Philip Morris International executives: Germany should learn from the US experience and speed up the formulation of nicotine pouch regulations

Philip Morris International executives: Germany should learn from the US experience and speed up the formulation of nicotine pouch regulations

Philip Morris International invested $600 million in a new nicotine pouch factory in Colorado, and the mission of a smoke-free future continues to accelerate in the United States. However, German nicotine pouches are still not regulated by regulations, and Germany's smoking rate is stagnant at a high level of more than 30%. According to German media FinanzNachrichten.de on August 6, Philip Morris International (PMI, hereinafter referred to as Philip Morris International) invested $600 million in Colorado, USA, and plans to build a highly modern smoke-free nicotine pouch production base in Aurora, Colorado in the next two years. Philip Morris International is responding to the growing global demand for smoke-free nicotine products.

However, in Germany, nicotine pouches still lack legal supervision, which hinders their safe sales and product standards in Germany. The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) evaluated it in 2022 and determined that "switching from cigarettes to nicotine pouches may reduce health risks for smokers." The number of smokers in the United States is decreasing due to harm reduction products such as smoke-free nicotine pouches. In recent years, more and more smokers have turned to harm reduction alternatives. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2022, only 11% of adult Americans smoked, compared to more than 20% in 2005.

"In the United States, the number of smokers has fallen to an all-time low," a German medical journal assessed in 2023. However, Germany's smoking rate has not seen a similar positive development and has remained high at more than 30% for many years. This is partly due to the lack of a regulatory framework for harm reduction products such as nicotine pouches.

Torsten Albig, Managing Director for External Affairs at Philip Morris International Germany, said:

"For many years, German politics have prevented the legal supply of nicotine pouches as a harm-reducing alternative for adult smokers, creating a grey market. Germany is still waiting for the necessary regulations. The sale of nicotine pouches, especially their composition and youth protection, must eventually be regulated by law and these products established as an alternative to smoking. In 2021, the Conference of Ministers for Consumer Protection has decided to regulate nicotine pouches in the tobacco law, but the federal government has not yet implemented it. The example of the United States is a good example of how, with the right regulatory framework, positive economic benefits can be generated in addition to reducing smoking rates."