Nicotine pouches continue to drive growth in the US smokeless nicotine category, with the market projected to expand at nearly 25% annually through 2033. Photo credit: L.V. Olavi Rantala , CC2.0.
Smokeless nicotine products were the only major segment of the US nicotine market to post sales growth over the past year, highlighting continued shifts in consumer purchasing patterns even as cigarettes remain the industry's largest category.
According to NielsenIQ data analyzed by Goldman Sachs, smokeless nicotine sales increased by more than 8% during the 52 weeks ended May 30. By comparison, cigarette sales declined 2.4%, cigar sales fell about 1%, and vapor products recorded a double-digit sales decline. Cigarettes still accounted for nearly 70% of total nicotine category sales.
The smokeless category includes traditional products such as chewing tobacco, snuff, and snus, along with modern oral nicotine pouches. Although smokeless products remain the second-largest nicotine category behind cigarettes, nicotine pouches have become the segment's primary growth engine. Grand View Research projects US nicotine pouch sales will expand at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 25% through 2033.
The market remains highly concentrated. Altria Group, British American Tobacco, and Swedish Match, a division of Philip Morris International, account for more than 90% of smokeless nicotine sales in the US.
Altria continues to lead the smokeless category by annual sales through brands including Copenhagen, Skoal and on!, while Swedish Match has narrowed the gap on the strength of ZYN nicotine pouches. ZYN represents nearly 90% of Swedish Match's smokeless sales, and the brand posted year-over-year sales growth of almost 13% during the 52-week period.
The Goldman Sachs analysis did not include year-over-year growth figures for on! PLUS because the product only entered broad US distribution in March 2026.
The category's momentum has also coincided with increased regulatory activity. In January 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration granted marketing authorization for 20 ZYN nicotine pouch products, marking the agency's first authorization for nicotine pouches through the premarket tobacco product application pathway. In December 2025, FDA authorized six on! PLUS nicotine pouch products in mint, wintergreen, and tobacco varieties with 6 mg and 9 mg nicotine strengths.