Key Points
- China has issued its first explicit regulatory framework for nicotine pouches and other oral nicotine products.
- Oral nicotine products will be regulated as cigarettes or cut tobacco, not as e-cigarettes.
- Private manufacturers and brands of oral nicotine products will no longer have a viable path to operate in China’s domestic market.
- The regulatory clarification lays the institutional foundation for China Tobacco to introduce oral nicotine products domestically.
2Firsts, Jan. 9, 2026, Shenzhen — China’s top tobacco regulator on Friday issued its first explicit regulatory framework for oral nicotine products, formally bringing nicotine pouches and other smokeless tobacco items under the country’s tobacco monopoly system.
The announcement, issued by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration (STMA), was dated Jan. 6 and released publicly on Jan. 9, taking effect immediately. It marks the first time China has clearly defined the regulatory status of oral nicotine products, which had previously operated in a legal grey area.
The move represents a significant clarification in China’s regulation of nicotine products and carries implications for both domestic and international markets.
Screenshot of an announcement issued by China’s State Tobacco Monopoly Administration on strengthening regulation of smokeless tobacco products.
First clear definition of oral nicotine products
Under the announcement, “smokeless tobacco products” are defined as products containing nicotine that are consumed orally, nasally or through external use without producing smoke. The definition explicitly includes nicotine pouches, oral strips and patches, snus, chewing tobacco and snuff.
This is the first time Chinese regulators have publicly and systematically defined oral nicotine products as a distinct category within the tobacco regulatory framework.
Regulated as cigarettes, not e-cigarettes
The most consequential provision in the announcement concerns regulatory classification. According to the STMA, smokeless tobacco products will be regulated as either cigarettes or cut tobacco, rather than under China’s e-cigarette regulatory framework.
This means oral nicotine products will be governed under China’s traditional tobacco control system. Under existing rules, cigarettes and cut tobacco are subject to strict monopoly management, with production, branding and distribution concentrated within the state-run tobacco system.
Restricted industrial policy to curb capacity and investment
The announcement also states that smokeless tobacco products will be subject to China’s “restricted” industrial policy classification.
In practice, this means that the construction of production facilities, capacity expansion and related investment in oral nicotine products will be tightly controlled and subject to regulatory approval. Oversight will extend beyond product circulation to manufacturing capacity and capital entry.
Private oral nicotine manufacturers may face exit from domestic market
With product definition, regulatory classification and industrial policy aligned, oral nicotine products have now been fully incorporated into China’s existing tobacco regulatory and production framework.
Under China’s current system, cigarettes and cut tobacco operate under a highly centralized monopoly, with production, branding and distribution dominated by the state tobacco system. By being regulated “as cigarettes or cut tobacco,” oral nicotine products will follow the same institutional logic.
As a result, manufacturing and branding models led by private companies may become difficult to sustain in China’s domestic market. As oral nicotine products are fully absorbed into the tobacco monopoly framework, production licensing, capacity allocation and market access conditions are expected to change, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape.
Alan Zhao, co-founder of 2Firsts, said the regulatory approach mirrors China’s earlier experience in the e-cigarette sector.
Before China’s e-cigarette regulations took effect in 2022, herbal heated non-combustible products existed in a regulatory grey area, giving rise to a number of domestic manufacturers and brands, Zhao said. Once regulators classified herbal tobacco cartridges as tobacco products and brought them under the tobacco monopoly system, all domestic manufacturers producing such products were cleared from the market, leading to a complete exit of the category.
From a regulatory logic perspective, Zhao said, the formal classification of oral nicotine products could have a similar structural impact on existing market participants.
China enters period of intensified tobacco and novel product regulation
The announcement comes amid a series of regulatory actions since December, as China enters a period of intensified oversight of tobacco and novel nicotine products.
On Dec. 5, 2025, China’s State Council held an executive meeting calling for a full-chain crackdown on tobacco-related illegal activities. This was followed by an opinion issued by the General Office of the State Council instructing tobacco regulators to closely track emerging tobacco products and clarify their regulatory classification.
Against this backdrop, the STMA in late December tightened controls on e-cigarette production capacity and investment and published regulatory status updates aimed at increasing transparency. On Jan. 5, 2026, the regulator released draft rules proposing a credit-based regulatory system for e-cigarette enterprises, signaling a shift from campaign-style enforcement toward institutionalized governance.
The Jan. 9 announcement on smokeless tobacco products is seen as part of this broader regulatory sequence.
Industry signals preceded regulatory clarification
Before the regulatory framework was formally clarified, signals of China Tobacco’s involvement in the nicotine pouch sector had already emerged earlier this year.
2Firsts previously reported that companies within China’s state tobacco system had accelerated preparations related to nicotine pouch equipment and technology, indicating sustained attention to the product category.
In November 2025, 2Firsts also observed nicotine pouch products produced by China Tobacco for export at a tobacco trade exhibition in Dubai. According to information obtained by 2Firsts, related products have recently entered overseas markets, although no official plans for domestic sales in mainland China have been announced.
Samples of oral nicotine products exhibited by Yunnan Industrial Co., Ltd. (Yunnan IC), a subsidiary of China National Tobacco Corporation, at the Dubai tobacco exhibition in November 2025. The “ASHIMA” trademark is a well-known cigarette brand under Yunnan IC. Photo: 2Firsts.
With nicotine pouches now formally incorporated into the tobacco monopoly system, whether the regulatory framework will further facilitate the institutional rollout of such products in China’s domestic market remains a key policy development to watch.
For the latest updates on China’s nicotine market, continue to follow 2Firsts’ reporting.
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