Europe and US pouch market

Dr. Pete Gibbons is the Business Development Director at Labstat International. Pete is a chemist by training with extensive experience in New Category Nicotine Products, aerosol science and analytical chemistry. He is a frequent contributor to the development of European (CEN) and worldwide (ISO) standards and actively participates in Coresta. His previous positions include Head of Reduced Risk Product Analysis at Hall Analytical (Manchester, UK) and Head of Technical for a major Independent UK ENDS business. Prior to joining the Nicotine Product industry in 2015, Pete enjoyed a successful career as a drug discovery expert.

Bengt Wiberg is a Swedish former CFO that became a celebrated harm reduction activist and the inventor of the Stingfree / PROTEX technology. As the founder of EU for Snus Bengt has strived to legalize snus in the EU as a much healthier alternative to smoking that could see the EU daily smoker rates drop to the very low levels present in Sweden.

Pouch use is safer than smoking in every conceivable way but it can affect oral health negatively. Bengt experienced this first hand when his gums got inflamed from years of pouch use but rather than risk going back to smoking he invented the Stingfree/PROTEX pouch. These pouches have a US/Europe patented built in protective barrier for the gums that reduces the burning sensation and irritation of the gums.

Bengt's vision is that Stingfree will contribute to a smoke-free world by lowering the threshold for smokers to make the switch to much safer pouch products.

Fredrik Laurell is CEO at Nicoccino, a Swedish company producing patented oral dissolvable Nicotine Strips. He has worked with snus and nicotine pouches since 2008. Between 2011 and 2015, Fredrik led SMPMI, a joint venture between Swedish Match and Philip Morris International that explored the potential for snus worldwide. 2016-2018 he worked with Thomas Eriksson, the inventor of the tobacco-free nicotine pouch, and for Imperial Brands’ Skruf snus. Previously, he held marketing and strategy roles with McDonald’s and Duni in Europe, Asia/Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.

Fredrik holds an MSc from the Stockholm School of Economics and a BA from Stockholm University.

Samuel ‘Sam’ Hampsher-Monk joined ARAC in January 2025 as VP, Global Regulatory Strategy and Business Operations, having spent seven years as Managing Director of BOTEC Analysis where he led international, multidisciplinary research on cannabis, tobacco, and nicotine product regulation for state and municipal agencies, research institutions, and philanthropic foundations. He has authored technical reports, case studies, white papers, policy briefs, and academic papers on topics such as consumer product regulation, taxation, illicit trade, policy reform, and social justice. His peer-reviewed research has been published in the Journal of Consumer Policy and the Journal of Health Communication. He is also the lead author of Clearing the Air on E-Cigarettes and Harm Reduction: Tobacco Control, Economics, and Public Health (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).

Sarah has broad experience serving pharma, medical device, and consumer products industries, with a focus on integrating science, quality processes, and business goals in a regulated environment. She has a proven ability to develop resilient, cross-functional teams and champion complex projects across diverse groups of stakeholders. Sarah specializes in helping clients develop and successfully execute strategies to access the U.S. market.

Sarah works closely with clients to plan and submit premarket tobacco product applications (PMTAs) and modified risk tobacco product applications (MRTPAs) across various nicotine product categories, including novel, emerging delivery systems. She combines her extensive industry experience, scientific expertise, and business acumen to navigate the rapidly evolving regulatory landscape and provide practical solutions to regulatory challenges. Sarah supports regulatory strategy across all scientific areas including product design and development, manufacturing, and nonclinical and clinical study programs.

She specializes in helping clients create and navigate multi-product regulatory strategies and product line extensions. These strategies leverage existing scientific evidence through use of supplemental PMTAs (sPMTAs) and tobacco product master files (TPMFs) to minimize regulatory costs and timelines. She also supports preparation for Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC) meetings.