experimentation and nicotine initiation among young people.

The report also highlights that some packaging deliberately mimics popular food products or candies, increasing the risk of accidental exposure for children. The WHO notes that poisonings have already been documented and that some products contain doses of nicotine that are potentially lethal for a young child.

Finally, the organization warns against strategies that normalize nicotine use through slogans like "Anytime, anywhere" or "Forget the rules," encouraging discreet consumption in places where smoking and vaping are prohibited. The WHO also emphasizes that more than three-quarters of young people who use nicotine pouches also use other tobacco or nicotine products, increasing the risks of polydrug use, long-term addiction, and significant difficulties in quitting.

A major issue at the time of European regulatory revisions

The WHO report comes at a particularly strategic time for the European Union, as several major revisions to directives are expected concerning tobacco products, new nicotine products, and cross-border advertising. Several public health organizations are currently raising concerns about the intensification of lobbying efforts by the tobacco industry to obtain authorization and standardization of nicotine pouches within the European market.

Sweden is regularly cited by industry representatives as a political and commercial model for promoting these products in European debates. This strategy is part of a broader context where the industry seeks to influence future revisions of the Tobacco Products Directive (TPD), the Tobacco Tax Directive (TTD), and the Tobacco Advertising Directive (TAD), which are expected to specifically address the issues of new nicotine products, digital marketing, and regulatory circumvention strategies.

In this context, the WHO calls on states to adopt a comprehensive approach covering all nicotine-containing products, including synthetic nicotine and nicotine derived from new nicotine analogues. The organization specifically recommends banning flavorings, completely prohibiting advertising, promotion, and sponsorship, including on social media and through influencers, as well as implementing health warnings and plain packaging.

In France, the CNCT (National Committee Against Tobacco) has been raising the alarm for several years about the health risks, the appeal to young people, and the illegal sale of nicotine sachets within the country. The association also denounces the regulatory circumvention strategies employed by manufacturers to gradually introduce these new nicotine products to the French market and has filed a complaint.

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE

[1] Exhibiting marketing tactics and strategies driving the global growth of nicotine pouches. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2026. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.

National Committee Against Smoking |