Nicotine pouches might be helping tobacco users quit smoking and vaping, a new study says. The pouches — sold under brand names like Velo and Zyn — can’t be marketed as smoking cessation aids like nicotine patches, gums or lozenges, researchers said. But it appears that some are using the pouches to get their nicotine fix without resorting to smoking, researchers recently reported in JAMA Network Open.
People were nearly four times more likely to use nicotine pouches daily if they’d recently quit smoking, researchers found. “Our results suggest that adults may be using nicotine pouches for harm reduction given that use is highest among those that have recently quit another tobacco product or e-cigarettes,” lead researcher Cristine Delnevo said in a news release. She’s director of the Rutgers University Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies in New Brunswick, N.J.
Nicotine pouches contain a powder made of nicotine, flavorings and other ingredients, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). People typically place the pouches between their lip and gum, where the nicotine is absorbed. For the study, researchers analyzed data from more than 110,000 Americans surveyed by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2022 and 2023 about their tobacco use. To read the full story.