Nicotine pouches: British American Tobacco's illegal marketing offensive in France

In France, the sale of nicotine pouches is strictly prohibited. These products are not covered by the regulatory framework applicable to tobacco and vaping products, which means that their marketing, sale, and promotion are prohibited.

Oral nicotine pouches are a new offering from the tobacco industry. They are generally available in a variety of high-sweetness flavors and have a shape similar to snus.[1], with an identical method of consumption. Unlike snus and conventional cigarettes, they do not contain tobacco leaves, but a white powder impregnated with nicotine. Some of these products deliver up to 50 mg of nicotine per pouch, which can lead to rapid addiction, particularly among young people, who are targeted by manufacturers' marketing strategies.[2].

A market outside the regulatory framework

Despite the sales ban in France, nicotine pouches remain available, particularly at tobacconists and through online platforms. They are sold without prior notification to health authorities, placing them outside any official regulatory framework.

Faced with this situation, the National Committee Against Smoking (CNCT) filed a complaint last May with the public prosecutor for trafficking in poisonous substances classified in list I. According to the association, this complaint was dismissed in September, and a new complaint was submitted to the Nanterre judicial court with the CNCT filing a civil action on January 29, 2025. This action aims to sanction those involved in the distribution of these products and to ensure compliance with public health protection measures.

Furthermore, the French government has notified the European Commission of a draft decree aimed at officially banning these pouches. The Commission has three months to examine this proposal. For the CNCT, banning these products would prevent the proliferation of nicotine products, which constitute gateways to addiction, with risks of co-consumption and transfer to other substances. This strategy is in line with the objectives of the tobacco industry, which is seeking to diversify its range of nicotine products in order to attract new consumers and maintain their dependence.[3].

A widespread presence among tobacconists

Nicotine pouches are widely available at tobacconists in France, despite their ban. According to a diverse but non-representative panel of outlets monitored by the CNCT in 2024, out of 217 points of sale visited, 150 (or 69.1% of tobacconists) were selling these products illicitly, compared to 401% in 2023 (94 out of 235 tobacconists).[4]. Furthermore, according to an interview given by the commercial director of BAT France, Karell Rovira-Devulder, in the Tobacco Review Last November, the manufacturer has been developing its brand for almost two years in France with tobacconists, and more than 11,500 of them now sell these products, i.e. half of all tobacconists in metropolitan France.

This already massive presence of nicotine pouches in tobacconists has led tobacconists to vigorously oppose the requested ban on these products. With this in mind, alongside tobacco manufacturers, notably BAT, the leader on the French market, they have deployed and continue to develop a significant lobbying campaign with public authorities: ministerial offices, parliamentarians, advisors, etc. The president of the Confédération des buralistes, Philippe Coy, had also denounced this decision in February 2024, which he deemed "incomprehensible and unjustified," stating that tobacconists should become the reference stores for nicotine products. This position was poorly received by public health associations, due to the poor compliance by tobacconists with protective prohibitions, whether in terms of the ban on sales to minors or the strict regulation of advertising at points of sale.

For the past two to three years, British American Tobacco France (BAT) has been deploying an aggressive marketing strategy to promote these products, notably through posters, animated screens, and salespeople visiting tobacconists. The latter sometimes offer free trials. Tobacconists thus play a central role in the distribution of these products, contributing to their visibility despite the ban.

A major and illicit advertising phenomenon on social networks

Analysis of marketing strategies for tobacco and nicotine products[5] conducted by the CNCT as part of its observatories[6] reveals a significant increase in the promotion of nicotine pouches on social media in 2024. These products represent 41,% of the advertisements recorded on the channels studied, compared to 25,% in 2023. British American Tobacco and other players, such as the French retailer Nicopouches, mainly broadcast their advertisements on the Instagram network, which concentrates 62,% of the advertisements recorded for these products. This platform allows for precise targeting of young consumers and facilitates the viral dissemination of promotional content.

These advertisements highlight the diversity of flavors (present in 41 % of the advertisements), promotional offers (30 % of the advertisements include promotional offers) and the discreet use of these products in places where smoking and vaping are prohibited (argument put forward in 19 % of the advertisements).

In addition to social media, manufacturers are also leveraging more direct communication channels, such as sending personalized offers via email and SMS. These campaigns target consumers who have already expressed interest in these products by subscribing to newsletters or creating customer accounts on sales sites. These practices are particularly concerning due to the lack of effective age control of recipients, potentially exposing minors to these commercial incentives.

The use of influencers

Influencers play a key role in promoting the tobacco industry's new nicotine products. According to a report According to a March 2025 report by the ACT Alliance Against Tobacco, 229 influencers shared promotional content related to vaping products and nicotine pouches, including those from British American Tobacco's VELO brand.

Among these influencers, a majority are nano- and micro-influencers (between 1,000 and 20,000 followers), selected for their proximity to their audiences. This strategy aims to give nicotine products an accessible and "trendy" image by associating them with moments of conviviality and leisure. The tobacco industry's use of small influencers also allows manufacturers to fly more "under the radar" and avoid being immediately identified as promoters of nicotine products, thus making these campaigns more discreet and pernicious. Corroborating the results found by the CNCT, the ACT identified 214 publications associated with the hashtags #etçapicote and #VELOToujoursAvecVous, reaching more than 114,840 people. The use of hashtags in the promotion of VELO nicotine pouches plays a key strategic role in maximizing content distribution and strengthening brand identity. By associating their posts with the hashtags #etçapicote and #VELOToujoursAvecVous, influencers and brands create a viral dynamic, facilitating product discovery among a much wider audience than just their subscriber base. Indeed, social media algorithms, particularly those on Instagram and TikTok, highlight the most engaging content, especially those linked to popular hashtags and generating a lot of interactions.

Hashtags also help build a community around a brand and create a sense of belonging among consumers. By using catchy and memorable terms, such as "#etçapicote," the tobacco industry builds a specific identity around the product, giving it a trendy and playful feel. This process is all the more effective because it creates a space for exchange and sharing between users, who can interact with the content, publish their own experiences, and thus help spread the advertising message.

In the case of VELO nicotine pouches, this strategy aims to circumvent legal restrictions by turning consumers themselves into unwitting ambassadors for the product. By appropriating hashtags and relaying them in their own posts, young people amplify the product's visibility, thus contributing to its normalization and gradual adoption. This insidious approach allows tobacco companies to spread their advertising messages in a roundabout way, relying on the organic dynamics of social networks and exploiting social influence mechanisms.

These practices are all the more worrying as they are often carried out without explicit mention of a commercial partnership, in violation of current regulations, in particular the law of June 9, 2023 aimed at regulating commercial influence, prohibiting by electronic means any promotion, direct or indirect, of products considered to be nicotine products (which can be consumed and composed, even partially, of nicotine). By exploiting the popularity of influencers and playing on the virality of social networks, the tobacco industry manages to circumvent legal restrictions and target new consumers, particularly young people.

Free VELO samples offered to product testers

British American Tobacco France is also relying on online product testing platforms, such as Sampleo, to recruit new consumers. In December 2023, the Sampleo website sent a survey to some of its members to introduce them to VELO brand nicotine pouches, presenting them as an "alternative way" to consume nicotine and describing them as 99% less harmful than traditional cigarettes. This campaign was part of "2024 New Year's resolutions," particularly for smokers wishing to quit. After completing the survey, selected members received several free samples of VELO pouches in different flavors, which they were then invited to test and comment on on their social networks. This type of campaign allows the brand to promote its products without advertising directly from it, thus making the approach more discreet and engaging, and seemingly removing responsibility from the manufacturer. It also allows it to reach a wider audience, including people who do not smoke and who would otherwise not be interested in these nicotine products.

Sponsored ads displayed on Meta Ads and Google tools

British American Tobacco France also uses Google Ads to promote its VELO brand. Since January 2024, more than 300 paid ads have appeared on Google Shopping, Google Search, and YouTube. Google Ads regulations prohibit advertising tobacco and vaping products, but do not explicitly mention nicotine pouches, allowing manufacturers to circumvent this restriction by presenting them as alternatives to tobacco.

In particular, BAT France includes its advertisements in the "health" category and presents nicotine pouches as "alternatives to tobacco," equating them with nicotine replacement therapy. This classification is misleading, as nicotine pouches are not recognized in any way, in France or internationally, as effective smoking cessation aids. However, this strategy allows the company not only to circumvent existing protective bans but also to benefit from increased visibility on platforms where advertising for tobacco products is prohibited. The tobacco manufacturer thus reaches a wider audience, particularly smokers wishing to quit.

Using Google Ads offers a major advantage to tobacco companies, as it not only allows them to reach a very broad audience, but also to target non-consumers thanks to the platform's advanced targeting tools. Google Ads allows manufacturers to capture the attention of Internet users who are not actively searching for these products, particularly through search results and purchase recommendations.

On YouTube, some ads, viewed more than 3 million times, highlight arguments already observed on other platforms: no nuisance for those around them and the possibility of using them in places where smoking is prohibited. This strategy is particularly effective given YouTube's massive audience. In 2024, in France, YouTube will be the most used video platform, with more than 40 million monthly users, the majority of whom are young adults and teenagers, prime targets of the tobacco industry.

Alongside Google Ads, British American Tobacco (BAT) is also using Meta Ads to promote its VELO brand on Instagram. With 23.7 million active users in France in 2024, Instagram offers a powerful platform for maximizing the visibility of nicotine products and reaching a wide audience, including non-users of tobacco or other nicotine products.

In 2024, 14 sponsored ads were recorded on this platform, including contests offering attractive prizes such as game consoles, laptops, and trips. These contests encourage participants to follow the brand on Instagram, which automatically increases the product's visibility and strengthens its appeal to young users.

The appeal of these ad spaces lies in their ability to target users extremely precisely based on their age, interests, and online behavior. Unlike traditional channels where nicotine advertising is strictly regulated, sponsored ads on Meta allow tobacco companies to integrate their products into consumers' digital environments without them actively searching for them. This approach makes it easier to expose new audiences, particularly young people and non-smokers, to the VELO brand.

Advertising investment on these platforms is significant. For example, one of the sponsored ads reached more than 23,000 likes; the investment required to achieve this result is estimated at between €3,450 and €11,500, based on average rates observed in 2024. These costs are influenced by various factors, such as the relevance of the ad, competition in the target sector, and the engagement of the target audience. On the scale of a brand like VELO, which benefits from a substantial marketing budget, these large-scale funded campaigns promote the popularization of nicotine pouches among a young, often non-smoking audience, which raises serious public health concerns.

By leveraging Meta's targeted advertising tools and integrating its ads into interactive and engaging formats, the tobacco industry is able to circumvent legal restrictions and reach an audience that would not normally be exposed to these products.

The VELO website: an aggressive and omnipresent advertising showcase

British American Tobacco's VELO website stands out for its particularly active and aggressive digital communications strategy aimed at continuously promoting its nicotine pouches. Far from being a simple information space, VELO.com/fr is a veritable advertising showcase, where products are presented in an attractive manner, through a modern design, bright colors, and descriptions that encourage consumption. According to the CNCT observatory, the site is updated very frequently, with no fewer than 34 updates in 2024. This demonstrates a clear desire to continually adapt the content to trends and attract new consumers through recurring promotional offers.

Analysis of the site reveals a systematic use of laudatory slogans and advertising arguments promoting products, often in contradiction with public health imperatives. The diversity of flavors is highlighted as an attractive criterion, evoking gourmet flavors reminiscent of confectionery or popular drinks. In addition, the promotional discourse tends to minimize the addictive nature of nicotine or even to conceal it, and there is little or no visible mention of the risks associated with the consumption of these products.

In addition to its incentive-based content, the VELO.com/fr website benefits from high traffic, largely fueled by the paid advertising campaigns mentioned above. Semrush data shows that the numerous advertising investment periods have led to a sharp increase in the VELO.com website's audience, extending well beyond the circle of consumers actually interested in these products. On several occasions, paid traffic reached very high levels, reflecting visibility artificially amplified by advertising. This strategy aims to capture a much wider audience, potentially including individuals who would not have spontaneously sought out these products. However, as soon as these campaigns are interrupted, traffic drops sharply, highlighting the site's reliance on these promotional strategies to maintain its audience. This heavy reliance on paid search demonstrates a clear desire to maximize the exposure of nicotine products, circumventing advertising restrictions and expanding their reach well beyond already engaged consumers. The brand targets strategic keywords such as "nicotine pouches," "nicotine bike," and "snus bike," which ensures high visibility on search engines.

Additionally, the VELO website boasts a significant network of 24.5 million backlinks, a significant number of links pointing to the site from other platforms. This strengthens its online positioning and makes it more accessible to potential consumers.

An analysis of British American Tobacco France's practices around the VELO brand reveals a diversified, omnichannel marketing strategy. The website, Instagram ads, paid campaigns, the use of influencers, and a presence in physical points of sale (particularly tobacconists) combine to ensure maximum visibility for nicotine pouches. These actions, implemented regularly, aim to reach a broad audience, well beyond the initially interested consumers, while raising questions about compliance with French regulations prohibiting the sale of these products, and a fortiori any associated advertising and promotion.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] Snus is a form of tobacco packaged in pouches containing tobacco powder, to be sucked or chewed. Its sale has been banned in the European Union since 1992, except in Sweden.

[2] Tobacco-free generation, Nicotine pouches, a new marketing opportunity for the tobacco industry, published December 28, 2022, accessed March 13, 2025

[3] Tobacco-free generation, Nicotine pouches: government turns to Europe to obtain ban, published February 27, 2025, accessed March 13, 2025

[4] Barometers of advertising of new tobacco and nicotine products at points of sale, CNCT

[5] The products monitored and included in this observatory are heated tobacco, vaping products, nicotine pouches and pearls.

[6] The methodology adopted is based on systematic monitoring of 20 brands operating in France between January 1 and December 31, 2024, covering social networks (Instagram, Facebook, X), manufacturers' websites, as well as promotional campaigns via emails and SMS.