Nicotine Pouch Guide
If you have never used a nicotine pouch before, this page covers everything you need in about two minutes.
What a nicotine pouch actually is
A nicotine pouch is a small white pad containing nicotine, flavouring, a plant fibre filler and a sweetener. There is no tobacco leaf in it at all, which is what separates a pouch from traditional snus. Nothing is burned and nothing is inhaled, so there is no smoke and no vapour.
How to use one
Take a pouch out of the can and put it between your top lip and your gum. Leave it there — you do not chew it and you do not swallow it. Most people keep one in for 20 to 60 minutes. You will feel a tingle within the first minute; that is the nicotine starting to absorb, and it fades. When you are finished, most cans have a hollow lid on top designed to hold used pouches until you can bin them.
Picking a strength
Strength is printed in milligrams of nicotine per pouch. Many brands also print a row of dots on the can, but the dots are not standardised between brands, so we list the real milligram figure on every product page.
- 3–6mg — gentle. The right starting point if you have never used pouches, or if you are a light smoker.
- 7–14mg — the mainstream band, and where most regular users settle.
- 15–30mg — strong. Comfortable for established pouch users, unpleasant for most beginners.
- Over 30mg — extra strong. These are genuinely harsh and are made for people with a high tolerance.
Start lower than you think you need. A pouch that is too strong will give you hiccups, a burning lip and sometimes nausea — it wears off, but there is nothing to gain from jumping straight to the top of the range.
Slim, mini or regular?
This refers to the shape of the pouch rather than the strength. Mini pouches are smaller and sit more discreetly; slim pouches are longer and flatter and tend to sit more comfortably along the gum; regular pouches are the chunkiest. Strength and format are independent of each other, so you can get a mini in a very high milligram figure.
Storing them
Keep cans somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight. Some brands recommend refrigerating them to keep the pouches moist; that is optional and affects the feel rather than the safety. Always keep cans well out of reach of children and pets — a pouch is small, it looks harmless and it is not.
The honest health bit
Nicotine pouches are not risk-free and they are not a licensed stop-smoking medicine. Nicotine is addictive, it raises your heart rate and blood pressure, and pouches can irritate your gums. What they do not involve is combustion, which is the single most harmful part of smoking. If you want to stop using nicotine altogether, your GP or your local NHS stop smoking service can help, and that help is free.
These products are for adults aged 18 and over who already use nicotine. They are not for non-smokers, under-18s, or anyone who is pregnant or breastfeeding.