More than 500,000 people in Great Britain now use nicotine pouches, with the significant rise in uptake driven by members of gen Z, research has revealed.
Nicotine pouches are placed between the lip and gum to slowly release nicotine and come in a wide variety of different flavours. Health experts say the products, which are banned in Germany and the Netherlands, should not be used by anyone who does not already smoke.
The percentage of people aged 16 and over using them in England, Scotland and Wales has grown from 0.1% in 2020 to 1% in 2025, equivalent to about 522,000 people. The sharpest rise in use was among young people, according to figures published in the medical journal Lancet Public Health.
Experts said the dramatic increase in use of nicotine pouches was probably linked to “aggressive” marketing and advertising across social media, billboards and public transport hubs in the UK.
Researchers from UCL examined data from the Smoking Toolkit study, including figures on almost 130,000 people aged 16 and over.
The figures revealed the prevalence of nicotine pouch use has risen significantly in recent years, particularly among members of gen Z. In 2022, 0.7% of 16- to 24-year-olds used these products. This grew to 4% in 2025.
But there was “no meaningful change” among people aged 35 and over during this time frame, according to the research funded by Cancer Research UK.
Researchers said use was higher among men, especially those aged 16 to 24, and among people who smoked or vaped. More than two-thirds of those using the pouches also used other nicotine products.
However, 16% of users had never smoked regularly.
Researchers also found a rising proportion of smokers used pouches during their most recent attempt to kick the habit – from 2.6% in 2020 to 6.5% in 2025.
Writing in the Lancet Public Health, the researchers said: “Nicotine pouch use has risen in Great Britain, primarily driven by sharp increases among young people, especially young men.
“Most users also smoked or vaped, and a growing proportion of smokers used pouches in attempts to quit smoking. These findings underscore the importance of implementing age-of-sale legislation for nicotine pouches and conducting research on their effectiveness for smoking cessation.”
Lead author Dr Harry Tattan-Birch, of UCL’s institute of epidemiology and health care, said: “The rise in nicotine pouch use has been driven almost exclusively by young people, especially young men, while use among adults over 35 remained stable and low.
“This may be due in part to aggressive advertising targeting this group on social media, billboards, in bars and train stations, and through sponsorships of motorsports and music festivals.
“Pouches have a substantially lower risk to health than cigarettes and are likely less harmful than e-cigarettes. However, they are not harmless and can currently be sold to children with no marketing restrictions and no cap on nicotine content.”
The findings underscored the urgency of the tobacco and vapes bill, he said, which would end the sale of such products to under-18s, restrict advertising and give powers to regulate flavours, packaging, and nicotine content.
“Proportionate measures are important to limit uptake among teenagers,” he said.
Caroline Cerny, deputy chief executive of Ash, said the growing use of nicotine pouches was driven by “heavy and indiscriminate” marketing of the products.
“Over the past year, adverts have been plastered over buses, trains, and social media with giveaways at events popular with young people such as music festivals and shopping centres,” she said.
“While they are likely to be less harmful than cigarettes, they shouldn’t be used by children or people who don’t already smoke, due to the addictive nature of nicotine.”
