Nicotine pouch retailer knowingly broke marketing law to clear stock

A Finnish nicotine pouch retailer deliberately broke the law by advertising discounted products on social media to clear its stock and pay employees’ wages, Yle reports.

Miika Tourunen, the entrepreneur behind the Pussikauppa chain, advertised a clearance and discount campaign for nicotine pouches on Instagram and Facebook in September. Finnish tobacco legislation prohibits marketing tobacco and nicotine products and selling them at a discount.

Tourunen told Yle that he knowingly violated the law because he wanted to empty the company’s warehouses and pay its employees before closing the business.

He is ending the sale of nicotine pouches because it is no longer profitable following recent legislative changes. According to Tourunen, the company’s daily sales once exceeded 10,000 euros but fell by more than half after February.

The excise duty on nicotine pouches was increased in January. From the beginning of February, the permitted flavours were restricted to tobacco, mint and menthol, and limits were also imposed on the nicotine content. Since August, packaging has had to follow a uniform design, including a ban on brand logos and different colour schemes.

The company still has shops in Jyväskylä and Joensuu. Tourunen said the Jyväskylä shop would close within days and the Joensuu shop at the end of September. Pussikauppa previously also operated in Kuopio, Turku, Lappeenranta and Äänekoski.

“The most important thing is to get the wages and bills paid,” Tourunen said.

He said he was not worried about possible consequences for violating the marketing ban. In his view, selling the remaining stock at a discount was a lesser evil than receiving a possible fine.

“If huge amounts of tins are left unsold, they have to be sold from a car boot, and that breaks the law even more,” Tourunen said. “I have paid the taxes on the products, and sales in the shop are recorded in the accounts.”

Authorities learned of campaign from Yle

In Kuopio, the city is responsible for supervising the sale and marketing of tobacco and nicotine products. Environmental health inspector Jyrki Hänninen learned about Pussikauppa’s unlawful marketing and discount sales after Yle contacted him last week.

Hänninen said the company’s conduct in the Kuopio region was exceptionally blatant.

“I have not previously come across products being sold at a discount,” he said.

After Yle’s inquiry, Hänninen asked Tourunen to stop announcing discounts on social media and elsewhere. According to Hänninen, Tourunen replied: “We will not stop. We will close the whole shop.”

“He made a fairly brazen ending,” Hänninen said.

Hänninen said he would again ask Tourunen to remove the social media announcements. Otherwise, the city considers the matter closed because the activity has ended and the sales permit will be revoked.

Pussikauppa’s website was still operating last week. It now says that the business has closed, although the Joensuu shop remains open.

In Joensuu, tobacco and nicotine product sales are supervised by Siun sote, the North Karelia wellbeing services authority. Health inspector Tanja Mähönen also learned of the unlawful marketing only after Yle contacted her.

Siun sote plans to intervene. “We will primarily provide guidance and advice, but stronger measures will be used if necessary,” Mähönen said.

Social media accounts for most violations

Local municipalities supervise the sale and marketing of tobacco and nicotine products, while the Licensing and Supervisory Agency is responsible for national supervision. The agency handles cases in which products are marketed nationwide.

Reija Kauppi, a group manager at the Licensing and Supervisory Agency, said marketing violations occur particularly on social media.

“The marketing ban is extremely strict. The legislature has intended that the products should not be visible anywhere and that the industry should not be made known,” Kauppi said.

When an entrepreneur violates the marketing ban, the authorities first instruct them to stop the unlawful marketing. If necessary, the prohibition can be reinforced with a conditional fine. If the entrepreneur does not comply, the authorities can revoke the permit to sell tobacco and nicotine products.

Fines can be imposed for minor or ordinary tobacco marketing violations.