It’s well-known that smoking cigarettes can increase the prevalence of fatal conditions such as respiratory diseases, cancer, and heart disease. In addition to physical ailments, our previous article on ‘How To Lose Upper Body Fat’ shared that smoking can even affect general lifestyle conditions. For instance, smoking makes it harder for the lungs to take in oxygen when breathing. This means regular smokers are more likely to experience shortness of breath, which makes it difficult for them to perform physical activities that will help them stay fit. Ultimately, such widespread adverse effects have helped drive demand for smoking cessation products.
According to surveys, the smoking cessation market in North America is expected to reach $18.01 billion in 2025, with a CAGR of 11.59% during the forecast period. Among the most popular smoking cessation products are nicotine pouches. For millions today, nicotine pouches are their preferred method of nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
What is NRT And How Do Nicotine Pouches Affect It?
For starters, let’s discuss NRT, in which nicotine pouches play a big role. Essentially, NRT is one of the recommended strategies to help you cease your smoking habits. They are available as nicotine lozenges, gums, and aforementioned pouches, which contain small amounts of nicotine to support you in overcoming your smoking dependence. Without such interventions, you can experience severe withdrawal symptoms like migraines, moodiness, and lethargy. NRT is also convenient since most of them are taken orally. For example, nicotine pouches are small white sachets that are placed between your upper lip and gum without needing to chew or suck. Because of this, you can have a smoke-free and discreet nicotine experience anytime.
Do Nicotine Pouches Have The Same Nicotine As Cigarettes?
On average, cigarettes contain about 12mg of nicotine. Users can choose from variants that carry between 2mg to 12mg among nicotine pouches. This allows users to opt for the strength they prefer until they can be weaned off nicotine. Interestingly, because nicotine pouches are tobacco-free, they derive their nicotine from other ways. An article from Prilla explaining where nicotine comes from shared that there are two ways manufacturers obtain nicotine without including the harmful substances from tobacco leaves. First is by steaming or chemically stripping the nicotine from the leaf and combining it with resin, which is eventually made into the material that’s put inside tobacco-free products. Another way is by creating synthetic nicotine. Experts take the chemical compounds that constitute nicotine and mix them to make nicotine that involves no tobacco leaves at all. Despite being made synthetically, they work the same way as most nicotine derived from plants.
Are Nicotine Pouches Effective Alternatives?
Now, you might wonder if nicotine pouches are effective alternatives to cigarettes. The good news is that various studies confirm the efficiency of using nicotine pouches as a substitute to help you quit smoking. For instance, research by Leonie Brose and colleagues on nicotine pouches discussed that ZYN, a brand of nicotine pouch, could deliver nicotine into the bloodstream quickly with no significant adverse effects. Additionally, a previous study on an older type of nicotine pouch called Zonnic found that compared with nicotine gum, nicotine pouches were as effective or more effective at reducing nicotine cravings.
Moreover, another nicotine pouch study published by Scientific Reports explained in their discussion that using different NRTs, such as gums, lozenges, and pouches, can increase the successful cessation rate among smokers motivated to quit by 50% to 60%. The study participants also demonstrated greater product satisfaction over nicotine pouches than lozenges. This indicates that smokers consider nicotine pouches as a satisfying alternative nicotine source. In conclusion, this evidence shows that NRTs, particularly nicotine pouches, are effective and preferable substitutes to traditional cigarettes among those looking to quit.
In summary, nicotine pouches are effective cigarette alternatives despite being tobacco-free. In fact, its lack of tobacco makes them a better nicotine source than cigarettes. So if you’re looking for substitutes to help you in your smoking cessation journey, nicotine pouches are one of the best options for you.
