By now, you’ve probably heard of how bad cigarettes and tobacco are for you. While nicotine is an addictive substance, the chemicals in tobacco smoke are a lot more dangerous and include carbon monoxide, tar, and toxic chemicals such as benzene, arsenic and formaldehyde. This is why vaping E-Liquids, which includes nicotine but not tobacco, has been found to be 95% safer than smoking.

Nicotine pouches offer a more discreet way of enjoying nicotine than vaping, and don’t involve inhaling anything, which many see as a benefit.

But will nicotine pouches help you to quit smoking? We look at some of the research around nicotine pouches and how effective they could be for helping you on your quitting journey.

what is a nicotine pouch

Nicotine Pouches Can Help Stop Cravings

One of the main reasons to use nicotine pouches is to keep cigarette cravings at bay by satisfying your need for nicotine. The pouch is put under your lip, and the nicotine is absorbed orally, quickly satiating your cravings.

Research published in the Nicotine & Tobacco Research journal in 2021 revealed that “users can draw adequate nicotine from pouches to overcome cravings from cigarettes”. This shows that nicotine pouches can be used as an effective nicotine replacement option when quitting smoking.

Likewise, research from the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco concluded that nicotine pouches were as effective or better at reducing withdrawal symptoms than other nicotine replacement products, and can help smokers reduce or stop combustible tobacco use.

Who Uses Nicotine Pouches? 

Nicotine pouches are a fairly new nicotine replacement option, so there is less awareness of these products and their benefits are not as widely known. One study into nicotine pouches in the United States from Tobacco Control surveyed 1,018 smokers on their knowledge of nicotine pouches. The study found:

  • Around 29% of the smokers were aware of nicotine pouches.
  • Only 6% had tried nicotine pouches, but 17% were interested in trying them. 
  • Smokers aged 18 to 44 were three times more likely to use nicotine pouches than those over the age of 44. 
  • Those who had plans to quit smoking or had tried and failed to quit before were the most interested in using pouches in the future. 

To help more people live a smoke, vapour and tobacco-free life, more awareness of nicotine pouches should be raised, and further research into their effectiveness is needed.

The Difference Between Nicotine and Tobacco

One of the main reasons people are hesitant to make the switch to nicotine pouches is because they aren’t aware of the differences between nicotine and tobacco. When discussing the health risks of cigarettes, a common misconception is that nicotine causes cancer. But this is not the case - it is the chemicals in tobacco smoke that are known to be carcinogens.

Former FDA Commissioner, Scott Gottlieb, clarified that "the nicotine in cigarettes is not directly responsible for the cancer, lung disease, and heart disease that kill hundreds of thousands of Americans each year."

Nicotine pouches do not contain toxic products or carcinogenic chemicals from the tobacco leaf or smoke. While nicotine is an addictive substance that isn’t without its risks, it is significantly less harmful than smoking cigarettes.

If a smoker is able to give up cigarettes by replacing their nicotine intake with a nicotine pouch, then they are switching to one of the least harmful ways to ingest nicotine and can greatly reduce their health risks.

Want to see how nicotine pouches can help you quit smoking? Claim your free can of 4NX nicotine pouches and see how they can keep your cravings at bay.