What are Nicotine Pouches? Complete Guide

Nicotine pouches have many names. Some of the terms used to describe the same thing are:

• All-white snus
• White snus
• Tobacco-free snus
• Tobacco-free nicotine pouches
• Nicopods
• Nicotine pouches
• Super white
• All white
• All-white portion

…Amongst many others

Nicotine pouches are relatively new on the market and emerged a few years ago as a product development of snus. Snus has been around for several hundred years in Sweden and although there are some similarities with snus, there are several important differences.

Nicotine pouches are completely free of tobacco. They contain normal plant fibers, flavorings, and nicotine. Today nicotine pouches come in an endless variety of flavors, from coffee to mint and berries. Nicotine pouches come in several different formats. The most common are slim and mini formats. Mini-format means that the pouches are smaller than usual, which makes it possible to use them more discreetly. Slim pouches are more elongated than traditional portions pouches, which makes them sit more discreetly under the lip.

What are nicotine pouches?

Nicotine pouches are composed of a permeable pouch material and a non-tobacco substrate to which nicotine and flavorings are added. The pouch itself is made of viscose fibers that are held together by chemical, heat, or solvent treatment, and the non-tobacco-based substrate is primarily composed of water and microcrystalline cellulose, which together make up about 80-90% of the nicotine pouch.

Other standard ingredients are present in this mixture, including a pH buffer, a filler, salt, flavoring additives and aromatics, sweeteners, and nicotine extracted from tobacco leaves. Visually, nicotine pouches do not differ from portion snus, except that it is white rather than brown due to the absence of tobacco (although some pouches may have a slight color tone and are not completely white).

What do nicotine pouches contain?

The most central ingredient in smokeless tobacco is plant fibers (cellulose mixture). Different manufacturers use different types of cellulose mixtures. VELO, for example, uses fibers from eucalyptus and pine. Furthermore, nicotine pouches contain nicotine. The nicotine content can vary significantly depending on the type you choose.

Benefits of nicotine pouches

Nicotine pouches offer a range of benefits compared to traditional smokeless tobacco. Most notably, white snus does not stain teeth as it comes in an all-white format that stays white throughout its use. Since it does not contain tobacco, there are also more possibilities for different flavors which can be seen in the wide range of flavors available today.

They are also a better option for those who do not like the smell or taste of traditional snus. Nicotine pouches come either completely dry, known as “dry”, or slightly moistened. Nicotine pouches therefore either do not run at all or run significantly less than regular smokeless tobacco. This means that one does not have to spit when using nicotine pouches which some may need to do when using smokeless tobacco.