Category: Smokeless

  • Carlson’s Alp Could Upend Pouch Market: Survey

    Carlson’s Alp Could Upend Pouch Market: Survey

    Credit: Wiki Media

    More than 86 percent of current U.S. nicotine pouch users say they are likely to switch to the recently launched Alp brand, according to a survey carried out by online retailer Nicokick. Such a shift would upend the nicotine pouch industry, which is currently valued at approximately $988.4 million and dominated by Philip Morris International’s Zyn brand.

    Alp was launched in November by Tucker Carlson and Turning Point Brands. The conservative commentator touts the product as “the first nicotine pouch brand made by and for adults who unapologetically love nicotine.”

    According to an earlier article in The Wall Street Journal, Carlson decided to enter the tobacco business because of the way Zyn manufacturer Philip Morris International responded to an off-color remark he made in 2023 about America’s bestselling nicotine pouch.

    It’s clear the introduction of Tucker Carlson’s brand Alp should have a significant impact on the nicotine market, not only with current pouch users, but also with consumers of other forms of smoking and tobacco products.

    Marina Murphy, senior director of scientific affairs, Nicokick

    Also in Nickokick’s survey, 41.4 percent of cigarette users and 53.6 percent of cigar users said they would be likely to switch to Alp nicotine pouches. Nearly 55 percent of vapers also said they would be likely to switch.

     “It’s clear the introduction of Tucker Carlson’s brand Alp should have a significant impact on the nicotine market, not only with current pouch users, but also with consumers of other forms of smoking and tobacco products,” said Marina Murphy, senior director of scientific affairs at Nicokick.

    “A shift away from cigarettes, and towards nicotine alternatives like pouches, could have impacts not only on the industry, but on the lives and health of millions of American consumers.”

  • Tucker Carlson to Launch Nicotine Pouch, Blasts Zyn

    Tucker Carlson to Launch Nicotine Pouch, Blasts Zyn

    Photo: Andrii

    Tucker Carlson plans to introduce a nicotine-pouch brand called Alp in November, reports The Wall Street Journal.

    The conservative U.S. political commentator said he decided to enter the tobacco business because of the way Zyn manufacturer Philip Morris International responded to an off-color remark he made in 2023 about America’s bestselling nicotine pouch.

    Until recently, Carlson styled himself as an unofficial spokesman for Zyn. He talked up the brand on frequent podcast appearances. “The truth is, Zyn is a powerful work enhancer and also a male enhancer, if you know what I mean,” Carlson told comedian Theo Von in an interview last October.

    Carlson’s representatives then pitched PMI on forming a partnership with the brand. The multinational declined, citing Carlson’s commentary.

    “While we understand that these may be Mr. Carlson’s views or made in jest, these statements lack a scientific foundation,” the tobacco company wrote. “Given Mr. Carlson’s popularity and reach, these statements could promote a misunderstanding and misuse of our products.”

    Carlson said the message enraged him.

    “Of course I wasn’t making a medical claim about their product. I was just joking,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “So I thought: ‘I’m going to launch my own product that’s not controlled by, you know, humorless, left-wing drones.’”

    Last month, a Turning Point Brands subsidiary filed a trademark application for the Alp brand name and its logo, which depicts a winking man in a cowboy hat. The company currently sells a moist nicotine pouch called Fre.

    Alp will come in three nicotine strengths—3 mg, 6 mg and 9 mg. Zyn in the U.S. is only available in 3 mg and 6 mg versions. Another key difference is that Alp pouches are moist while Zyn pouches are dry, like tiny tea bags, until they are tucked into the cheek, according to Carlson.

  • New Canadian Rules Trigger Pouch Shortage

    New Canadian Rules Trigger Pouch Shortage

    Photo: rawpixel.com

    Canada’s new restriction on nicotine pouch sales have left many users scrambling to find the product, reports Western Standard.

    On Aug. 28, the federal government prohibited the sale of nicotine pouches in convenience stores and banned flavors. Modern oral products can now only be legally sold behind the counter in pharmacies.

    In the immediate wake of the ban, some consumers reported difficulty finding the nicotine pouches, as many Canadian pharmacies do not have them in stock yet, and some do not plan to carry the products.

    Health Canada licensed Imperial Tobacco Canada’s (ITCAN) Zonnic nicotine pouches last year, but officials now say they have become too easy for young people to obtain.

    Tobacco harm reduction proponents say the recent measure has made pouches harder to find for adults who use them to stop smoking. Earlier this year, ITCAN launched a public awareness campaign about its Zonnic nicotine pouches. The company said it aimed to dispel myths and prove accurate, science-based information about nicotine-replacement therapies and Zonnic’s potential role in reducing smoking in Canada.

  • Accorto Joins Global Institute for Novel Nicotine

    Accorto Joins Global Institute for Novel Nicotine

    Accorto Regulatory Solutions has joined the Global Institute for Novel Nicotine (GINN), an organization dedicated to advancing tobacco harm reduction through supporting the research and development of non-vaporized tobacco alternatives for adult smokers. The GINN also promotes compliance standards, focusing on youth access prevention, responsible marketing and product quality.

    Accorto Chief Scientific Officer Vince Angelico will join the GINN’s science and standards committee, which helps shape regulatory recommendations for the industry.

    “Becoming a member of GINN is a pivotal move in our ongoing commitment to advancing public health through robust, evidence-based regulation,” said Accorto Regulatory Solutions CEO Tom Beaudet in a statement. “GINN’s dedication to upholding industry integrity and prioritizing consumer safety mirrors our own values. We are eager to collaborate with fellow members to drive impactful progress in the tobacco harm reduction space.”

    Through this collaboration, Accorto Regulatory Solutions aims to contribute to the development of comprehensive, science-driven regulations that will enhance public health outcomes and promote responsible industry practices. Additionally, Accorto says it is dedicated to helping GINN members with novel, science-backed reduced-risk products fortify their regulatory applications, enabling these products to reach the market.

    “Accorto Regulatory Solutions joining GINN marks a significant step forward in our shared mission to advance tobacco harm reduction through evidence-based regulation,” said GINN Director Shem Baldeosingh. “Accorto’s deep expertise in regulatory compliance and their commitment to public health align perfectly with GINN’s core values. We are particularly excited about Dr. Vince Angelico’s involvement in our science and standards committee, as it will further enhance our ability to develop comprehensive, science-driven regulatory frameworks that support the safe and responsible marketing of reduced-risk nicotine products.”

  • PMI to Invest Millions in Colorado Zyn Production

    PMI to Invest Millions in Colorado Zyn Production

    Photo: PMI

    Philip Morris International will invest $600 million in a factory in Aurora, Colorado, to help meet U.S. consumers’ growing appetite for the company’s Zyn nicotine pouches. The factory is poised to begin operations by the end of 2025 with regular production starting in 2026.

    “PMI and its U.S. affiliates are accelerating their mission to move adults who smoke away from cigarettes in the U.S. by investing in new U.S. manufacturing capacity to meet the increasing demand for nicotine options that are scientifically substantiated as better alternatives,” said PMI Americas President and U.S. CEO Stacey Kennedy in a statement.

    “We believe Colorado is likeminded in its commitment to innovation, economic opportunity and public health, and we’re eager to work with the state and its talented workforce as we expand our U.S. manufacturing presence.”

    Sales of Zyn jumped 80 percent in the first quarter, leaving PMI struggling to keep up with demand. Retail stores have been experiencing Zyn shortages, with some even limiting the number of cans customers can buy each month.

    Supply was further constrained after the company decided to halt online sales nationwide in June following a subpoena in the District of Columbia asking for information on the sale of flavored pouch products that are banned there.

    PMI is also increasing production of Zyn at its factory in Owensboro, Kentucky. In addition to meeting U.S. demand, the investments will also help create capacity for exports, according to PMI.

    Zyn accounted for more than 70 percent of the $8.6 billion nicotine pouch market in 2023, according to sources. Given the relatively young age of the category, there is little brand loyalty, and analysts believe continued supply constraints may prompt some consumers to defect to other brands.

  • Altria Submits PMTA for ‘On! Plus’ Pouches

    Altria Submits PMTA for ‘On! Plus’ Pouches

    Image: maurice norbert

    Altria Group has submitted premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its “On! Plus” oral nicotine pouch products. The PMTAs were submitted by Altria’s wholly owned subsidiary Helix Innovations.

    On! Plus is a spit-free, oral tobacco-derived nicotine (TDN) pouch product made from a proprietary “soft-feel” material to provide a more comfortable product experience. The On! Plus pouch is designed for adults who dip and adult dual users (i.e., adults who smoke and dip).

    According to Altria, On! Plus pouches are seamless and larger than the leading U.S. TDN brands. Similar to the currently marketed On! products, On! Plus packaging features a compartment to responsibly dispose of used product. Helix submitted PMTAs for three distinct On! Plus varieties: tobacco, mint and wintergreen. Each variety comes in three different nicotine strength options.

    “Helix’s submission of the On! Plus applications underscores Altria’s commitment to addressing consumers’ evolving preferences through innovation in potentially reduced risk products. We firmly believe that On! Plus is a transformative product that will meaningfully contribute to Helix’s growth in the U.S. market, upon timely FDA authorization,” said Nick MacPhee, managing director and general manager of Helix in a statement.

    “We’ve long believed in the value of a robust marketplace of authorized smoke-free products for adult tobacco consumers. We believe that these PMTAs demonstrate that responsibly marketed On! Plus pouches can provide a compelling alternative in the marketplace,” said Paige Magness, senior vice president of regulatory affairs, Altria Client Services.

    Upon authorization, Altria expects the products to be distributed by Altria Group Distribution Co.

    Helix currently sells On! nicotine pouches in the U.S. In the first quarter of 2024, On! shipment volume grew 32 percent versus the prior year and the brand achieved a 7.1 percent retail share of the total U.S. oral tobacco category.

    Altria entered the U.S. oral nicotine products market in 2019 after signing a deal with Burger Söhne to acquire an 80 percent ownership stake in some companies that commercialized On! Products, according to The Wall Street Journal. In December 2020 and April 2021, Altria subsidiaries concluded transactions to buy the remaining 20 percent stake of the global on! business for about $250 million.

    Altria’s PMTA announcement comes after Philip Morris International’s Swedish Match North America unit suspended nationwide sales on its U.S. website as local officials in Washington, D.C., investigate whether the company is in compliance with the district’s ban on the sale of flavored products.

  • PMI Suspends Online Zyn Sales Due to DC Probe

    PMI Suspends Online Zyn Sales Due to DC Probe

    Photo: Swedish MAtch

    Philip Morris International halted sales of Zyn nicotine pouches on its U.S. website as Washington, D.C., officials investigate the company’s compliance with the district’s ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, reports The Wall Street Journal.

    On June 17, the company’s Swedish Match North America division announced it had received a subpoena from the District of Columbia’s attorney general, requesting among other things information about the unit’s compliance with local restrictions on flavored tobacco.

    A preliminary investigation by the company indicated that there had indeed been sales of flavored nicotine pouch products in the district. According to PMI, these related predominantly to certain online sales platforms and some independent retailers.

    Swedish Match is currently conducting a full review of its sales and supply chain arrangement in D.C. and other U.S. localities where flavor bans apply.

    Pending the investigation, PMI has suspended all online sales on Zyn.com. Sales on this platform have represented “a very small” percentage of the company’s U.S. Zyn volumes, according to PMI.

    In the March quarter, Philip Morris’ shipment volumes of oral smoke-free product volumes surged by 40 percent, mainly driven by Zyn nicotine pouches in the U.S., where shipment volume reached 131.6 million cans.

    Zyn has been available in the U.S. since 2014, but its sales have skyrocketed over the past year and a half, and its parent company is investing in Zyn capacity in the U.S.

    Philip Morris bought Swedish Match in a $16 billion deal in 2022 as the company looked to reduce its reliance on cigarettes amid stricter regulations and a consumer shift toward alternatives to tobacco and traditional cigarettes.

  • VTA Stands up for Lower-Risk Alternatives

    VTA Stands up for Lower-Risk Alternatives

    The Vapor Technology Association (VTA) today announced the launch of a cable news ad buy in the U.S. targeting Senator Chuck Schumer and his proposed ban on Zyn nicotine pouches. The ad runs this week on FOX News and FOX Business during key programming slots, including “FOX and Friends,” “Kudlow,” and “The Five.”

    The ad connects a proposed ban on e-cigarettes with a ban on all less harmful, tobacco-free nicotine products, such as Zyn nicotine pouches. The ad also calls out officials at the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) for repeatedly blocking access for millions of Americans to e-cigarettes as harm reduction tools.

    “Sen. Schumer and the FDA are simply wrong: wrong on e-cigarettes, wrong on Zyn, and wrong on the science,” said Tony Abboud, executive director of VTA, in a statement. “Rather than give adult smokers broader access to a greater number of lower-risk alternatives, the FDA and CTP have instead imposed a de facto ban on e-cigarettes—and Zyn is next.”

    The ad states that Schumer’s proposed Zyn ban mimics his attempts to eliminate e-cigarette use nationwide, amounting to an assault on Americans’ personal freedom to choose lower-risk, tobacco-free nicotine products that overwhelming scientific and medical data demonstrates are effective at helping adults quit smoking.

     “Why is the FDA denying access to a wide range of less harmful alternatives to combustible cigarettes that could otherwise be used by millions of adult smokers trying to quit?” asked Abboud.

    “Cigarettes kill. Rather than even acknowledging the settled science in support of e-cigarettes and other less harmful, tobacco-free nicotine products in recent years, the CTP has instead authorized nearly 900 new cigarettes for Americans’ use—but Sen. Schumer thinks it’s Zyn you need to be worried about.

    “The anti-nicotine FDA and congressional establishment has simply lost its bearings on the strategy of harm reduction, which it applies to every public health crisis, yet refuses to apply to the annual crisis of nearly half a million Americans dying from smoking every single year.”

     “VTA is running this ad buy because Americans deserve to know that less harmful nicotine products exist that can help adult smokers trying to quit. VTA supports Americans’ freedom to choose,” said Abboud.

  • Activists Protest ‘Misguided’ Zyn Pouch Probe

    Activists Protest ‘Misguided’ Zyn Pouch Probe

    Photo: Swedish Match

    U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission to investigate the marketing practices and health effects of Philip Morris International’s Zyn nicotine pouch brand provoked a backlash among advocates of tobacco harm reduction.

    “The American people have seen this movie before with less harmful e-cigarettes,” said Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association (VTA).

    “Congressional leaders yell at unelected bureaucrats at the FDA who scurry to remove products from the market that offend their sensibilities—even though those products are less harmful than traditional cigarettes, and have been proven to help people quit smoking deadly cigarettes altogether.

    “These misguided actions deprive American adults of less harmful, non-combustible, and non-tobacco nicotine products that are a proven alternative to combustible cigarettes and that the largest clinical trial in the U.S. has found to cause them to quit smoking even if they have no intention to quit cigarettes.

    “There is already a de-facto ban on e-cigarettes. Sen. Schumer simply wants this ban extended to other products he and the Washington establishment deem undesirable.

    “As with e-cigarettes, Sen. Schumer falsely asserted that Zyn products are popular with younger users. Yet, the National Youth Tobacco Survey data demonstrates that only 1.5 percent of youth have even tried nicotine pouches. When will the federal government stop hiding behind an excuse that has been disproven by their own data? 

    “VTA stands with Zyn, and the makers of modern oral nicotine pouches, in the fight against arbitrary and capricious government action. Because cigarettes remain the No. 1 cause of preventable death and disease in the U.S., VTA insists on broad access to a wide variety of non-combustible products to preserve freedom of choice for adults who want to use nicotine – and to provide access to proven harm-reduction and smoking-cessation options essential for saving American lives.”

    Earlier, Schumer’s call for an investigation prompted PMI to publish a video clarifying its marketing practices.

  • BAT Conducts New Study of its Velo Oral Nicotine

    BAT Conducts New Study of its Velo Oral Nicotine

    Photo: BAT

    BAT has conducted a cross-sectional clinical study of Velo, which is designed to provide new insights into the real-world health impact of its modern oral nicotine pouch product compared to smoking. Protocol details explaining the design have been published in the journal JMIR Research Protocols.

    The study evaluates exposure to certain toxicants and early indicators associated with smoking-related disease in people who have been exclusively using Velo for over six months and compares them with groups of smokers, former smokers and never-smokers.

    The results are currently being analyzed and will be published by the end of the year.

    “Modern oral nicotine pouches are an exciting product category, which build upon the extensive scientific evidence available for snus but are designed to offer adult consumers an improved tobacco-free, reduced-risk alternative,” said Sharon Goodall, BAT’s group head of regulatory sciences, in a statement.

    “We have already generated data that shows Velo has a toxicant profile better than snus and is comparable to nicotine-replacement therapy. However, we wanted to generate further evidence to demonstrate the important contribution it can make to tobacco harm reduction. I believe the results of this study will provide important new information, and we look forward to sharing them once available.”