MANILA, Philippines, May 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) says the World Health Organization is right to raise concerns about irresponsible youth marketing of nicotine pouches, but warns that overly restrictive guidance could shape policy across Asia Pacific in ways that deny adults access to lower-risk alternatives to smoking.

CAPHRA says the issue is straightforward: youth protection is essential, but it should not come at the expense of adults who are trying to move away from cigarettes and other high-risk tobacco products. The organisation is urging the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to crack down on youth-focused promotion, enforce strict age controls, and require strong product standards without closing off regulated adult access.

CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas said public health policy must follow relative risk.

“No responsible public health advocate supports youth-targeted nicotine marketing,” Loucas said. “But adults should not lose access to safer options because regulators choose a one-size-fits-all response.”

Loucas said nicotine pouches are not harmless, but they do not involve combustion, which remains the main driver of tobacco-related cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and chronic lung disease.

“The most dangerous nicotine product is still the cigarette,” she said. “If regulators respond to marketing abuses by making lower-risk products harder to access for adults, they risk protecting smoking rather than reducing harm.”

Clarisse Virgino of CAPHRA Philippines said the stakes are especially high in the Asia Pacific, where international guidance often influences national nicotine policy.

“In this region, many adults are still caught between deadly combustible tobacco and policies that make safer alternatives harder to access,” Virgino said. “If WHO guidance ignores relative risk, that mistake will not stay on paper. It will affect real people across real markets.”

CAPHRA says it does not support unrestricted nicotine pouch sales. It supports a risk-proportionate framework that bans youth-focused marketing, penalises irresponsible promotion, sets clear safety and quality standards, and preserves adult access under firm regulation.

The group warns that one-size-fits-all restrictions may backfire by pushing consumers toward cigarettes or black markets, while doing little to address the real failures in enforcement and youth protection.

“Good regulation can protect young people and still help adults leave smoking behind,” Loucas said. “That is the standard WHO should be promoting.”

CAPHRA is calling on WHO FCTC parties to ensure that any guidance on nicotine pouches is evidence-based, proportionate, and focused on reducing disease and death — not simply reducing the number of lower-risk options available to adults.

Media Contact:
N.E. Loucas, Executive Coordinator 
neloucas@caphraorg.net

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