FLER at APE

According to Investing.com citing Bank of America scanner data for the four weeks ending May 30, U.S. nicotine category performance was mixed, with cigarette, vapor and cigar sales declining while oral tobacco sales rose 5.8%.

AI is moving from a back-office tool to a core organizational capability in the nicotine industry. Based on JTI’s responses, this 2Firsts feature examines how AI is reshaping talent strategy, internal mobility, decision-making and human accountability as global tobacco companies compete in the shift toward new nicotine categories.

among both youth and adults. However, industry groups and regulators warn that the illicit vape market remains a growing concern.

Chinese authorities have dismantled an illegal hookah tobacco operation worth more than 46 million yuan ($6.8 million), detaining five foreign suspects and seizing over 500,000 boxes of tobacco paste. The case comes as hookah expands across China’s nightlife sector and attracts overseas operators, including former vaping entrepreneurs. It also raises a central regulatory question: whether waterpipe tobacco will follow China’s private-sector e-cigarette licensing model or be reserved for the state tobacco system, as with nicotine pouches, in the years ahead.

According to Chinese patent records, a “nicotine tooth patch” application filed by China Tobacco Hubei Industrial Corporation (CTHB) and Hubei Xinye Tobacco Sheet Development Co., Ltd. was published on May 19, 2026. The filing proposes a nicotine gel patch that adheres to the tooth surface, especially the lingual side, to reduce displacement, foreign-body sensation, and accidental swallowing risks associated with existing oral nicotine products.

PMI’s nicotine pouch brand ZYN has launched the ZYN Club loyalty platform in Mexico and introduced ZYN Live Stadium viewing experiences around football matches, showing how nicotine pouch brands are using rewards, limited benefits and offline consumption settings to reach adult consumers.