PM News & Events

Tobacco companies are heavily investing in factories in the U.S. as they shift their focus to nicotine pouches after exploding in popularity, Murray Carpenter of The New York Times reports. Companies are racing to meet the increased demand, investing over $1B in plant production. The marketing of these nicotine-laden items, however, has heightened public health concerns, with experts accusing the industry of deliberately ignoring decades of science. Publicly traded companies in tobacco products space include Philip Morris (PM), Altria Group (MO), British American Tobacco (BTI) and Imperial Brands (IMBBY).

Philip Morris International announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued Modified Risk Tobacco Product orders for 20 variants of ZYN nicotine pouch products. "These are the first MRTP orders granted for nicotine pouches, allowing PMI U.S. to market the following claim for the authorized ZYN products: Using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis'," the company stated. "FDA's decision is an important moment for the more than 45 million legal-age nicotine consumers in America. Today's news ensures these adults have access to accurate, science-based information, including FDA-authorized evidence that switching from cigarettes to ZYN reduces the risk of smoking-related diseases like heart disease and lung cancer," she added. "More broadly, it reinforces the agency's science-based approach to evaluating products across the continuum of risk and communicating those findings transparently," said Stacey Kennedy, PMI U.S. CEO.

The Food and Drug Administration issued modified risk granted orders to Swedish Match USA for 20 ZYN nicotine pouch products. With the issuance, the ZYN nicotine pouch products may now be marketed with the following risk modification claim: "Using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis." Philip Morris owns Swedish Match USA.