BAT rolls out VELO nicotine pouches in Argentina as social media buzzes about ZYN distribution

Key points

• BAT Argentina is offering VELO nicotine pouches in Argentina

• A cited comparison says Sweden’s daily smoking rate is 5.3% and describes a 54% decline over a little more than a decade

• BAT Argentina’s Jorge Arguindegui says VELO contains no tobacco and involves no combustion or smoke inhalation

• PMI’s ZYN nicotine pouches were reportedly widely stocked at kiosks

• Argentina currently has no law specifically targeting nicotine pouches

2Firsts, January 12, 2026 – According to Clarin, BAT Argentina has begun offering VELO nicotine pouches in Argentina.

BAT Argentina’s Jorge Arguindegui said the company is working to provide adult consumers with lower-risk alternatives to traditional cigarettes and said it recently launched VELO nicotine pouches. He said the product contains no tobacco and that its use does not involve combustion or inhaling smoke.

The report says that amid a global trend of moving away from tobacco sales and Argentina’s ban on vaping products, BAT is shifting its business model toward nicotine pouch sales.

The text says the development coincides with the publication of a report comparing smoking trends in Sweden and Argentina, stating that in Sweden, the adoption of nicotine pouches led to a sharp reduction in smokers.

The cited report states: “Sweden today has the lowest rate of daily smokers in the European Union: just 5.3%, a level close to the international standard that defines a smoke-free society. This historic decline — a 54% reduction in a little more than a decade — was driven by the wide availability of non-combustion alternatives, such as snus, nicotine pouches and e-cigarette products, which allow people to abandon cigarettes and avoid the toxic effects of combustion.”

November 2025, social media discussions (such as on Reddit) mentioned that PMI’s ZYN had arrived in Argentina, and that in December 2025, media reports said the product had begun to be widely stocked at kiosks.

In 2023, the Argentine government banned the import and sale of heated tobacco products such as PMI’s IQOS, and says there is currently no nicotine-pouch-specific law in Argentina.

Image source: Clarin

Further reading:

2FIRSTS | Alan Zhao: In the Post-“Absolute Resolve” Era: Speculating on U.S.-Referenced Regulatory Alignment and the Restructuring of Order in South America’s Novel Tobacco Market

Alan Zhao analyzes post-Operation Absolute Resolve geopolitics and the rise of “U.S.-referenced regulatory alignment” in South America’s novel tobacco market as U.S. influence grows. Using regulatory reliance, digitalized enforcement, and industrial shifts, he assesses how rule redesign may alter market access, competition, and supply chains, asking how firms can find durable certainty as order is rewritten.

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