One in eight teenagers aged 14 to 17 have used nicotine pouches, a survey has found, adding to health experts’ concern about their growing popularity.
Users hold the small sachets, which look like mini-teabags and are often flavoured, in their mouths to enjoy the release of the nicotine they contain. They are also known as “snus”.
Unlike smoking the pouches do not raise the risk of cancer, but they have caused alarm because of the fear that users could become addicted to nicotine and suffer mouth and dental problems.
A survey of 500 teenagers aged 14 to 17 in England, Scotland and Wales found that 13% have used a nicotine pouch, of whom 30% said they did so at least once a week. Most get them from friends or buy them in shops, which are not subject to any age restrictions as to who they can sell them to.
The same survey, by Deltapoll for the Future Health consultancy, found that seven in 10 respondents backed the UK government’s planned crackdown on them. The tobacco and vapes bill will outlaw selling pouches to under-18s, as well as changing the packaging and limiting the use of flavours and the amount of nicotine to make them less appealing to children and young people.
Steve Brine, a former public health minister, wrote in a foreword to a new report by Future Health on the pouches: “These unregulated products are being heavily pushed at young people, whether it be through shop displays, social media or in partnerships with UK music festivals.”
Referencing that most of the main brands were made by cigarette companies, Brine added: “The tobacco industry is constantly looking for the next business opportunity with which to addict a new generation to nicotine.”
Almost half (46%) of the teenagers surveyed had seen nicotine pouches advertised, mainly in shops and on social media. Three-quarters (73%) want to see restrictions on their promotion, sale and use, while a majority want it made illegal for under-18s to buy them (63%) and back health warnings (59%).
The survey was undertaken for Kenvue, which makes Nicorette, the over the counter nicotine replacement therapy that some smokers use to try to quit. Future Health is run by Richard Sloggett, a former special adviser at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The report says: “Health concerns have to date focused on oral health issues such as a dry mouth, gum lesions or blisters, unusual jaw sensations and receding gums.
“[But] studies have also raised concerns that 30mg nicotine pouches have led to a higher nicotine uptake compared with cigarettes and increased arterial stiffness.”
Sales of brands such as Velo, Nordic Spirit and Zyn are growing fast.
A group of international health experts warned in the European Heart Journal this week that “nicotine is toxic to the heart and blood vessels, regardless of whether it is consumed via a vape, a pouch, a shisha or a cigarette”. They voiced concern about the recent dramatic rise in use of vapes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, especially among adolescents and young adults.
Separate research published this week in the journal Lancet Public Health found that more than 500,000 people in Britain now use nicotine, with the boom driven by members of gen Z, especially young men. The proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds doing so has jumped from 0.7% in 2022 to 4% this year, according to the study led by Dr Harry Tattan-Birch of University College London.
“Pouches have a substantially lower risk to health than cigarettes and are likely less harmful than e-cigarettes. However, they are not harmless,” he said.
A spokesperson for Zyn, which is made by the tobacco firm Philip Morris International, said: “The reality is smoke-free products such as nicotine pouches have successfully supported millions of adults to leave cigarettes behind. Public health policymakers should be encouraged that, according to Ash, 96% of teenagers have never tried nicotine pouches.”
Asli Ertonguc, the head of British American Tobacco in the UK and western Europe, highlighted that last week’s Lancet study also found that more and more smokers are using pouches to help them give up. A ban on advertising snus could put that press at risk, she added.
A spokesperson for Japan Tobacco International, which makes Nordic Spirit, said: “We welcome regulation that prohibits sale of nicotine products to minors but have concerns about some aspects of the [tobacco and vapes] legislation that could needlessly damage an emerging category and risk undermining the UK’s success in promoting smoking alternatives if passed.”
A DHSC spokesperson said: “We’re acting to protect people’s health and stop young people getting hooked on nicotine. Right now, nicotine pouches are far less regulated than nicotine vapes. This will change. The tobacco and vapes bill will make it illegal to sell nicotine pouches and other nicotine products to anyone aged under 18 to keep young people safe.”
