Snus and nicotine pouches.

| Read Time: 5 mins | Format: News

Young people are discovering a new way of ingesting nicotine. Nicotine pouches are available from supermarkets, corner ships, and petrol stations, and they come in a wide range of flavours such as mango, cinnamon, cherry, and peppermint. To consume, the user simply pops a pouch under their lip for up to 30 minutes creating a tingling sensation as it slowly releases nicotine. Strengths can vary from anywhere between 6mg (mild) and 17mg (eye watering).

Young people often refer to nicotine pouches as ‘snus,’ which is technically wrong. Snus is a very similar product made from tobacco leaves and widely consumed in Scandinavian countries like Sweden. Across the rest of the EU, however, the sale of snus is banned. Nicotine pouches escape this ban because they are not made from tobacco and, legally, they can be sold to under-18s.

After arriving on the UK market in 2019, sales of nicotine pouches have steadily risen, not just in the UK but also in the US. Manufacturers say they are a safer alternative to smoking, but, as with vaping, their popularity is not just limited to those looking to quit smoking. For many, they are the perfect solution for consuming nicotine discreetly in the workplace, on a flight, or in school. They have also found a following with professional footballers who have limited opportunities to drink or smoke otherwise.

But is consuming nicotine through your gums harmful? As with vapes, pouches carry fewer health risks when compared to smoking, but they are not completely harmless. Nicotine raises blood pressure placing a strain on your heart, and repeatedly jamming pouches into your mouth is potentially linked to dental issues – most notably receding gums. Meanwhile, drug use at any young age, including nicotine, is known to affect healthy brain development.

Then there is the risk of addiction. Once you are dependent on nicotine you will feel restless, irritable and anxious without it. Meanwhile, if you don’t have any tolerance to the drug, it can leave you feeling very sick – as a mother called Kellie Whitehead discovered when she tried a nicotine pouch for the first time with her 17 year-year-old son.

Knowing this, manufacturers stress that nicotine pouches should only be used by people who already vape or smoke. But the two market leaders, VELO and Nordic Spirit, both provide free samples, multibuy offers, and incentives to continue buying through subscription as well as discount points for referring friends. Other manufacturers send free samples to TikTok influencers to review.

Such marketing strategies don’t just appeal to ex-smokers but also curious consumers who have never tried nicotine before. A Channel 4 survey revealed that 24% of nicotine pouch users had never smoked or vaped before, a third had progressed to using stronger products, and half now actively wanted to quit altogether.

Much like vaping, then, nicotine pouches offer a solution to the health problems caused by smoking but bring potential problems of their own.