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Last updated September 2024
Read time 4 minutes
Nicotine pouches are small, tea bag like pouches filled with white powder. This powder contains nicotine, flavorings, and other ingredients. Unlike other types of ‘smokeless’ products such as snus and chewing tobacco, nicotine pouches don’t contain tobacco leaf. The pouch is placed between a person’s lip and gum, allowing the nicotine to be absorbed through the lining of their mouth.1
The powder inside nicotine pouches contains a mix of chemicals including nicotine, flavourings, and sweeteners. These chemicals are absorbed through the lining of the mouth and enter the bloodstream and then circulate throughout the body, potentially reaching many organs and systems.2
Users of nicotine pouches have reported short-term health effects including:
mouth lesions
upset stomach
sore mouth
sore throat
nausea.3,4
While we don't yet know the long-term health effects, some toxic chemicals, including ones that may cause cancer, have been found in nicotine pouches.5
Nicotine is highly addictive, especially for children and teenagers, who can become dependent more quickly than adults. While the brain is developing until around age 25, nicotine use can change the way it matures, which may impact learning, memory, and attention.7,8
Nicotine is a poison that is particularly dangerous if swallowed or inhaled by young children.9 Any products containing nicotine should always be stored securely away from children.
Nicotine pouches have not been tested or approved as a quit aid. There is no strong evidence that they can help people quit smoking or vaping. Nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) such as gum, lozenges, and patches are regulated for safety and are proven to help increase your chances at quitting.10
Speak with your doctor (GP), pharmacist or Quitline counsellors about options to help you quit smoking or vaping.
No, it is not legal to supply or market nicotine pouches in Australia.11 Nonetheless, there are reports of the products being promoted and sold here. Experts are worried that the colourful packaging, sweet flavours, social media marketing, and discreet use of nicotine pouches target young people.12 Authorities are continuing to take action against people importing, advertising or selling nicotine pouches.
See Tobacco in Australia: Facts & issues for more detailed information about nicotine pouches.
Greenhalgh E, Winnall W, and Scollo M. 18C.1 Oral nicotine products and the oral nicotine market, in Tobacco in Australia: Facts & issues. Greenhalgh E, Scollo M, and Winstanley M, Editors. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2024. Available from: https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-18-e-cigarettes/InDepth-18C/18c1-oral-nicotine-products.
Winnall W, Greenhalgh E, and Scollo M. 18C.5 Health effects of oral nicotine products, in Tobacco in Australia: Facts & issues. Greenhalgh E, Scollo M, and Winstanley M, Editors. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2024. Available from: https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-18-e-cigarettes/InDepth-18C/18c-5-health-effects-of-oral-nicotine-products.
Dowd AN, Thrul J, Czaplicki L, Kennedy RD, Moran MB, et al. A Cross-Sectional Survey on Oral Nicotine Pouches: Characterizing Use-Motives, Topography, Dependence Levels, and Adverse Events. Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 2023. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37712111
German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR). Health risk assessment of nicotine pouches. 2022. Available from: https://mobil.bfr.bund.de/cm/349/health-risk-assessment-of-nicotine-pouches.pdf
Winnall, WR, Greenhalgh, EM, & Scollo MM. 18C.4 Chemicals in oral nicotine products. In Greenhalgh, EM, Scollo, MM and Winstanley, MH [editors]. Tobacco in Australia: Facts & issues. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2024. Available from: https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-18-e-cigarettes/InDepth-18C/18c-4-chemicals-in-oral-nicotine-products
Mallock N, Schulz T, Malke S, Dreiack N, Laux P, et al. Levels of nicotine and tobacco-specific nitrosamines in oral nicotine pouches. Tobacco Control, 2022:tobaccocontrol-2022-057280. Available from: https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/tobaccocontrol/early/2022/08/05/tc-2022-057280.full.pdf
Mallock-Ohnesorg N, Rinaldi S, Malke S, Dreiack N, Pieper E, et al. Oral nicotine pouches with an aftertaste? Part 1: screening and initial toxicological assessment of flavorings and other ingredients. Archives of Toxicology, 2023. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37389646
England LJ, Bunnell RE, Pechacek TF, Tong VT, and McAfee TA. Nicotine and the Developing Human: A Neglected Element in the Electronic Cigarette Debate. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2015; 49(2):286-93. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25794473
Yuan M, Cross SJ, Loughlin SE, and Leslie FM. Nicotine and the adolescent brain. The Journal of physiology, 2015; 593(16):3397-412. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26018031
The Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne. Nicotine poisoning. Melbourne Available from: https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Nicotine_Poisoning/.
Greenhalgh E, Dean E, Stillman S, and Ford C. 7.16 Pharmacotherapies for smoking cessation, in Tobacco in Australia: Facts & issues. Greenhalgh E, Scollo M, and Winstanley M, Editors. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2023. Available from: https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-7-cessation/7-16-pharmacotherapy.
Therapeutic Goods Administration. Nicotine pouches. Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, 2024. Available from: https://www.tga.gov.au/products/unapproved-therapeutic-goods/vaping-hub/nicotine-pouches
Greenhalgh E and Scollo M. 18C.2 Advertising and promotion of oral nicotine products, in Tobacco in Australia: Facts & issues. Greenhalgh E, Scollo M, and Winstanley M, Editors. Melbourne: Cancer Council Victoria; 2024. Available from: https://www.tobaccoinaustralia.org.au/chapter-18-e-cigarettes/InDepth-18C/18c-2-advertising-and-promotion-of-oral-nicotine-products.
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Nicotine pouches are small, tea bag like pouches filled with white powder.
