VB-31 Jan 2024

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january 26 2024 1

JANUARY 2024

ISSUE 31 VOLUME 4

Flavour ban

Tastes awful

Smoke-free UK

Faltering

Nic pouches

Classy and discreet

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2 26 january 2024

C o n t e n t s

News

Vapes help more smokers quit than NRT – latest Cochrane

review

Supreme, Elfbar B&M partner provide in-store vape recycling

bins

US top court rejects challenge to vape flavour ban

Demand to double fines as one in seven stores selling

underage vapes

‘Smoke-free ambition is stalling’: IBVTA responds to new study

Consumers condemn WHO’s proposed flavour ban

Vape industry launches self-regulatory Code of Conduct

Disposable vape batteries can be recharged hundreds of times:

study

Feature: Nicotine Pouches

Nic pouches have enjoyed massive popularity – they are

functional and discreet. But that means the government eyes

the products with suspicion

Contents

Vape Business & Next Gen provides invaluable insights into the future of the vaping sector to help

retailers maximise selling opportunities. We cover heated tobacco products, vape, nicotine pouches,

gums and patches and new products which makes up this rapidly growing sector. Vape Business

& Next Gen reaches over 45,000 buyers and sellers across every major channel in the UK market.

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Bruce Terry

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january 26 2024 3

News

Nicotine e-cigarettes are more

ef ective in helping people quit

smoking than conventional

nicotine-replacement therapy

(NRT), the Cochrane review,

considered to be gold standard

quality, conf rmed.

T e review of studies

published on the Cochrane

Database of Systematic Reviews

on Monday found high cer-

tainty evidence that e-cigarettes,

which allow users to vape

nicotine instead of smoke it,

led to better chances of quitting

smoking than patches, gums,

lozenges or other traditional

NRT.

“In England, quite dif erent

from the rest of the world, e-

cigarettes have been embraced

by public health agencies as a

tool to help people reduce the

harm from smoking,” said Jamie

Hartmann-Boyce, assistant

professor of health policy

and promotion at the Uni-

versity of Massachusetts

Amherst in the US, said.

Vapes help more smokers quit

than NRT – latest Cochrane review

Once again, vape credentials validated by science

Supreme PLC, brand owner of

88vape, has partnered with Elf-

bar discounter B&M to provide

over 700 in-store vape recycling

bins.

T e scheme is the f rst to

appear in the estate of a nation-

wide retail chain, with all three

organisers saying the campaign

will “signif cantly increase” the

expansion of recycling.

“Here at Supreme, we

always want to be one step

ahead, and that’s no dif erent

regarding our environmental

impact,” said Sandy Chadha,

Supreme CEO.

Working with the Wastecare

Group, the UK’s largest collec-

tor of portable batteries for re-

cycling, the scheme will see a

more responsible handling of

the collected vapes, all

containing lithium bat-

teries. T e raw materials

will be recovered and

recycled in line with

existing disposal rules;

the vape batteries will

be processed to recover

the lithium, and the

f lter and nicotine ele-

ments sent for incinera-

tion. All these recycling

processes take place in

the UK.

A B&M spokesperson said:

“B&M welcomes the oppor-

tunity to work in a three-way

partnership with Elfbar and

Supreme to tackle the ongo-

ing environmental damage

occurring by single-

use, disposable vaping

products.

“We want our con-

sumers to use the prod-

ucts we sell in a respon-

sible manner, and that

remains even when they

are no longer of use.

T ese new bins of er a

convenient and sustain-

able way for customers

to dispose of their vapes.

Like many of the other

products we sell, vapes should

never be binned or littered –

especially now they can be so

easily recycled.”

Supreme, Elfbar B&M partner

provide in-store vape recycling bins

“Most of the adults in the

US who smoke want to quit

but many f nd it really dif cult

to do so,” added Hartmann-

Boyce, who conducted research

at the University of Oxford in

England before joining UMass

Amherst earlier this year. “We

need a range of evidence-based

options for people to use to

quit smoking, as some people

will try many dif erent ways of

quitting before f nding one that

works for them.”

Hartmann-Boyce, a

Cochrane editor, is senior

author of the review, which

included 88 studies and more

than 27,235 participants – an

addition of 10 studies since the

last update in 2022. Most of

the studies analyzed took place

in the US, United Kingdom or

Italy.

T e November 2022 review

has found “high certainty”

evidence that people are more

likely to stop smoking for at

least six months using nicotine

e-cigarettes, or vapes, than

using nicotine replacement

therapies, such as patches and

gums.

“We have very clear

evidence that, though not risk

free, nicotine e-cigarettes are

substantially less harmful than

smoking,” Hartmann-Boyce

said. “Some people who haven’t

had success in the past with

other quit aids have found e-

cigarettes have helped them.”

T e analysis found of 100

people using e-cigarettes to

stop smoking, 80% would be

expected to stop, compared

with six of 100 using traditional

NRT, and with four of 100 try-

ing to quit with no support or

behavioral support only.

Voopoo unveils Argus Pro

2 with PnP X Platform

Voopoo has released the 2nd Argus

Pro 2, the ﬁ rst with PnP X platform,

boasting an extended atomization

lifespan where one coil sustains 100

ml without ﬂ avor fading, coil burning

or leakage. The top airﬂ ow intake PnP

X cartridge DTL (Direct-to-Lung)

controls e-liquid and condensate leaks.

It is compatible with both the

package-included PnP X cartridge

DTL and the PnP X cartridge MTL

(Mouth-to-Lung), allowing users to

seamlessly switch between MTL and

DTL vaping experiences.

The product will be available in 5ml

and UK-compliant 2ml variants.

Innokin launches Trine pod

system, 3 in 1 structure

Vape brand Innokin has announced

the launch of Trine, redefining the

structure of pod systems with Atom-

izer, Control, and Battery (removable).

The “3 in 1” solution should greatly

improve the reusability of the battery,

extending the life cycle of devices far

beyond that of an individual battery

while enabling safe recycling.

Trine ensures safe battery dis-

posal by integrating EcoDrain, a

cutting-edge battery discharge

technology, setting a new industry

standard as an eco-safe solution for

battery disposal.

Innokin said this technology

minimises ﬁ re hazards and reduces

the detrimental environmental impact.

Court ﬁ nes Peterhead

retailer for underage

vape sales

Aberdeenshire Council’s Trading

Standards has stressed it will not toler-

ate retailers breaking the law and

selling tobacco or nicotine vape

products to anyone under the age of

18.

Earlier this year, six shops in Peter-

head were visited as part of a test

purchase operation for disposable

vapes and cigarettes.

Despite the law around sales being

very clear, one town centre shop-

keeper made no ef ort to establish the

young person’s age – despite the fact

that she was just 16 – and he was re-

ported to the Procurator Fiscal.

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News

T e US Supreme Court de-

clined to hear R.J. Reynolds

Tobacco Company’s challenge

to a voter-approved measure

in California banning f avored

tobacco and vape products.

T e justices rejected an appeal

by R.J. Reynolds, a unit of British

American Tobacco, and other

plaintif s of a lower court’s ruling

holding that California’s law did not

conf ict with a federal statute regu-

lating tobacco products.

California attorney general Rob

Bonta, a Democrat who defended

the law in court, in a post on X, called

the Supreme Court’s decision “excel-

lent news.”

“We look forward to continuing

to fight to prevent addiction and

protect the health of our people,”

Bonta said.

R.J. Reynolds declined to com-

ment.

Democratic governor Gavin

Newsom in 2020 signed into

law a ban on all f avored to-

bacco products – including menthol

cigarettes and cotton candy-f avored

vaping products – in response to

concerns about a rise in e-cigarette

and tobacco use by teenagers.

T e ban’s implementation was

delayed after a tobacco industry

coalition gathered enough signatures

to put to voters a ballot measure that

would block California from becom-

ing the largest state to ban f avored

tobacco product sales. But nearly

two-thirds of voters casting ballots

on the measure known as Proposi-

tion 31 approved the sales ban in

November 2022.

The law made California the

second state to ban all f avored to-

bacco product sales after Massa-

chusetts in 2019. Several other states

have restricted flavored vaping

products and several municipalities

have adopted their own bans.

T e US Food and Drug Admin-

istration in 2020 banned all f avors

except tobacco and menthol in Juul

and other cartridge-based e-cigarettes.

In 2022, the FDA sought to ban sales

of all Juul e-cigarettes, though it

later put the order on hold.

Beyond vaping, the FDA in April

2022 proposed banning menthol

cigarettes and f avored cigars. T ose

rules have yet to be f nalised and

have been the subject of lobbying

by tobacco groups.

A day after the California vote,

R.J. Reynolds along with a group

representing tobacco retailers, the

Neighborhood Market Association,

and a vape shop, filed a lawsuit

arguing the federal Tobacco Con-

trol Act preempts state and local

laws banning flavored tobacco

products.

US top court rejects challenge

to vape f avour ban

R.J. Reynolds fails to f nd taste in California

Vaporesso kicks of carbon

neutral initiative

Vaporesso has launched its new initiative,

the 2023 Vaporesso Care Eco Go Green

– Global Carbon Neutral Program.

Launched on 10 December, the

project is slated to continue until July

2024,

It aims to demonstrate Vaporesso’s

ef orts towards sustainable development

in vaping and underscore its pivotal role

in the industry as a trailblazer for sustain-

able practices.

Working alongside industry experts

and researchers, the brand has assessed

the potential of various innovative, low-

carbon and environmentally-friendly

materials and has successfully developed

four groundbreaking concept Eco Nano

products.

Lost Mary in front as vape

category leads grocery

growth

Vaping products were the fastest grow-

ing category in UK grocery for the

second year running in 2023, while sales

of cigarettes, cigars and loose tobacco

fell sharply (down £849.1m and £393.1m

respectively), industry data showed.

The Lost Mary brand, owned by

Chinese vaping ﬁ rm Heaven Gifts, was

the UK’s fastest growing product with

sales up by £310.6 million on the previ-

ous year, according to the data published

on Saturday by market researcher NIQ.

Vaping products saw growth in

value sales of £897.4m in 2023.

Juul seeks US approval for

lockable pods

Juul Labs is seeking authorization for

its new menthol-ﬂ avored pods, which

require age veriﬁ cation, to be used

with its next-gen platform device

under review by US regulators.

The platform device, launched

initially in the UK in 2021 as JUUL2,

utilises Pod ID authentication to foil

illicit products, and incorporates age

veriﬁ cation technology.

Juul submitted the premarket to-

bacco product application to the US

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

for the device and tobacco-ﬂ avored

pods last July.

The menthol-ﬂ avored pods, with

nicotine of 18 mg/mL, contain a secure

microchip.

Shops who sell vapes to

under-age children could

see f xed penalty f nes dou-

bled to £500 in Lisburn and

Casltereagh following a test

purchasing exercise in the

district.

T e local authority’s en-

vironment committee heard

this week, that f ve prem-

ises out of 36 surveyed were

caught selling nicotine-inhal-

ing products to a 15-year-old

volunteer in late 2023. T e

current legal age for pur-

chase is 18.

T e illegal sales were high-

lighted further in chambers,

as the shop owners received

“pre-visit correspondence”

from the council ahead of

the survey making them aware

a spot check was due to be

carried out.

James Baird, Downshire

East UUP Alderman, said:

“Is the current £250, is that

a severe enough penalty for

selling E-cigarettes to under-

age children, is it enough?

“Personally, I think it

should be moved up to £500.

“We should be looking at

upping the penalty.

“It would be timely to do

so now as budget setting is

ahead.

“If we are restricted by

legislation on the level of

the f xed penalty, then at

this time we would have no

further decision or inf uence

on raising the penalty.

“However, I believe £250

is not enough of a deterrent

to shop owners.

“I would therefore propose

we write to the government

department to suggest a

higher penalty in this matter.”

Lisburn North SDLP rep,

Pat Catney added: “We have

had similar legislation when it

comes to under-age drinking.

“It is important that we

protect children and have a

zero-tolerance policy to send

out a strong message.”

Demand to double f nes as one in

seven stores selling underage vapes

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january 26 2024 5

A new study from researchers at

UCL shows that the decline in

smoking prevalence in England

has slowed signif cantly since the

pandemic. Lead author Dr Sarah

Jackson cites as one of the reasons

the increasing misperception re-

garding the risks of vaping compared

with smoking.

“T is important research from

UCL shows that the Government’s

smoke-free ambition is stalling,”

said IBVTA chair Marcus Saxton.

“T e authors also rightly point

to the media attention on vaping

and the subsequent disconnect

between the substantially greater

risks from smoking. 43% of smok-

ers believe that vaping is equally

or more harmful than smoking, an

increase of 60% since 2019. T ese

are truly shocking f gures, ref ect-

ing the never-ending cycle of

negative stories on vaping,

therefore it is of no surprise

that smoking rates remain

stubbornly high.

‘Smoke-free ambition is stalling’:

IBVTA responds to new study

Resisting vaping helps nobody’s health – UCL

Consumer body World Vapers’

Alliance (WVA) has vehe-

mently criticised the World

Health Organisation’s (WHO)

demand for a ban on vaping

f avours.

“T e WHO’s latest stance

on vaping f avours is not just

misguided, it’s dangerously

out of touch with scientif c

reality,” Michael Landl, WVA

director, said.

“By pushing for a blanket

ban, the WHO blatantly dis-

regards a wealth of scientif c

evidence that underscores

the benef ts of vaping when

compared to alternatives.

Flavoured e-cigarettes have

been proven to increase the

chances of successful smok-

ing cessation by 230 per cent

compared to non-f avored al-

ternatives. It’s appalling to see

such a pivotal public health

tool being dismissed by an

organisation that should be

at the forefront of harm re-

duction.”

T e WHO had urged gov-

ernments to treat e-cigarettes

similarly to tobacco and ban

all f avours.

T e WVA highlighted that

vaping is 95% less harmful

than smoking and more ef-

fective in aiding smoking ces-

sation than traditional meth-

ods like gum and patches. T e

organisation emphasised that

restricting or banning ac-

cess to vaping f avours will

not only undermine public

health ef orts, but also lead

to unnecessary loss of lives.

“T e WHO’s proposal is

a blatant neglect of its duty

to protect public health. It’s

a disservice to millions of

smokers and vapers who

have successfully quit smok-

ing through f avoured e-cig-

arettes,” Landl added.

“It’s time for the WHO to

start basing its decisions on

science and real-world evi-

dence rather than perpetu-

ating unfounded fears and

moral panic.”

As the WVA ‘s French

slogan has it, “Flavours help

smokers quit”.

Consumers condemn WHO’s

proposed f avour ban

“T e focus on vaping, particu-

larly single use products that are

important to quit attempts is

driving this misperception. We

welcome proportionate legisla-

tion, but these smoking f gures

show now is not the time to ban

those vaping devices and f avours

that are crucial to getting smokers

to quit tobacco.

“T ere are clear challenges for

the vaping sector but through a

proportionate and evidence-based

approach vaping can remain a

vital smoking cessation tool and

encourage those smokers to make

that switch before it is too late.”

T e study, funded by Cancer

Research UK and published in the

journal BMC Medicine, looked at

survey responses from 101,960

adults between June 2017 and

August 2022.

Before the Covid-19 pandem-

ic, from June 2017 to February

2020, smoking prevalence fell by

5.2 per cent a year, but this rate of

decline slowed to 0.3 per cent

during the pandemic (from April

2020 to August 2022), the study

found. T is stall in the decline of

smoking was particularly pro-

nounced among advantaged

social groups – that is, people in

households whose highest earn-

ers were in professional, manage-

rial or clerical jobs, as opposed to

manual jobs.

Lead author Dr Sarah Jackson

(UCL Institute of Epidemiology &

Health Care) said: “Smoking prev-

alence has been falling for more

than 20 years. Our data show that

this decline has stalled.”

Trading standards seize

76,000 illegal vapes in

Newcastle

Tens of thousands of illegal vapes

with a street value of more than £1

million have been seized in Newcas-

tle, amid an “explosion” in sales of

the products linked to organised

crime gangs.

Councillors were left “horriﬁ ed”

as they were told of the scale of the

city’s vaping problems.

Newcastle Trading Standards

manager David Ellerington told how

his team had seized 3.3 tonnes’

worth since an “explosion” in their

popularity from autumn 2021 –

equating to around 76,000 e-cig-

arettes and reﬁ ll containers, worth

a total £1.1m.

Number of indie vape

shops rose signiﬁ cantly

in 2023

The number of independent vape

shops has jumped again across the

UK in 2023, with 233 shops being

opened, new ﬁ gures have revealed.

The increase is signiﬁ cantly high-

er than the net increase of 61 shops

in 2022, according to the data from

Local Data Company (LDC). In 2021

the sector saw a net decline of 23

shops.

The country now has a total of

3,573 specialist vape shops, accord-

ing to the LDC, showing robust growth

in the demand for vapes from physi-

cal stores not including c-stores and

mults.

Rumour of proposed new

tax on vape liquids

The government is believed to be

planning a new tax on vape liquids.

The proposed tax, set to be in-

troduced in the March budget, will

raise the prices by at least 25%, as

well as introduce a “generational”

smoking ban, said a report.

The paper said ministers are “keen

to push ahead with the tax” to prevent

children buying vapes.

Meanwhile, the government still

maintains it wants to encourage

people who smoke cigarettes to

switch to vaping, whilst discourag-

ing non-smokers – particularly

children – from starting vaping.

News

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News

T e US Supreme Court de-

clined to hear R.J. Reynolds

Tobacco Company’s challenge

to a voter-approved measure

in California banning f avored

tobacco and vape products.

T e justices rejected an appeal

by R.J. Reynolds, a unit of British

American Tobacco, and other

plaintif s of a lower court’s ruling

holding that California’s law did not

conf ict with a federal statute regu-

lating tobacco products.

California attorney general Rob

Bonta, a Democrat who defended

the law in court, in a post on X, called

the Supreme Court’s decision “excel-

lent news.”

“We look forward to continuing

to fight to prevent addiction and

protect the health of our people,”

Bonta said.

R.J. Reynolds declined to com-

ment.

Democratic governor Gavin

Newsom in 2020 signed into

law a ban on all f avored to-

bacco products – including menthol

cigarettes and cotton candy-f avored

vaping products – in response to

concerns about a rise in e-cigarette

and tobacco use by teenagers.

T e ban’s implementation was

delayed after a tobacco industry

coalition gathered enough signatures

to put to voters a ballot measure that

would block California from becom-

ing the largest state to ban f avored

tobacco product sales. But nearly

two-thirds of voters casting ballots

on the measure known as Proposi-

tion 31 approved the sales ban in

November 2022.

The law made California the

second state to ban all f avored to-

bacco product sales after Massa-

chusetts in 2019. Several other states

have restricted flavored vaping

products and several municipalities

have adopted their own bans.

T e US Food and Drug Admin-

istration in 2020 banned all f avors

except tobacco and menthol in Juul

and other cartridge-based e-cigarettes.

In 2022, the FDA sought to ban sales

of all Juul e-cigarettes, though it

later put the order on hold.

Beyond vaping, the FDA in April

2022 proposed banning menthol

cigarettes and f avored cigars. T ose

rules have yet to be f nalised and

have been the subject of lobbying

by tobacco groups.

A day after the California vote,

R.J. Reynolds along with a group

representing tobacco retailers, the

Neighborhood Market Association,

and a vape shop, f led a lawsuit argu-

ing the federal Tobacco Control Act

preempts state and local laws ban-

ning f avored tobacco products.

“I am delighted ... It is a f gure that

will increase over the coming weeks

and months as more companies

of the IBVTA.

Vape industry launches self-

regulatory Code of Conduct

New plan backed by major players across UK vape sector

Illicit sales in four of ﬁ ve

Bradford test purchases

Trading Standards has revealed that

illicit vapes are increasingly common,

with over 5,000 seized from Bradford

shops over the past 12 months.

The report reveals Trading Standards

had visited 68 shops in Bradford in 2023

and received 151 complaints about

products such as tobacco or alcohol

being shown to children.

38 of these visits were test pur-

chases – where volunteers go under-

cover to see if a shop is selling illegal

products.

Of these, 80% resulted in the test

purchaser being sold an illegal product.

Green light for industry’s

ﬁ rst expert environmental

panel

A new independent panel has been

launched by SMOORE, the world’s

largest atomisation technology com-

pany, to provide expert advice to help

the company and wider industry address

the environmental impact of the vape

sector and establish “best sustainable

practices”.

The move comes amid calls to ban

single-use vapes on environmental

grounds.

Heading up the panel is Joshua

Fischer, an ID Creative Director of in-

ternational vape brand VAPORESSO

– a subsidiary of SMOORE – who leads

on material choices and, critically, en-

vironmental philosophy, when develop-

ing products.

Welsh vape retailer grooms

teen girl with vapes

The use of vapes by criminals to at-

tract, groom and exploit children

across Wales is the focus of a new

awareness campaign by Crimestop-

pers Wales.

The charity has launched the

campaign to gain information anon-

ymously about vaping-related ex-

ploitation. The aim is to protect vulner-

able people and to tackle the criminal

networks involved.

it has highlighted a case study

where a 14-year-old girl was the victim

of vape-related sexual grooming by

a c-store owner who supplied her with

free vapes in exchange for sexual

favours for himself and his friends.

Although the lithium-ion bat-

teries in disposable vapes are

discarded after a single use,

they can continue to perform

at high capacity for hundreds

of cycles, according to new

research.

T e study, supported by

T e Faraday Institution and

published in Joule, highlights

a growing environmental

threat from these increasingly

popular vape pens, which are

not designed to be recharged.

Disposable vapes have

skyrocketed in popularity in

the UK, showing an 18-fold

increase recorded between

January 2021 and April 2022.

T is has led to new waste

problems, with about f ve

million of the devices thrown

away in the nation each week.

T e research team had a

hunch that the batteries used

in disposable e-cigarettes

were rechargeable but were

not aware of any

previous studies that

had assessed how

long the lithium-

ion batteries in these

products are capable

of lasting.

“Popularity

single-use

vapes

has

exploded

recent years. Despite being

sold as disposable, our re-

search has shown that the

lithium-ion batteries stored

within them are capable of

being charged and discharged

over 450 times. T is work

highlights the huge waste of

limited resources caused by

disposable vapes,” said Ham-

ish Reid, from UCL Chemi-

cal Engineering and the f rst

author of the study.

T ey

examined

the batteries under

microscopes

and

used X-ray tomogra-

phy to map their in-

ternal structure and

understand the con-

stituent materials. By

repeatedly charging

and discharging the batteries,

determining how well the bat-

teries maintained their elec-

trochemical performance over

time, f nding that they could

be recharged many hundreds

of times in some cases.

Disposable vape batteries can be

recharged hundreds of times: study

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january 26 2024 9

he nicotine pouch market in the

UK has been growing at a very fast

rate, and these products have gained

popularity as an alternative to traditional

tobacco products. The category is worth

£4.8 million a month, according to the sales

figures for March 2023 by market research

firm Circana, equating to an annual figure

of approximately £58 million.

A key trend within the nicotine pouch

category is the continued demand for higher

nicotine strengths. Circana data shows that

over three fourths (75.1 per cent) of nicotine

pouch sales in traditional retail in the UK

are from the Strong or Extra Strong varieties,

and Bruce Terry, portfolio brand manager at

JTI UK, which owns the leading brand in the

category, Nordic Spirit, confirms this.

“Over recent years, we have noticed

an increasing demand for higher strength

nicotine pouches, with existing adult smok-

ers in the UK market favouring extra strong

strengths, which hold a 40.7 per cent share

in comparison to regular strength which

holds a 16.6 per cent share,” he notes.

Mint-flavoured products have also

soared to new heights within the category,

with the market currently split 80.1 per

cent mint and 19.4 per cent fruit [Circana,

March 2023].

JTI has added a new element to its Nor-

dic Spirit portfolio with Spearmint Strong

in March last year, catering to the growing

demand for higher nicotine concentrations

and menthol products in the category.

“Following key trends in the nicotine

pouch market, the new launch taps into

the demand for extra-strong and strong

strengths, while spearmint also offers

retailers another menthol offering. With the

category in clear growth and now worth

£58 million a year, there is a big opportu-

nity for retailers to build on the success in

the market and grow with Nordic Spirit,”

Terry adds.

Regulatory status

Nicotine pouches are not regulated under

the Tobacco and Related Products Regu-

lations 2016 but by the General Product

Safety Regulations 2005. However, the

government’s recent consultation on meas-

ures to tackle the issues presented by both

The future of nicotine delivery

Nic pouches have enjoyed massive popularity – they

are functional and discreet. But that means the

government eyes the products with suspicion

smoking and vaping included a proposal

to regulate nicotine pouches in the same

manner as vaping products.

It appears t consultation, which con-

cluded in December, has taken a very

hard line on vaping, proposing a ban on

disposable vapes and severe restrictions on

vaping flavours, with one suggestion being

to only allow tobacco-flavoured vapes.

Other proposals included mandating

vaping products to be kept behind the

counter, either on display or even hidden

like cigarettes, and also restricting or com-

pletely prohibiting attractive packaging for

vaping products. Proposals go from ban-

ning child-friendly images right up to full

plain packaging the same as cigarettes.

The vape industry and consumers

have cautioned that the proposals would

jeopardise the UK’s successful pathway to

tobacco harm reduction. If the government

implements tighter controls, the impact on

sales can be significant as the proposals

have the potential to limit brand visibility

and consumer awareness, and to hinder

the ease of purchasing nicotine pouches.

In navigating this intricate regulatory

environment, retailers must stay abreast of

changes and ensure compliance with evolv-

ing standards. As far as the manufacturers

are concerned, while regulatory restrictions

pose challenges, they also present oppor-

tunities for innovation and differentiation,

ultimately shaping the future trajectory of

the nicotine pouch market.

Unleashing flavourful success

Bruce Terry, portfolio brand manager at JTI

UK, shares strategies for skyrocketing

nicotine pouch sales

Follow the Perfect Store Framework: In 2022, JTI launched its

Perfect Store Framework – a ‘how to’ guide on generating product

awareness in store, enticing new customers, and boosting sales in the

nicotine pouch category. Retailers can find out more by visiting JTI

Advance or by speaking to their JTI Business Adviser.

Establish clear product visibility: Give the category a clear ‘home’ by displaying nicotine

pouches on a back wall solution with heated tobacco and vaping devices, so the customer has

a visible choice of nicotine products based on their preferences.

Attract customers with an eye-catching counter display: For nicotine pouches, JTI offers PoS

category solutions to suit stores of all shapes and sizes that retailers can take advantage of to

boost their pouch sales, including countertop display solutions.

Ensure consistent product availability: As well as stocking a full range of products, it is

important that retailers always maintain good stock levels, so that customers have a choice

available to them. Retailers should also observe seasonal trends and busy periods. For

example, keep your nicotine pouch range particularly strong in the summer months when

demand is highest. In addition, clear signposting aids consumer navigation of the category.

Stay ahead with category education: As the nicotine pouch category is rapidly growing,

consumers will require guidance around the category, including what a pouch is, how to use

it, and which strengths are available. Ensure your staff are category experts by working with

JTI’s local Business Advisers to leverage all opportunities both inside and outside the store,

thus assisting customers in their decision-making process and ensuring your stock is aligned to

current trends. JTI Advance also has a range of training modules and sales guidance that can

help retailers looking for further information on pouches.

Nicotine Pouches

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