Our Experts: Get to Know Laura Leigh Oyler
Laura Leigh Oyler’s career in tobacco and nicotine regulation began in policy, but her commitment to harm reduction is rooted in something more personal.
After starting her career in the tobacco industry in 2009, Laura Leigh discovered harm reduction and found a cause that connected her professional expertise with her own experience growing up around smokers.
Today, as Haypp Group’s VP of Regulatory Affairs, she works at the intersection of regulation, public policy, science, and consumer advocacy. Whether she’s engaging with lawmakers or helping consumers understand developments at the FDA, her focus remains the same: making sure adult nicotine consumers have access to accurate information.
We sat down with Laura Leigh to talk about what drew her to regulatory affairs, her work at Haypp, what really goes into an FDA review, and why the recent ZYN modified risk decision meant so much to her.
You’ve spent much of your career advocating for tobacco harm reduction. What drew you to this area professionally?
I started in tobacco in 2009 and accidentally discovered tobacco harm reduction as an idea and policy objective. I totally fell in love with it because I grew up with a bunch of smokers.
In 1997, I was part of the 27% of American teenagers who smoked. Its really meaningful to me that today, the smoking rate amongst teenagers is less than 2%.
Once I understood more about nicotine and how FDA itself describes nicotine pouches as a generally lower-risk alternative for adults who smoke—while being clear that no tobacco product is risk-free—it upset me that people I love didn't have the same information. I fully believe they would make different choices for themselves if they had the same access to scientific data that I do.
It became something I take personally. There are still a lot of people I love who smoke, and that’s the source of the mission-driven mindset I have today.
That’s also what makes Haypp such an incredible place for me to work. I get to take years of FDA and state lawmaker engagement and apply that experience to issues that directly affect our customers.
How has your own relationship with tobacco and nicotine evolved over the years?
Given when I started in the industry, I was exposed to alternative products relatively early.
I feel lucky that I happened to find a job that gave me access to so much information about nicotine products and the risk continuum FDA itself has described.
Today, I vape and also use nicotine pouches. I know much more about this subject than the average smoker walking into a convenience store, and that gives me a sense of responsibility to help consumers understand these issues better.
That’s what’s so cool about working for Haypp. We’re able to talk about the entire nicotine pouch category rather than just one brand, and our direct relationship with customers puts us in a unique position to educate and build trust.
What do you consider some of the biggest wins you’ve achieved since joining Haypp?
When I started at Haypp, my job didn't exist. We built a state government affairs program from the ground up.
Three states proposed bans on online nicotine pouch sales, and we defeated all three. Washington State had gone dark as an online channel, and we were able to reopen it.
So, the two biggest priorities are: keeping online access open in states where it already exists and working to reopen states where online pouch sales are restricted.
But what excites me most is the customer response. When customers reach out with questions about what's happening at the state level, or tell us they want to get involved, that’s incredibly inspiring.
That kind of engagement helps us understand the issues adult consumers want more information about—it also helps me speak directly on their behalf when I meet with lawmakers.
You’ve helped prepare for two FDA Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee reviews involving snus. What goes into a regulatory process like that?
I think most consumers would be shocked to understand the years, the science, the planning, and the amount of money companies have to invest in the process.
Applications for new tobacco products can include hundreds of thousands of pages of scientific information. Then, if you want to communicate certain reduced-risk information to consumers, you have to go through another process for a Modified Risk Tobacco Product, or MRTP, authorization.
I've worked on advisory committee preparations involving both Camel Snus and General Snus. It involved getting scientists ready for what sometimes felt like a trial because you're communicating complex science to an audience that can be very skeptical of the industry.
It was incredibly meaningful work. I learned a ton of science from the scientists themselves, but I also learned how to translate that science in a way that made sense to a skeptical audience.
What was your reaction when 20 ZYN products received modified risk authorization?
I’m actually tearing up right now thinking about it.
I immediately texted everybody involved. I know how much work went into it, so there was a lot of pride in the people who made it happen, a lot of relief, and a lot of joy.
What excites me about ZYN is its potential to actually educate adult consumers. Previous MRTP authorizations have been associated with products that haven't had the same kind of reach with U.S. consumers. ZYN has the potential to carry that message much further.
I think a lot of people don't realize that FDA's authorized claim for those 20 ZYN products specifically addresses mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis risk relative to cigarettes—that's a claim about those specific products, grounded in FDA's own review. FDA has also said more broadly that nicotine pouches can generally be a lower-risk alternative for adults who smoke cigarettes, while being clear that nicotine pouches are not risk-free and that people who don't already use tobacco shouldn't start. I think ZYN's modified-risk message has the potential to help consumers understand both points.
I'm proud of the people who did it. I'm excited that the government worked in the way that it's supposed to. And I am, again, so thrilled for the consumer.
Do you think other nicotine pouch brands will follow?
I think it's unlikely that many companies outside the biggest players will pursue an MRTP unless a more efficient pathway is created.
The process takes an enormous amount of time and resources. Unfortunately, that means only a handful of brands may be in a position to pursue it.
What do you see as one of the biggest challenges facing adult nicotine consumers in the U.S. today?
Misinformation is a major problem.
There are still so many misconceptions about nicotine products and where they fall on FDA's own risk continuum, and I think that's part of why consumers remain confused.
I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the other side of the equation and asking, “What are our detractors going to say?” The history of tobacco created a lot of distrust, and I've experienced that skepticism firsthand in regulatory proceedings.
That's part of why content is so important to me. Adult consumers should have accurate, easy to understand information that helps them make the best choice available to them.
What excites me about Haypp is that we can be part of that conversation. You can see from the engagement with our content and the questions customers ask that consumers have a real interest in understanding what's happening. That's why we're building out more science-focused content on Nicoleaks.com and developing short videos that explain nicotine products and the science behind them. We want to meet consumers where they are, provide answers to the questions they have, and generate content they want to share with others.
What makes you particularly optimistic about nicotine pouches?
There are still older groups of adults who continue to smoke and haven't shifted as rapidly to other alternatives. That’s where I see a real opportunity.
Nicotine pouches also have the benefit of being able to point back to a longer history of research into other oral smokeless products. Smokeless tobacco has been used for more than a century in the US, and snus has a similarly long use history in Sweden. FDA itself has said that for adults who smoke, switching completely from cigarettes to nicotine pouches may reduce exposure to many harmful chemicals found in cigarettes—though switching has to be complete to get that benefit, and nicotine pouches are still not risk-free.
And nicotine pouch use is not exploding among youth the way we saw e-cigarettes do.
For me, that's what makes the category so exciting: adult smokers who switch completely have an FDA-recognized path to reducing their exposure to many harmful chemicals, and adult consumers generally have more options and more information available to them than ever before.
Ultimately, I want consumers to have the information they need to make those decisions for themselves.
Finally, we've got to ask: what’s your favorite nicotine pouch at the moment?
I am primarily a vaper, but I use nicotine pouches when I travel. I’m also a lower-decky gal, so after years of using 6mg ZYN Citrus pouches, I’ve recently discovered that the new 1.5mg ZYN is my best option.
Important: The products sold on this site contain nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical that may increase heart rate and blood pressure and pose risks for individuals with certain medical conditions, particularly cardiovascular disease. These products are intended only for adult (21+) current nicotine users and are not for non-users. Sales to persons under 21 are prohibited.
