Nicotine pouches use increases among young men as 'targeted' marketing continues

Young men are greatly consuming nicotine pouches, usually as alternative to smoking.

A study suggests around 7.5% of 16 to 24-year-old-men are using the small sachets that fit under the top lip, compared with 1.9% use among young women and 1% among adults overall.

Most pouch users - estimated to be around half a million people - also smoke or vape, and a growing number are using them to give up smoking, University College London researchers revealed.

They say research is needed to determine whether the nicotine-filled pouches could help people quit cigarettes, which contain harmful tobacco and other chemicals.

Sales of nicotine pouches have been going up rapidly in recent years, with the rise driven "almost exclusively" by young people using them, especially young men, say the researchers.

Less than 1% of young men and women were using nicotine pouches in 2022, increasing to 4% in March 2025.

This is due to the "aggressive and targeted" way the pouches are marketed, the study says.

"Marketing of nicotine pouches has been heavily targeted at spaces and platforms that disproportionately reach young men, including sponsorship of Formula 1 teams, promotion at music festivals, reports of use among professional footballers, and influencer marketing aimed at male audiences," says Dr Harry Tattan-Birch, UCL researcher and study author.

But the rules around how the nicotine pouches are marketed is set to change.

Legislation passing through parliament which is called the Tobacco and Vapes Bill - would ban their sale to anyone under 18, restrict how they are advertised, and give powers to regulate the flavours, packaging and the amount of nicotine they contain.

The study also states this new regulation should be looked at carefully so that it doesn't undermine any potential the pouches have to reduce the harms from smoking.

In other countries, the rules on nicotine pouches are far more strict a they are banned in Germany and the Netherlands, and soon to be banned in France.