Philip Morris International (PMI) subsidiary Swedish Match North America (SMNA) has announced that, after receiving a subpoena from the attorney general of Washington D.C., it has suspended online sales of ZYN nicotine pouches as the company prepares to respond, NBC News reported.
SMNA — which sells the highly popular ZYN nicotine pouch product — was acquired by PMI in 2022 for $16 billion.
At the time of the sale, PMI made the acquisition to strengthen its portfolio of smoke-free products.
Now, Swedish Match faces a subpoena that is requesting information about ZYN products with regards to the 2022 flavor ban, which barred the sale of all flavored tobacco, including flavored synthetic nicotine products.
“(The company) intends to comply with the attorney general’s request for information concerning sales of its nicotine pouch products in D.C,” PMI noted in a statement. “Our preliminary investigation indicates that there have been sales of flavored nicotine pouch products in D.C., predominantly related to certain online sales platforms and some independent retailers. In the event of an unfavorable outcome related to this matter, a material liability is reasonably possible though not estimable at this time.”
At the request of PMI, SMNA is conducting a full review of its sales and supply chain arrangements in D.C. and other U.S. markets where flavor bans apply.
Therefore, as a precautionary measure, the company has temporarily suspended online sales on ZYN.com.
“We remain committed to ensuring compliance with all laws and regulations concerning the sale of our affiliates’ products in the U.S. and worldwide,” the statement continued.
The company noted that online sales have represented a very small percentage of nationwide ZYN volumes since the PMI acquisition.
