Crackdown on a Growing Market
On September 19, 2026, India’s Ministry of Health sent a letter to all states, asking them to initiate enforcement action in the name of public health and child protection. It cited provisions of Indian drug law that allow searches, product seizures and prosecution of sellers.
ZYN, owned by tobacco company Philip Morris International, and White Fox, made by Swedish Smokeless Solutions, are specifically targeted. And for good reason: nicotine pouches already appear to have found a market in the country. According to a study by the National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (ICMR-NICPR), published in June 2026, nicotine pouches were reportedly found in seven of the ten cities studied and in around 9% of tobacco retail outlets. They were also reportedly available through online platforms, hookah bars and rapid-delivery services. In total, the researchers are said to have identified as many as 445 flavors available in India.
The latest available data (2016–2017) indicate that the country had nearly 267 million tobacco users across all forms of tobacco consumption.
Not Banned, but Not Authorized Either
The problem is that, unlike e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, which have been banned by law since 2019, no legislation specifically targets nicotine pouches. Because they contain no tobacco, they fall outside the scope of tobacco-control law. The government has therefore chosen to treat them as unauthorized medicines, making their sale illegal.
And on August 27, the only possible legal pathway that remained—authorization as a smoking cessation aid was also dealt a blow. On that day, the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB), an advisory body to the drug regulator, reviewed applications to market pouches containing 2, 4 and 6 mg of nicotine, and recommended that no new nicotine formulations be approved from now on. Only conventional nicotine replacement therapies, such as gum, lozenges and patches, therefore remain authorized in India.
Even Duty-Free Is Not Exempt
The standoff between distributors and authorities has also played out in airports. On April 2, authorities banned the sale of imported nicotine pouches in duty-free shops at Mumbai airport, which are operated by a joint venture between the Adani Group and Dubai-based Flemingo Group. On September 22, the Bombay High Court upheld the ban, ruling that duty-free shops remain subject to Indian law.
The Court, however, declined to rule on the underlying legal question: is a tobacco-free nicotine pouch legally considered a medicine? The regulator is expected to address that question in the coming weeks.
The situation of e-cigarettes in India nevertheless calls for caution. Banned for seven years, they continue to circulate through large-scale smuggling.
