Nicotine pouches are more likely to serve as a tool for tobacco harm reduction and don’t appear to be the gateway into nicotine use that many fear, new research on pouch consumers from the United States shows.

A new study from Rutgers University reveals that most adult pouch users in the United States are current or former tobacco users, many of whom appear to be using pouches as a step toward quitting more dangerous nicotine products like cigarettes.

Published in JAMA Network Open, the study provides the first national estimates of daily nicotine pouch use in the United States, and paints a cautiously optimistic picture of who is using these products and why.

“Our results suggest that adults may be using nicotine pouches for harm reduction, given that use is highest among those that have recently quit another tobacco product or e-cigarettes,” said Cristine D. Delnevo, director of the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies, in a statement.

Most pouch consumers are former smokers

The study analyzed data from over 110,000 US adults, collected through the US Census Bureau’s Tobacco Use Supplement. 

Researchers looked specifically at pouch use patterns before and after 2019 – the year pouches became widely available in the US market.

While overall use remains low – just 2.5 percent of adults reported using nicotine pouches – the study found that usage was almost entirely limited to people with a history of tobacco use. 

Non-Hispanic white men were the most likely group of nicotine pouch consumers, and usage among those who had never smoked or used tobacco products was “virtually non-existent.”

While use of nicotine pouches has increased among young people in the United States in recent years, overall uptake remains low. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, only 1.8 percent of US middle and high school students reported using nicotine pouches. 

“People who have never used tobacco products should not suddenly be using nicotine pouches,” Delnevo added. 

“But 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.”

A shift in US nicotine consumption

In January 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized the marketing of ZYN – the first nicotine pouch to receive such approval. Although pouches cannot legally be marketed as quit-smoking aids, the Rutgers team notes that many users are clearly treating them as lower-risk alternatives to cigarettes.

“As nicotine pouches gain increased attention in the U.S., many agree that we need to better understand who is using these products and how,” said study co-author Mary Hrywna, associate professor at Rutgers School of Public Health.

“This study offers a snapshot of use patterns that is informative and, at least for now, somewhat reassuring.”

The findings have important policy implications. 

They suggest that adults are not being lured into nicotine addiction through pouches, but instead are transitioning away from combustible tobacco. 

This directly challenges the “gateway” narrative that continues to dominate headlines and some public health discussions.

Swedish Experience offers proof about pouches

In Sweden, where both snus and nicotine pouches are widely used, smoking rates have plummeted to among the lowest in the world. 

This transition has not been fueled by new nicotine users – but by former smokers seeking less harmful alternatives.

Patrik Strömer, Secretary General of the Association of Swedish Snus Manufacturers, sees the Rutgers study as an important step in helping dismantle outdated myths.

“This study confirms what we’ve seen in Sweden for years: nicotine pouches are not a gateway into smoking – they are a gateway out,” he tells Snusforumet.

“Most nicotine pouch consumers today are either former smokers or people trying to quit. And as snus and pouch use has gone up, smoking has continued to fall.”

Sweden’s success with harm reduction has gained international attention. The country is set to become the first in the EU to meet the WHO target for a smoke-free country – defined as having fewer than 5 percent daily smokers. 

Much of this success can be attributed to the availability of safer nicotine alternatives.

“The more we understand how these products are used, the harder it becomes to deny their role in improving public health,” Strömer adds.