The Chinese government will regulate nicotine pouches and other smokeless nicotine and tobacco products under strict rules designed for cigarette manufacturers. Before now, there was no specific regulatory framework for pouches or oral tobacco like snus and chewing tobacco.
The news was announced publicly on Friday in a statement from the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA) dated Jan. 6.
The STMA announcement, according to Chinese financial news site Cailian Press, defines “smokeless tobacco” as all products containing nicotine “that are used orally, nasally, or externally and do not produce smoke, including nicotine pouches (sheets, patches), tobacco products, chewing tobacco, medicated tobacco, dissolved tobacco, and sniffing tobacco.”
The STMA also said that the “national restricted industry policy” will be “strictly enforced” for smokeless tobacco manufacturers, and production and sale without an STMA license is “strictly prohibited.”
Because the STMA will regulate nicotine pouches under the traditional system designed for cigarettes and cut tobacco—not under the framework designed for vaping products—companies are likely to have less room to innovate or make distribution arrangements without close government oversight.
Ashima-branded nicotine pouches made by a subsidiary of the state-owned China National Tobacco Corporation (China Tobacco) were shown to foreign distributors at a recent tobacco expo in Dubai, according to 2Firsts.
China Tobacco is the largest cigarette manufacturer in the world. Whether the government will eventually encourage Chinese citizens to switch from smoking to using state-produced nicotine pouches is unknown.
Because of declining cigarette sales, state governments in the U.S. and countries around the world are looking to vapor products as a new source of tax revenue.
A list of vaping product flavor bans and online sales bans in the United States, and sales and possession bans in other countries.
A closer look at PouchPoint, an online nicotine pouch store offering competitive pricing, wide selection, and a smooth shopping experience.
A practical, data-driven breakdown of where the vape market is heading—and how to position your business ahead of regulatory and category shifts.
