XQS is moving its entire 8mg range to 10mg in the UK
STG UK is transitioning all XQS 8mg nicotine pouches to 10mg, adding a nicotine-free Virgin Peppermint SKU, and timing it around the UK's 29 October sampling ban.
Scandinavian Tobacco Group's UK arm is bumping every XQS nicotine pouch from 8mg to 10mg, the company announced this week. The move clears out the mid-strength tier in favour of a single 10mg core range, while Tropical and Spearmint stay at lower strengths for people just entering the category.
Why it matters
UK pouch brands have been split between two audiences: newcomers who want 4-6mg, and experienced users pushing for more. XQS, which under-indexes with independent retailers, is betting the mainstream buyer sits at 10mg — not at the 30-50mg extremes some competitors now ship.
Adam Palmer, senior brand manager at STG UK, said some brands had "gone absolutely crazy" with strength, and that STG would never go that high "due to the responsible retailing aspect of it."
The nicotine-free play
Alongside the strength shift, XQS is adding a Virgin Peppermint SKU with no nicotine at all. It launches online first — STG now treats online as a test bed before any high-street rollout, the same path Fizzy Peach took.
The timing is deliberate. The UK's ban on free sampling of nicotine products takes effect 29 October 2026, but a nicotine-free pouch falls outside it. That gives XQS a sampling-adjacent product that other brands will lose access to.
What's next
New XQS flavours will now launch online-only first, then move into retail if demand shows up. If Virgin Peppermint performs, expect more nicotine-free variants — a segment most established pouch brands still ignore.
Compare XQS prices across retailers at PouchFinder.
SOURCES
SLR Magazine: STG UK increases XQS 8mg nicotine pouches to 10mg (28 September 2026)