Knowledge base · September 29, 2026 · Stefan Bensmo

Nicotine Pouches' Real Competitor Isn't Snus — It's Nicotine Gum

Almost every analysis of nicotine pouches sets them against traditional snus or cigarettes. But the category that's actually shrinking as pouches grow is a different one: over-the-counter nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) — gum, lozenges and patches sold as smoking-cessation aids. One of the world's largest consumer-health companies has just voted with its feet.

The category that more than doubled in two years

According to an analysis from the US Federal Trade Commission, tobacco-free nicotine products (pouches, synthetic-nicotine lozenges and similar) generated $1.06 billion in sales in 2022 — more than double the $452.8 million the same category generated in 2020. The growth isn't slowing: per a letter published in JAMA in 2021, nicotine pouch sales grew more than 300-fold between their 2016 launch and June 2020, from $710,000 to $216 million. For individual brands the numbers are even sharper — according to research published in the Substance Use field, Zyn's unit sales grew six-fold between August–December 2019 (126.06 million units) and January–March 2022 (808.14 million units).

This isn't growth simply taken from cigarettes — cigarette consumption has been falling for decades, long before pouches existed. The question is which other product category is declining at a matching pace.

Haleon exits nicotine gum — outside the US

In June 2024, Haleon — the world's largest standalone consumer-health company (spun off from GSK, owner of Nicorette and Nicotinell) — announced it was selling its entire NRT business outside the US: the Nicotinell, Nicabate, Habitrol and Thrive brands across more than 30 markets, to India's Dr. Reddy's Laboratories for £500 million. Per the company's own 6-K filing with the US SEC, the sum comprised £458 million in upfront cash plus up to £42 million in performance-based deferred payments during 2025 and the first half of 2026. The divested business generated £217 million in net revenue in 2023.

Haleon CEO Brian McNamara framed the divestment as reducing "complexity" and allowing the company to "focus on strategic growth areas," calling the NRT brands "not core" — while expressing hope they would "flourish" under Dr. Reddy's ownership.

Our read Haleon has not publicly stated that nicotine pouches are the reason for the divestment — the company's own words are about complexity and focus, not competition from a specific product category. But the timing is hard to ignore: one of the world's largest NRT companies is exiting the category outside its home market exactly as the tobacco-free nicotine category more than doubles in two years. We flag this as a reasonable interpretation, not a proven causal link.

What it means for you

• Your real competitor may sit in the pharmacy aisle, not the tobacco counter. If the NRT market is shrinking as pouches grow, you're competing for the same consumer behavior — the desire to get nicotine in a clean, discreet format — regardless of which regulatory category each sits in.
• White space in cessation-adjacent messaging. Without making medical claims (which are regulated and outright banned in many markets), there's room to speak to the same consumer need NRT has historically owned.
• Distribution channels pouches rarely reach today. NRT sells heavily through pharmacies and health shelves in grocery retail — channels where nicotine pouches are often entirely absent. If NRT companies retreat, that shelf space may open up before anyone else claims it.

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