Major League Baseball (MLB) is considering introducing new restrictions on nicotine pouches, a popular product among players, for the upcoming 2025 season.Nicotine pouches, small white sachets similar to snuff and often sold by brands like Zyn, contain only nicotine and come in various flavours. Unlike traditional tobacco products, including chewing tobacco, nicotine pouches are not banned in MLB. Experts say these pouches are a safer alternative to tobacco..IN-DEPTH: Sweden leads Europe in reducing smoking with nicotine pouches.However, a person familiar with MLB’s tobacco program told Front Office Sports that the league is studying possible new restrictions. “To the extent there is ambiguity regarding the status of these novel products at the Major League level, we plan to address that with the Major League Baseball Players Association this offseason,” the person said. “What the league wants to avoid is players using nicotine products in places where it is visible to younger fans who want to emulate what their favourite players do on the field.”The league has a history of regulating tobacco use. After Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn died in 2014 from salivary gland cancer, which was linked to his use of smokeless tobacco, MLB banned chewing tobacco for new players starting in 2016..Health Minister provides no evidence to support nicotine pouch restrictions.Any new rules on nicotine pouches would need to be negotiated with the MLB Players Association and these discussions are expected to happen this offseason.Players and staff are banned from using nicotine pouches in minor leagues as part of MLB’s long-standing tobacco ban in affiliated clubs.Philip Morris International (PMI), the parent company of Zyn maker Swedish Match, issued a statement responding to the reports. “[PMI] appreciates its loyal consumers [and] encourages them not to show the product in any situation where someone under 21 years old could see it,” said the statement.Sales of nicotine pouches have grown rapidly as cigarette smokers use them as a cessation product..Tucker Carlson to launch new nicotine pouch brand.According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sales in the U.S. increased from 126 million pouches in August 2019 to 808 million in March 2022. These pouches, like nicotine vapes, are only sold to adults 21 and older.Tobacco use in the U.S. has been declining for decades. As of 2022, adult smoking rates had fallen by 73% since 1965, down to 11.6%, according to an American Lung Association survey. Among those 17 and younger, smoking rates dropped by 86% from 1997 to 2021..UK vaping ban pushes users back to cigarettes, study finds.The decline in tobacco use is due to several factors, including a better understanding of health risks, smoking bans in public places, advertising restrictions, and warning labels. In 1998, a settlement between four major tobacco companies and 46 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories led to many of these changes.E-cigarettes and vaping products like Elf Bar and Juul have also reduced the number of adults smoking combustible cigarettes. However, there are concerns that products like nicotine pouches could appeal to young people. “Products like Zyn have the potential to create appeal among young people for many reasons, many of the same reasons vaping became so popular initially among younger people,” said Vaughan W. Rees, director of Harvard’s Center for Global Tobacco Control..U.S. lawmakers call out FDA for slow ‘smoke-free’ product review amid growing illegal market.The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and CDC released their latest National Youth Tobacco Survey in September. The survey showed that cigarette smoking is at its lowest level in over a decade. It also found that 5.9% of respondents used e-cigarettes and 1.8% used nicotine pouches. Only 1.4% used traditional cigarettes, and 1.2% used traditional chewing tobacco.The FDA has regulated tobacco products since 2009..Fewer U.S. teens vaping, few use nicotine pouches.So far, only one nicotine pouch product, Verve, was approved in 2021 after Altria discontinued the line. Brands like Zyn, Altria’s On, Swisher International’s Rogue, and others remain on the market until the FDA decides on their safety.“Zyn is going to continue to exist until the FDA finally gets caught up with it and makes a determination that the product is in the interest of public health,” said Rees. “It very well could be that the product has the potential to reduce nicotine exposure in adult consumers compared with other forms of smokeless tobacco products. The FDA has authorized a number of e-cigarettes, for sale as reduced exposure products, we also need to ensure that we aren’t creating a new generation of young people getting exposed to nicotine products through products like Zyn.”Rees emphasized the importance of keeping young people from seeing nicotine pouches used by sports heroes. “They’re not suitable for use by young people and they should not be connected in any way to pro sports,” said Rees. “Pro sports leagues have an obligation to their fans and the people who follow those sports to set the best possible example. That has to include not advocating the use of addictive products.”
