Investigation Finds Illegal Nicotine Pouch Sales at Mumbai Airport Duty-Free
NEW DELHI: An investigation in India has found that duty-free shops at Mumbai international airport run by billionaire Gautam Adani’s business group violated the law by selling nicotine pouches that the government deemed a danger to public health, according to documents obtained from an investigation.
Adani denies wrongdoing and wants judges to declare that a law covering drugs and cosmetics does not apply to duty-free shops and nicotine pouches, according to court documents reviewed by Reuters. Lawyers say the case could set a precedent for how India regulates sales at such stores, and a government win could prevent one of the world’s fastest-growing nicotine products from being sold at Indian airports.
India has banned e-cigarettes and approved some nicotine substitutes such as patches and gums, following the registration process under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. Nicotine pouches remain illegal and unapproved.
Tobacco kills 1.35 million people each year in India, and a government study in June called nicotine pouches a “new and largely unregulated public health problem,” with widespread illegal sale and consumption among people aged 18 to 40.
India’s pharmaceutical department inspected duty-free shops at Mumbai’s international airport in March after receiving complaints from anti-nicotine group Mothers of Vaping and found imported nicotine pouches were being sold in the departure zone without required approvals, according to government documents.
“Nicotine bags also fall within the definition of drugs… a valid registration certificate and import license are mandatory,” an assistant drug control deputy wrote in an April 2 letter to the airport’s customs office, attaching an “investigation report.”
Government letters show that Mumbai Travel Retail, a joint venture led by Adani with Dubai’s Flemingo, has been asked to stop selling nicotine pouches and seek approval.
Adani declined to comment. Flemingo and India’s health and customs administration did not respond to requests for comment.
Selling a drug without a license can be subject to a prison sentence of at least three years and a fine of at least 100,000 rupees ($1,049) or a fine of three times the value of the seized drug, whichever is higher.
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The Supreme Court filing, which is not publicly available, shows Adani’s firm told authorities that stores in the international departure zone were doing business “beyond India’s customs borders” and were outside the regulatory purview of local regulations.
“If a murder occurs in the store, won’t the Indian police have the power to arrest? Can they sell weapons or ammunition? No,” said Murali Neelakantan, who was previously general counsel for Indian drugmakers Cipla and Glenmark Pharmaceuticals.
On June 24, judges in the Mumbai High Court scheduled the case to be heard on July 14, saying “no coercive action” should be taken against the existing stock of bags in duty-free shops in Mumbai.
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Adani operates eight airports in India and is targeting $11 billion growth, including duty-free offerings. More than 30 duty-free shops operate at Mumbai’s international airport.
In court, Adani said the nicotine pouches were “not drugs” and were a “new innovation” not contemplated by existing tobacco control laws.
Adani’s firm had been importing more than $29,000 worth of Zyn nicotine pouches in various flavors from Philip Morris and $7,700 worth of the White Fox brand from Swedish Smoke-Free Solutions since August, customs records show. The companies did not respond to Reuters’ questions.
Philip Morris says Zyn’s US sales in 2025 will double from 2023. The Indian government’s investigation in June said that both Zyn and White Fox were sold illegally by Indian dealers.
Flemingo Dutyfree told the Supreme Court that it operated stores in international ports, including Mumbai, and feared similar actions because it was “in the process of stocking” nicotine pouches, documents show.
Seeking licenses for nicotine pouches would force suppliers to withdraw them from the market and “make the duty-free industry in India unattractive to travellers”, it said.
