Researchers concerned about young people’s use of nicotine pouches

Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control's Flory Doucas speaks about the study showing a rising number of young people are chewing nicotine pouches.

Nicotine pouches are almost as popular as cigarettes among young people, according to a recent Canadian study.

Researchers are concerned that these pouches contain all the ingredients for this trend to grow.

Like e-cigarettes, which are the most popular means of nicotine consumption among young people, these pouches can contain flavours (on the illicit market), significant amounts of nicotine and are not associated with combustion, points out Dr. Richard E. Bélanger of Laval University, one of the study’s authors.

While a cigarette normally contains 1 mg of nicotine, each pouch contains between 2 mg and 4 mg for those sold in pharmacies. On the black market, they can contain up to 50 mg of nicotine.

While these pouches are approved to help adults quit smoking, Bélanger fears that taking such high doses of nicotine could be a gateway to other, more harmful products.

“The most negative impact is addiction, and how that addiction could be transferred to other products that contain nicotine that is even more harmful to health,” Bélanger explained in an interview with The Canadian Press.

The study, conducted among more than 11,000 students aged 11 to 17 attending 33 schools in Quebec as part of the COMPASS project, indicates that 13 per cent of young people had used e-cigarettes in the previous month, compared to three per cent for cigarettes and 2.6 per cent for nicotine pouches.

Their use also increases with age. Researchers found that secondary 5 students are three times more likely to use them than their secondary 1 to 3 classmates.

Among respondents, 28 per cent of pouch users also smoke cigarettes and 72 per cent vape. Since they produce no smoke or aerosols, young people report using them everywhere without restriction, according to the doctor.

“What we are seeing is that, even though regulations have been put in place, they do not seem to have prevented young people from obtaining this type of product for the time being,” he notes.

With legal measures having limited impact, educating young people about the harms of nicotine is key to combating its adoption, the researcher notes. The survey reveals that 23 per cent of young people were unaware that nicotine pouches pose health risks, and 16 per cent say they do not know if they are addictive.

As pouches only began to enter popular use around 2019, there are not yet many studies on their harmful effects, Bélanger notes.

However, some published studies have looked at their impact on oral health, including the absorption of nicotine through the gums.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 4, 2025.