Nicotine pouches Sales soaring, but experts fear effect on health

Walk into any corner shop and you'll see them: colourful tins stacked beside the chewing gum, with flavours from frosty berry and lime storm to something called Tomorrowland.

- Linda Geddes

Welcome to nicotine pouches - the tobacco industry's latest diversification strategy.

Marketed as "tobacco-free" but packed with nicotine, these small sachets promise a discreet buzz. Sales are rapidly climbing, and UK ministers are considering tighter rules. But are they helping smokers quit - or hooking a new generation on nicotine? And what else are they doing to people's health?

Nicotine pouches are different from snus - a moist tobacco paste - and vapes, which deliver nicotine via inhalation. These small white sachets contain purified nicotine powder, fillers such as cellulose, plus artificial sweeteners and flavourings. You tuck one under your upper lip, where it mingles with saliva and delivers a rapid hit.

They've been on UK shelves since about 2019, and are already big business: 92m units were sold in 2022, and sales grew 55% in 2023 - a shift some put down to revamped marketing. Prof Leonie Brose of King's College London's nicotine research group said: "Initially, they were a bit dull-looking, and in the last few years they've become very colourful and interestingly packaged, clearly not only appealing to a middle-aged person who smokes, but targeting other, younger age groups."

Recent research by the group suggests the share of UK adults who have tried them doubled between 2020 and 2024 to 5.4%, although just 1% use them regularly.

Youth use is at a similar level, but awareness may be growing.