What are nicotine pouches?  

Nicotine pouches are sachets of nicotine powder, which may be either derived from tobacco or synthetically derived, intended to be placed between the upper lip and gum. They differ from snus and other smokeless tobacco products in that they do not contain any tobacco leaf. Popular brands include Zyn, Velo, and On!, each owned by large tobacco corporations. They have been growing rapidly in popularity, with sales more than tripling between 2023 and 2026. 

Federal regulations  

While nicotine pouches are considered tobacco products under federal definitions and regulated by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, regardless of whether the nicotine is derived synthetically or from tobacco, state and local definitions vary in their comprehensiveness and sometimes exclude nicotine pouches. This leaves state and local agencies without the authority to enforce regulations on the products’ sale and marketing and may exempt the products from state excise taxes.  

As of September 2026, the FDA has authorized a total of 43 nicotine pouch products, many of which have been authorized following the September 2025 launch of the agency’s pilot program aimed to streamline the premarket review process for nicotine pouch products. While all nicotine pouch products that have not received authorization from the FDA are technically illegal to sell, many remain on the market.  

In addition, in May 2026 the FDA announced that they will not be prioritizing enforcement against any unauthorized products that have had their Premarket Tobacco Applications (PMTA) or supplemental applications accepted and filed for review at the FDA – even if the product has not received full authorization for sale. Several national public health groups along with a group of pediatricians and parents have since filed a lawsuit against the FDA, asserting that this enforcement guidance violates the requirements of the Tobacco Control Act by allowing tobacco products that have not undergone scientific review or have not received marketing authorization to be sold and marketed anyways. The FDA also issued this enforcement guidance without prior public notice or allowing for a comment period.  

The FDA has also authorized 20 Zyn nicotine pouches to be marketed as “modified risk tobacco products” with the following specific claim: “Using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.” In an August 2026 pilot program update, the FDA announced the authorization of four additional On! nicotine pouches and noted that, “For adults 21 and older who use smokeless tobacco or smoke cigarettes, switching completely to FDA-authorized nicotine pouches may reduce exposure to many harmful chemicals found in smokeless tobacco or cigarettes.” However, current surveillance data indicates that dual use of these products remains a concern, especially among youth, as does use among youth who have never used other nicotine or tobacco products.   

What are the concerns?  

Youth use: According to data from the 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey, nicotine pouches have become the second most commonly used product among youth, at 0.9% of middle school students and 2.3% of high school students. While these rates are relatively low, the growth in rates, frequency of use, rates of dual and poly use of other tobacco products and use among youth that have never used other tobacco and nicotine products is concerning.  

Data from the Monitoring the Future study also shows that the number of youth who report ever using nicotine pouches nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024, and co-use of both nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes also increased during this time. Data from the national TEEN+ study show that use of nicotine pouches among youth and young adults ages 13-27 quadrupled between 2022 and 2025. Concerningly, the data also show that among those who use nicotine pouches, over 37% (nearly 2 in 5) youth under age 21 reported using nicotine pouches more than five days in past month, as did 57.8% (3 in 5) young adults. The majority of youth using nicotine pouches also use at least one other tobacco product.  

A recent Truth Initiative study found that a growing number of youth and young adults are also initiating tobacco product use with oral nicotine pouches.[1] According to data from the TEEN+ study, youth and young adults are also using them for a variety of reasons, and more young adults ages 21-27 report using them “to get a high or buzz from nicotine” (33.3%) than report using them because they are less harmful than other forms of tobacco (21.7%).  

Nicotine pouch popularity among youth is in many ways unsurprising, given the widespread availability of nicotine pouches in flavors and their marketing as “discreet.” The FDA has authorized the sale of nicotine pouches in several flavors, including autumn spice, cappuccino, rich berry, mint, wintergreen, chill, cinnamon, menthol, peppermint, citrus, cool mint, deep freeze, spearmint, and smooth. Unauthorized products are marketed and sold in a range of other fruit and sweet flavors. National sales data shows that, as of May 2026, mint was the flavor with the most sales (59.8%), and other flavors (fruit, candy, drinks, etc.) comprised an additional 24.7% of sales, while “smooth” and “original” flavors comprised 9.1% of sales.  

Dual use: While the FDA’s assessment of nicotine pouches as a lower risk product is contingent upon adults who currently use combustible or other more harmful smokeless products switching to nicotine pouches, data shows that many people use these products alongside other tobacco products.  

One study found that of youth and young adults 15-24 years old who currently use oral nicotine products, 73% reported current use of cigarettes and 49% reported current use of e-cigarettes. [3] 

Dual use is concerning because if people are not entirely switching from a more risky tobacco product to nicotine pouches, they actually may be worsening their health risk instead. Dual or poly use of multiple tobacco products exposes people using the products to a broader range of toxicants and can ultimately be worse for health than use of a single product as well as lead to greater nicotine dependence. [4, 5] 

High nicotine concentration: Many nicotine pouches on the market, including some authorized for marketing by the FDA, are available with high concentrations of nicotine. The FDA has authorized nicotine pouches in both 9mg and 11mg options. Unauthorized products on US shelves and nicotine pouches on the global market come in even higher concentrations.  

The body absorbs a significantly greater proportion of nicotine (about 50% through typical use of these oral nicotine products than from inhalation of cigarette smoke (about 11%). [6, 7] This means people may be absorbing two or three times more nicotine from one oral nicotine pouch compared to one cigarette. 

Many of the nicotine pouches on the market also use nicotine salts, which make the nicotine less harsh and more appealing to youth who have never smoked. [2] Nicotine in any form is not benign and, in addition to carrying a significant risk of addiction, also carries the risk of negative impacts on oral and dental health and cardiovascular health. 

Also of concern is the practice of “double stacking” or using more than one nicotine pouch at once, which increases nicotine exposure and was reported by 16.3% of youth ages 13-20 years old and 26.1% of young adults 21-28 years old according to data collected August-December 2025 in the TEEN+ study.  

Marketing  

Nicotine pouches are also being marketed by the companies that make them as well as by influencers in ways that misrepresent the risks and benefits of use. Despite the fact that no oral nicotine pouch is an FDA-approved cessation treatment, products like Zyn continue to market themselves as a way to stop smoking, through promotions like the “Zyn 10 Challenge,” alongside their marketing of the product as a recreational product.[8]  

They are marketed for supposed cognitive benefits and compared to use of caffeine, but nicotine is a powerful stimulant with much more risk for dependence than caffeine, and tobacco companies are profiting from that addiction.  

They are marketed similarly to other tobacco products with bright colors and packaging that appeal to youth, price discounts and promotions to keep them cheap, and even rewards programs.  

Comparatively, FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapies serve as an important tool for those who are tobacco dependent. While FDA-approved cessation treatments, including approved nicotine replacement therapies, have undergone extensive safety reviews as FDA-approved drugs, these oral nicotine pouch products have not.   

En savoir plus sur harm reduction and misinformation in commercial tobacco control from the Public Health Law Center.  

Future regulation 

Use of these products is an important trend to monitor, as is ensuring these products are well regulated to prevent future youth initiation and reduce dependence among people who currently use these or other tobacco and nicotine products. States and localities can do so by: 

• Ensuring their definitions of tobacco and nicotine products are comprehensive enough to include nicotine pouches 
• Ensuring retailer who sell these products are licensed to do so, limiting their sale to adult-only retailers (as Northampton and Southborough, MA have done)
• Banning the sale of all flavored tobacco products 
• Prohibiting price discounts and coupon redemptions 
• Limiting the sale of nicotine pouches above a certain nicotine concentration (6mg in Ludlow, Amherst, and Bourne, MA) 
• Reducing availability by limiting tobacco retail density and proximity to youth serving venues in particular.  

En savoir plus sur oral nicotine pouches and how they can be regulated at the point of sale. 

Mollie Mayfield, a Senior Policy Analyst at Counter Tools, has a decade of experience working on commercial tobacco prevention and control in the retail environment. In that time she has worked with partners across the country, providing technical assistance, training, consultation, and subject matter expertise on policy, systems, and environmental solutions for improving the health of the retail environment and advancing health equity, and she has served as the managing editor of CounterTobacco.org. She received her Master of Public Health in Health Behavior from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her BA in Psychology with a concentration in Community and Global Health from Macalester College.

1. A. Schillo “Oral Nicotine Pouch Initiation and Characteristics of Use Among US Adolescents and Young Adults, 2022–2024”, American Journal of Public Health , no.  (): pp. E1-e4. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308601 
2. Leventhal AM, Madden DR, Peraza N, Schiff SJ, Lebovitz L, Whitted L, Barrington-Trimis J, Mason TB, Anderson MK, Tackett AP. Effect of Exposure to e-Cigarettes With Salt vs Free-Base Nicotine on the Appeal and Sensory Experience of Vaping: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2021 Jan 4;4(1):e2032757. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.32757. PMID: 33433597; PMCID: PMC7804919. 
3. Minal Patel et al., Patterns of Oral Nicotine Pouch Use Among U.S. Adolescents and Young Adults, 34 Preventive Med. Rep. 102239 (2023). 
4. Glantz, S., Nguyen, N., & Oliveira da Silva, A. (2024). Population-Based Disease Odds for E-Cigarettes and Dual Use versus Cigarettes. NEJM Evidence, 3(3), evidoa2300229-evidoa2300229. Report #: EVIDoa2300229. Pubmed ID: 38411454. http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/evidoa2300229 Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7wq2q169 
5. Snell LM, Barnes AJ, Nicksic NE. A Longitudinal Analysis of Nicotine Dependence and Transitions From Dual Use of Cigarettes and Electronic Cigarettes: Evidence From Waves 1-3 of the PATH Study. J Stud Alcohol Drugs. 2020 Sep;81(5):595-603. doi: 10.15288/jsad.2020.81.595. PMID: 33028472; PMCID: PMC8076487. 
6. Lunell E, Fagerström K, Hughes J, Pendrill R. Pharmacokinetic Comparison of a Novel Non-tobacco-Based Nicotine Pouch (ZYN) With Conventional, Tobacco-Based Swedish Snus and American Moist Snuff. Nicotine Tob Res. 2020 Oct 8;22(10):1757-1763. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntaa068. PMID: 32319528 
7. Benowitz NL. Clinical pharmacology of nicotine: implications for understanding, preventing, and treating tobacco addiction. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 2008 Apr;83(4):531-41. doi: 10.1038/clpt.2008.3. Epub 2008 Feb 27. PMID: 18305452. 
8. Soule E, McAnnany K‘ZYN 10 Challenge’: illegal marketing of nicotine pouches as smoking cessation aids?Tobacco Control Published Online First: 16 February 2026. doi: 10.1136/tc-2025-059872