Key Points
Market limitations: Only 13% of nicotine products in the U.S. are currently authorized.
Policy risk: Banning online sales would reduce choice, expand the black market, and drive smokers back to cigarettes.
Disproportionate impact: Rural and vulnerable groups that rely on online access would be hit hardest.
Alternative solution: Technology should be used to strengthen age verification and compliance, rather than a blanket ban.
2Firsts, September 1, 2025 — According to Businesswire, Dr. Marina Murphy, Senior Director of Scientific Affairs at Haypp Group, recently published an article warning that academic and regulatory proposals to ban online sales of nicotine products in the United States could prove counterproductive.
Dr. Murphy highlighted that the U.S. market is already severely restricted, with only 13% of nicotine products currently authorized for sale. Cutting off online channels would further shrink consumer choice, strengthen the illicit market, and ultimately force smokers back to combustible cigarettes. She added that rural residents and vulnerable groups, who rely heavily on online access, would face the greatest impact.
“You don’t make progress by locking the shop door. If smokers cannot find reduced-risk alternatives, they will simply keep buying cigarettes,” she stressed.
While bans are often justified as a way to prevent youth access, Dr. Murphy argued that the real issue lies in weak enforcement rather than the sales channel itself. She pointed out that other age-restricted goods, such as alcohol, are still allowed to be purchased online in many states, highlighting what she called a “double standard.”
Dr. Murphy urged U.S. regulators to combine innovation with smart regulation, leveraging technology to strengthen age verification and compliance. This approach, she said, would protect youth while ensuring adults continue to have access to reduced-risk alternatives.
“Restricting adult access to adult products doesn’t protect public health, and it doesn’t protect young people — it only protects cigarettes,” she concluded.
As the parent company of Northerner.com and Nicokick.com, Haypp Group is the global leader in online sales of nicotine pouches and snus. The company is committed to leading the transition in tobacco harm reduction, serving hundreds of thousands of consumers annually across the U.S., Europe, and beyond.
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