FLER at APE

Germany plans to raise tobacco taxes over the coming years, potentially pushing the average price of a 20-cigarette pack to about €11.78 by 2030. The proposal also covers fine-cut tobacco, cigars, pipe tobacco and e-cigarette liquids.

Reemtsma said its first-half 2026 black-market tracker for tobacco and nicotine products showed a continued rise in officially reported seizures in Germany, with illegal e-cigarette seizures reaching 70% of the full-year 2025 level and snus and nicotine pouch seizures reaching 179% of last year’s total.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued modified risk granted orders to Swedish Match USA for 20 ZYN nicotine pouch products, allowing the already-authorized products to be marketed with a specific claim that using ZYN instead of cigarettes lowers the risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Shopify has instructed merchants using its web-hosting services to remove vape products from their online stores by July 8, 2026. The policy expands beyond illegal products and applies to all electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), marking a broader shift in online platform oversight of nicotine sales.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison sued Maduro Distributors, Inc., doing business as Loon, on July 15, 2026, alleging that the company illegally manufactured, distributed and sold flavored vapes that appeal to minors.

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.