Just as the use of vaping (e-cigarette) devices among young people began to decline—eliciting a collective sigh of relief from public health officials—a new, potentially worrisome product is gaining popularity among youth: nicotine pouches.
Unlike cigarettes and vaping devices, which produce smoke and vapor, nicotine pouches are more discreet and, therefore, harder for parents to notice. They are tucked in between a person’s lip or cheek and gums; the nicotine is absorbed into their bloodstream through mucous membranes in their mouth.
These pouches do not contain tobacco, the plant—and known carcinogen—used in cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, which includes chew and dip. But they do have nicotine, a chemical found in tobacco. Health experts say that nicotine has negative effects on everyone, but it is particularly dangerous for young people because it can cause physical changes in their still-developing brains. It is also a highly addictive stimulant.
Nicotine pouches were introduced in the United States in 2014. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s traditional “safe and effective” standard for evaluating medical products doesn’t apply to tobacco and nicotine products. Instead, the FDA regulates them based on an intention to reduce the toll that using tobacco and nicotine has on public health.
The good news is that the uptick in use among youth has not been as considerable as it was for vaping.
“Nationally, sales of nicotine pouches have risen dramatically in recent years, but it hasn’t been the skyrocketing growth that was initially seen with vaping,” says Meghan Morean, PhD, a research scientist at the Yale Tobacco Center of Regulatory Science.
A 2023 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that about 1.5% of middle and high school students reported using nicotine pouches in the last 30 days. That’s compared to 10% who reported using any tobacco product, which includes cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, and nicotine pouches.
Below, Morean answers common questions about nicotine pouches.