India Seeks Dismissal of Adani Airport’s Nicotine Pouch Challenge, Cites Illegality and Public Health Risks
The Central Government has urged the Bombay High Court to dismiss a legal challenge filed by an Adani Group-led airport duty-free operator over the sale of nicotine pouches at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA). In court filings, the government argued that the sale of unlicensed nicotine pouches amounts to a “substantive violation” of India’s drug laws and poses a “serious public health risk.”
The dispute stems from an official investigation by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), which concluded that duty-free stores operated by Mumbai Travel Retail—a joint venture led by Adani Group and Dubai-based Flemingo—were selling imported nicotine pouches without the licences required under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act. The investigation prompted authorities to direct the operator to stop selling the products and obtain regulatory approvals.
In its latest submissions before the High Court, the Union Government rejected Adani’s argument that Indian drug laws do not apply because the products are stored in customs-bonded warehouses and sold only to departing international passengers. The government maintained that the goods remain physically present on Indian territory from the moment they arrive at Mumbai airport and are therefore fully subject to Indian law. It stated that customs warehousing does not create a legal exemption from the country’s health and drug regulations.
The Centre also contended that nicotine is an addictive psychoactive substance and that permitting the sale of unapproved nicotine pouches through duty-free outlets would undermine India’s broader public health policy. Referring to the country’s 2019 ban on e-cigarettes and vaping products, the government argued that allowing such products to be sold at airports would amount to a judicial circumvention of Parliament’s legislative intent to regulate emerging nicotine delivery systems.
Adani’s duty-free operator has disputed the government’s interpretation, arguing that nicotine pouches are not “drugs” under existing law and represent a relatively new category of nicotine products not specifically contemplated by the current regulatory framework. It has also argued that duty-free retail operates in a distinct legal environment catering exclusively to international travellers, making the application of domestic drug laws inappropriate in these circumstances.
The litigation follows an earlier government investigation which found that imported brands, including Zyn and White Fox, had been sold at Mumbai airport without the necessary regulatory approvals. Authorities have maintained that nicotine pouches require registration certificates and import licences before they can be legally marketed in India, regardless of whether sales occur in duty-free areas.
The Bombay High Court is expected to hear the matter shortly. The outcome is likely to establish an important legal precedent on whether India’s drug and public health laws extend to duty-free retail zones at international airports and how emerging nicotine products will be regulated in the country.
