{"id":123392,"date":"2026-09-08T11:14:32","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T05:44:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=123392"},"modified":"2026-09-08T11:14:32","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T05:44:32","slug":"nicotine-pouches-in-india-legal-status-regulation-and-health-concerns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/nicotine-pouches-in-india-legal-status-regulation-and-health-concerns\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicotine Pouches in India: Legal Status, Regulation and Health Concerns"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Nicotine Pouches in India Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A new study led by the ICMR-National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research has found that nicotine pouches are reaching Indian cities through online platforms, hookah shops and gig delivery services.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The study follows a warning by the World Health Organization in May 2026 about the health dangers of these products. Yet it remains unclear which Indian law, if any, governs them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>About Nicotine Pouches<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A nicotine pouch is a small, tobacco-free, tea-bag-like sack. It contains nicotine, flavourings and plant-based fibres.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Users place it between the lip and gum for up to an hour. Nicotine is absorbed directly into the bloodstream.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no smoke, no vapour and no spitting. This makes the product discreet and easy to use, which adds to its appeal among young consumers.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why COTPA Does Not Apply<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (COTPA) regulates the marketing, advertising and sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. However, it <\/span><b>does not cover<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> every product containing nicotine.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COTPA&#8217;s definition of tobacco products is limited to items listed in the Act.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicotine pouches are not among the listed products.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Restrictions on the freedom of trade and commerce must be strictly interpreted. Courts cannot stretch the law to cover unlisted products.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If Parliament wanted to cover every extract of the tobacco plant, it could have said so. Since it did not, nicotine pouches fall outside COTPA.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Debatable Position under the Drugs Act<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The status of nicotine pouches under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 is unclear. There are arguments on both sides.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Argument for coverage<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicotine is not listed as a drug in any schedule of the Act. But nicotine patches and gums have been approved as drugs by the Drug Controller General of India for treating nicotine addiction.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Schedule K<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945 exempts gums and lozenges containing less than 2 mg of nicotine from licensing and prescription requirements.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If nicotine were not a drug at all, there would be no need for such an exemption.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This suggests that all other nicotine products are meant to be regulated under the Act.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Argument against coverage<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pouches are different from patches and gums. They make no therapeutic claim and do not aim to treat addiction.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are simply a substitute for cigarettes. On this reading, they are not drugs.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Why the Vape Ban Does Not Cover Pouches<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/prohibition-of-electronic-cigarettes-act-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\"><b>Prohibition of Electronic Cigarettes Act, 2019 (PECA)<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> bans the import and sale of vapes. The very need for PECA shows that the Drugs Act did not give the government enough power to ban vapes.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicotine pouches differ from vapes in two important ways: they contain no electronic device, and they produce neither smoke nor vapour. Hence PECA does not apply to them.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Could Pouches Be Treated as Food?<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Prevention of Food Adulteration Act<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><b>Food Safety and Standards Act<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> define food very broadly.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Food includes any processed, partially processed or unprocessed substance meant for human consumption.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Court rulings on supari and chewing tobacco have held that this definition covers items that are chewed rather than swallowed.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is therefore arguable that nicotine pouches could fall within the definition of food.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Import Framework<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Import restrictions in India flow from two laws:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Empowers the Central government to prohibit, restrict or regulate imports. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) administers this and publishes the ITC-HS classification, listing which goods are free, restricted or banned.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Customs Act, 1962:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Section 11 allows the government to prohibit goods by notification, including on grounds of protecting human, animal or plant life.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After the World Customs Organization updated the <\/span><b>Harmonized System<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, new sub-categories were created for oral nicotine products that do not involve combustion.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Code 2404 91 30 covers tobacco-free single-use pouches (Zyn or Lyft type). Code 2404 91 90 covers other non-therapeutic oral nicotine products.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Under the DGFT schedule and the rules of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, goods under 2404 91 30 are &#8220;restricted&#8221;. This means:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They cannot be cleared merely on payment of duty, unlike &#8220;free&#8221; items.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are not banned outright, unlike &#8220;prohibited&#8221; e-cigarettes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They require a specific licence or permission, for which the DGFT consults the health and other ministries.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Duty-Free Shop Question<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicotine pouches are currently sold at a few duty-free stores at Indian airports. These stores are licensed under Section 58 of the Customs Act.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Flemingo Duty Free Shop Pvt. Ltd. v. Shri Kaushik Bhattacharya<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (2024), the Calcutta High Court held that a duty-free store does not &#8220;import&#8221; goods into India, as it is deemed to be located outside India for customs purposes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, this does not mean Indian law is absent from duty-free shops. If it were, such shops could stock arms and ammunition, and no court or police station would have jurisdiction over crimes committed there. That would be absurd.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Only specified goods such as cigarettes, alcohol, jewellery, watches, food and small electronics are permitted at duty-free shops.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nicotine pouches are not on this list, unless they are classified as food. Given their &#8220;restricted&#8221; status, it is unlikely that any import licence has been granted.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>The Way Forward<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The legal position is complex, but the solution is simple.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A notification under the Customs Act and the Foreign Trade Act banning the import and sale of nicotine pouches on health grounds can be issued within minutes.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The lesson from vapes is clear: the government acted slowly, demand became entrenched, and the eventual ban led to large-scale smuggling.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/health\/as-nicotine-pouches-spread-online-call-for-regulations-ban-get-louder\/article70703750.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nicotine pouches in India are sold through online and other channels, but existing tobacco and vape laws may not clearly regulate these tobacco-free products.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":123408,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,10101,22,59],"class_list":["post-123392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","tag-mains-articles","tag-nicotine-pouches-in-india","tag-upsc-current-affairs","tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123392","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123392"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123392\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123403,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123392\/revisions\/123403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123408"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123392"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123392"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123392"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}