A study made recently has shown that the use of nicotine pouches may help smokers quit the habit. Independent scientists and public health experts, however, warn that excessively restrictive rules on nicotine pouches may influence policies across the Asia-Pacific and limit access to safer alternatives for adult smokers.

“For people who smoke or use other nicotine products and don't want to stop using nicotine, switching completely from the more harmful product and moving down the risk continuum with nicotine pouches is likely good for public health,” according to Cristine Delnevo, lead researcher at the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies, whose study was published in JAMA Network Open.

The study found that many adults in the United States who are using nicotine pouches had recently quit smoking or vaping, indicating the products may play a role in harm reduction.

In the Philippines, nicotine pouches are now popular as a smoke-free alternative, regulated as consumer products under Republic Act No. 11900 or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act.

Nicotine pouches offer a discreet, combustion-free way to consume nicotine by placing a small, plant-fiber pouch between the upper lip and gum.

WHO concern

Concerns emerged after the World Health Organization (WHO) released its latest report on nicotine pouches, which reviewed their growing global use.

The WHO warned that nicotine pouches are being aggressively marketed to youth through sweet flavors, social media influencers, and lifestyle sponsorships. With global sales surging over 50 percent, the WHO urges governments to implement stricter regulations.

Researchers emphasized that the report should be considered in light of emerging evidence on tobacco harm reduction and the role of smoke-free nicotine products in helping smokers move away from cigarettes.

Dr. Jamie Hartmann-Boyce, Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, noted that non-combustible nicotine products could help reduce smoking-related harms.

“There is a large, robust body of evidence showing that giving people who smoke nicotine in another form can help them quit smoking. This is important because nicotine is not the ingredient in cigarettes that causes cancer, so moving people off cigarettes onto another form of nicotine can reduce health risks,” Hartmann-Boyce said.

Prof. Caitlin Notley, Professor of Addiction Sciences at the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, described the WHO report as “not quite accurate”, noting that “there is emergent evidence of the potential role of nicotine pouches for smoking cessation, despite them not being licensed as an approved cessation aid.”

Notley referenced qualitative research by her team, which analyzed over 20,000 publicly available YouTube comments on discussions about nicotine pouches.

“A major finding was that people with lived experience discussed how they had found nicotine pouches helpful to transition away from tobacco smoking, and also potentially nicotine vaping,” she said.

Consumer research in Spain highlighted the rising popularity of nicotine pouches as cigarette alternatives. A survey by international consultancy Dynata, included in the report “Regulation of Nicotine Pouches”, found that two-thirds of Spanish users said they adopted the products to quit smoking.

In a related development, the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates (CAPHRA) cautioned that excessively prohibitive guidance could lead governments in the region to adopt policies limiting adult access to safer alternatives to smoking.

CAPHRA Executive Coordinator Nancy Loucas emphasized that nicotine pouches are non-combustible, thereby eliminating the principal mechanism behind smoking-related disease.

“The most dangerous nicotine product is still the cigarette,” she said. “If regulators respond to marketing abuses by making lower-risk products harder to access for adults, they risk protecting smoking rather than reducing harm.”

Dr. Harry Tattan-Birch, Senior Research Fellow at University College London’s Department of Behavioural Science and Health, likewise cautioned against imposing outright bans.

“Governments need to regulate these products with relative harms in mind. Nicotine pouches do not produce smoke or require inhalation into the lungs, meaning they are likely to be substantially less harmful to health than cigarettes,” he said.