The World Health Organization has published its first-ever global report on nicotine pouches, and the headline number is stark: 160 countries have no specific regulation for a product category that sold over 23 billion units in 2024.

The report, titled Exposing marketing tactics and strategies driving the growth of nicotine pouches, was released on 15 May 2026 — ahead of World No Tobacco Day, which this year focused on nicotine and tobacco addiction and the industry tactics used to "hook a new generation of users."

The global nicotine pouch market was worth nearly US$7 billion in 2025. Retail sales grew by more than 50 percent in a single year. And in most of the world, there is nothing stopping a manufacturer from selling a pouch with 150 mg of nicotine in bubble-gum flavour to a teenager.

What the report says

WHO's core finding is that nicotine pouches "often fall through regulatory cracks." The numbers:

• 160 countries have no specific regulation for nicotine pouches.
• 16 countries ban their sale outright.
• 32 countries regulate them in some form — 5 restrict flavours, 26 restrict sales to minors, and 21 ban advertising, promotion and sponsorship.

That leaves the vast majority of the world's population living in countries where pouches are sold with no age limit, no flavour restriction, no advertising curb, and no nicotine cap.

WHO also documented the marketing tactics it says the industry uses to reach young users: sleek, discreet packaging; flavours like bubble gum and gummy bears; influencer marketing on social media; sponsorship of concerts, festivals and sports events including Formula 1; aspirational lifestyle branding; and messaging that "encourages discreet use in schools and smoke-free settings." Some packaging, the report notes, mimics sweets or popular candy brands.

The report recommends that governments adopt comprehensive regulation covering all tobacco and nicotine products, including:

• Bans or strong restrictions on flavours.
• Advertising, promotion and sponsorship bans — including on social media and influencer use.
• Strong age-verification and retail controls.
• Clear health warnings and plain packaging.
• Caps on the amount of nicotine allowed.
• Taxation to reduce affordability and deter youth use.

Why the Sweden warning matters

The report's most pointed message is aimed directly at Sweden.

Sweden has rapidly reduced smoking over the past 20 years, and its liberal policies on snus and nicotine pouches are frequently cited by tobacco companies and industry-funded consumer groups as a model for other countries to follow. WHO says that narrative is wrong.

"Sweden's overall positive experience is not as a result of snus or nicotine pouches," Ranti Fayokun, a scientist with WHO's smokefree initiative, told reporters. She warned the Swedish example was being used to "promote nicotine addiction."

According to WHO, Sweden's success in suppressing smoking came from a wide range of tobacco control measures — taxes, advertising restrictions, and services to help people quit — not from the availability of pouches. The distinction matters because the industry argument for permissive pouch regulation rests on the Swedish example, and WHO is telling governments not to buy it.

The pushback is already playing out in EU policy. EU countries are weighing new minimum taxes on pouches, with the European Commission proposing 50 percent of retail price and member states pushing for half that. The Commission's revision of the Tobacco Products Directive — expected by the end of 2026 — is expected to tighten rules on marketing and sale of pouches. France has already banned nicotine pouches entirely, prompting Sweden to file a complaint with the Commission accusing Paris of violating the EU single market.

A Sweden Radio investigation, published the same week as the WHO report, found that Swedish trade officials had used arguments originating from tobacco industry submissions to protest the French ban. Sweden's trade minister, Benjamin Dousa, told the broadcaster: "This government will always stand on the side of Swedish snus users."

What this means for the pouch market

The WHO report is not a law. It cannot bind any country. But it is the first time the world's leading health authority has studied nicotine pouches as a distinct category and issued specific policy guidance — and that guidance points in one direction: tighter regulation, not less.

For the industry, the recommendations that matter most are the ones with the biggest commercial impact: flavour restrictions (which drive the majority of pouch sales), nicotine caps (which would eliminate the high-strength segment), and advertising bans (which would cut off the influencer and social-media channels that have fuelled growth). For the 160 countries with no rules, the report is a template. For the 32 that already regulate, it is a benchmark to measure against.

The European oral nicotine market — including pouches, gums and lozenges — is worth US$1.6 billion. The global pouch market is worth nearly $7 billion. Those numbers explain why the industry is fighting so hard against the EU tax proposal and the TPD revision, and why WHO chose this moment to publish.

The report also lands in a year when the regulatory picture is shifting fast. Australia banned pouches entirely in July 2026. France banned them in April. The UK raised the purchase age to 18 and banned free samples starting in October. Kuwait banned under-21 sales and all online orders from January 2027. Israel required graphic warnings covering 75 percent of every pack. The EU is closing in on its own rules.

WHO's message to the countries that haven't acted yet is simple: the absence of regulation is not neutrality. It is a choice to let the market grow uncontrolled.

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SOURCES:

• World Health Organization, "Exposing marketing tactics and strategies driving the growth of nicotine pouches." 15 May 2026. WHO report
• WHO, "WHO warns nicotine pouch brands targeting youth as sales surge." 15 May 2026. WHO news release
• Politico, "Don't follow Sweden on nicotine pouches, WHO warns countries." 15 May 2026. Politico
• TobaccoIntelligence, "WHO's first report on nicotine pouches calls for bans or rigorous regulation." 15 May 2026. TobaccoIntelligence