A new laboratory analysis has detected a wide range of unregulated flavour chemicals in Velo pouches sold in Karachi, raising concerns about product appeal and potential uptake by young people. The study highlights how engineered combinations of menthol, fruit and other flavour compounds are being used across product variants to broaden market reach.
Researchers from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Portland State University bought ten Velo brand variants in Karachi in 2022, recording purchase prices and packaging. The pouches were chemically analysed for nicotine and a panel of 180 individual flavour chemicals to assess composition and variation between products.
The analysis found measurable levels of flavour chemicals in every product tested. Benzyl alcohol associated with cherry notes, menthol, α-terpineol linked to cardamom aroma, and carvone with mint character were present in all ten samples. Levels of fruit, menthol and non-menthol/mint flavour chemicals varied widely across the brand variants, suggesting deliberate flavour engineering to create distinct product profiles.
The study, published in Tobacco Control, notes that flavours are a known driver of interest and initiation across tobacco and nicotine products and that the observed diversity of formulations could increase product appeal among younger consumers. The authors point to flavour chemistry and nicotine strength as practical targets for regulation.
Locally, the finding is set against a largely unregulated market in Pakistan where flavoured nicotine and tobacco products including pouches are not restricted. Industry data cited in the study show that British American Tobacco reported selling 8.3 billion nicotine pouches globally in 2024, double sales from 2022, and that Velo held a dominant market share in Pakistan and other South Asian markets. Euromonitor figures referenced in the research indicate Velo commanded 52.4 percent of related product volume sales in 2023, up from 25.6 percent in 2021, while BAT has identified Pakistan as its third largest Velo market.
Public health experts quoted in the report urge Pakistani policymakers to consider controls on flavour chemicals and nicotine levels in oral nicotine pouches. Such measures are presented as feasible policy options that could reduce youth attraction, limit market expansion and protect population health while the tobacco industry continues to promote these products in low- and middle-income settings.
