Nicotine pouches are designed to provide people who smoke with a safer method for obtaining the nicotine they crave. However, that doesn’t mean that there’s no potential risk of side effects when using these pouches. In this guide, you’ll learn about nicotine pouches’ side effects and how they compare to the dangers of smoking tobacco.
What Are Nicotine Pouches For?
The main purpose of using nicotine pouches is to quit smoking cigarettes. While these products were initially released in the early 21st century, they’ve become increasingly popular since the COVID-19 pandemic began. If you use these pouches, you’ll be able to enjoy nicotine without the vapor, smoke, or tobacco that comes with other products. The primary ingredients found in these pouches include nicotine, flavorings, sweeteners, water, and plant fibers.
Nicotine pouches are available in numerous strengths and flavors. You can also obtain mini pouches from some brands if you want a more discreet product. All nicotine pouches are designed to sit between your gum and upper lip. Since there are numerous brands to choose from, it’s recommended that you do your research before selecting a specific product.
There are also some additional benefits that come with using nicotine pouches. For example, the nicotine hit lasts longer than it does with tobacco products. Nicotine pouches release the main ingredient for up to 30-40 minutes.
Nicotine pouches are also more practical than tobacco and vaping. You can enjoy them wherever you are and whenever you want. Since these pouches are small, people shouldn’t even know when you’re using them. In comparison, vaping and smoking indoors come with restrictions. Even though vape pens are often used by people who try to stop smoking, they need to be refilled or recharged, which requires tools and cables.
Dangers of Using Tobacco
The main reason why you should switch to nicotine pouches instead of smoking is that tobacco leaves are dangerous to your health. While tobacco contains nicotine, many of the other chemicals in cigarettes are hazardous. Tobacco smoke consists of over 7,000 chemicals. More than 70 of these chemicals are carcinogenic, which means that they can cause various forms of cancer.
Tobacco that isn’t directly burned is referred to as smokeless tobacco. While smokeless tobacco is better for your health, it still contains around 30 carcinogenic chemicals. Some of the blood vessel and heart problems caused by smoking tobacco include the following:
- Coronary artery disease
- Blood clots in your legs
- Inadequate blood supply to your legs
- Blood clots in your brain, which may lead to stroke
Tobacco users also need to be on the lookout for:
- Cancer, which can affect the throat, lungs, mouth, stomach, pancreas, rectum, and kidney
- Issues during pregnancy, which extend to early labor and low birth weight
- Lung problems, including asthma or COPD
- Slow wound healing following surgery
- Problems with smell and taste
- Loss of sight
- Skin wrinkling
- Gum and tooth diseases
Even if you switch to chewing tobacco, you may still encounter health risks like:
- Cavities and tooth decay
- Higher risk of cancer that affects the pancreas, mouth, and tongue
- Angina
What Do Nicotine Pouches Make You Feel?
While people can have slightly different experiences when using nicotine pouches, the effects are nearly the same for everyone. You can keep a pouch in your mouth for up to an hour. However, the flavor tends to dissipate after 30-40 minutes. The longest-lasting pouches have a high moisture level.
When you first place a pouch in your mouth, you might believe that nothing’s happening. For the first minute or two, the nicotine needs time to be activated from your saliva. Since there’s a pouch between your saliva and the nicotine, this process isn’t instantaneous.
After around five minutes, the nicotine salt in the pouch should be fully activated, which means that it will begin to enter your bloodstream. If you’ve been craving nicotine, this sensation should start to dissipate. You may also feel a minor burning or tingling sensation around your gums.
Once 10 minutes have passed, the majority of the nicotine should have entered your bloodstream, which means that the most potent effects of the pouch may be over. While some users remove the pouch after 10 minutes, you can leave yours in for anywhere from 20-60 minutes. Additional nicotine and flavor will be released until 30-40 minutes have passed. After 30 minutes, your cravings for nicotine should be gone.
Many people who use nicotine pouches enjoy the tingling sensation. It means that the nicotine is being absorbed directly into your gum tissue. The reason why people like the sensation is because it reminds them of drinking a fizzy soda or eating spicy food.
While some users also notice a “burning sensation”, it doesn’t occur as often. The specific type of pouch you buy can determine the sensation you feel. For example, a mint-flavored nicotine pouch produces a strong burning and cooling sensation, which regularly occurs with spearmint and wintergreen varieties as well.
The higher saliva production is normal. Saliva is needed to moisten the pouch and make sure that the nicotine is properly released. If you’ve never used nicotine before now, you may notice an intense burning sensation under your lip. If you continue using nicotine pouches, this specific sensation should eventually go away completely.
The tingling that occurs when using nicotine should eventually be replaced by a “head rush” or “buzz”, which is caused by nicotine’s stimulant effects. During this part of the process, you might feel more relaxed or alert. You can also have a heightened mood.
The amount of time the buzz lasts depends on numerous factors, which include:
- How long you keep the pouch under your lip
- Your tolerance to nicotine
- The strength of your nicotine pouch
If you aren’t used to taking nicotine, the buzz can be potent even if the pouch has a low strength. While many of the physical sensations that occur when taking nicotine pouches are easy to explain, there are some psychological effects that are more complicated. These effects can vary considerably from person to person.
The dopamine hit that occurs when you take nicotine can make you feel better. It can also increase your sense of calm, alertness, and focus. It’s common for users to feel less stressed when the effects of nicotine pouches are active. In this scenario, it’s easy to understand why a person’s body can become dependent on nicotine to properly function.
While nicotine is known to reduce stress levels, these effects are temporary. When you start using nicotine pouches, consider documenting how they make you feel. Do they help relieve your stress and anxiety? They may alleviate your boredom as well. By understanding how these pouches make your body feel, you’re more likely to use them responsibly.
Are Nicotine Pouches Safe?
Nicotine pouches are mostly safe to use and shouldn’t cause many notable health problems. They’ve become increasingly popular over the past five years, which means that more studies may need to be performed to determine if there are any long-term effects. Keep in mind that many nicotine pouch users were smokers. If you experience health problems while using nicotine, they could be the result of the cigarettes you smoked in the past.
Even though nicotine pouches are available in a wide range of different strengths, there’s no indication that a higher strength is worse for your health than a pouch with a lower nicotine level. You may be more likely to encounter side effects if you use 10 or more pouches each day.
Compared to chewing tobacco and cigarettes, nicotine pouches have fewer toxic compounds in them. They are also less biologically active than other tobacco products. Since the short-term and long-term side effects are minor, you should be able to effectively use nicotine pouches to stop smoking.
Common Nicotine Pouches Side Effects
Nicotine pouches are lower-risk products in comparison to smoking tobacco. Even though nicotine has been used for years to quit smoking, there isn’t much evidence to suggest that these products cause adverse health effects. Nicotine is the primary ingredient in pouches, which is why most people use them. Nicotine works by binding itself to cholinergic receptors, which eventually causes the release of chemicals like glutamine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, and dopamine. All of these chemicals contribute to a person experiencing feelings of pleasure, which is why the body can become dependent on nicotine.
The primary effects of nicotine are low-risk cardiovascular ones. In most cases, these side effects shouldn’t concern you. When you start using nicotine, you’re more likely to become addicted to it. Using nicotine pouches may lead to dependence. However, most of the people who use nicotine pouches have been smoking cigarettes for years, which means their bodies are already dependent on the substance.
You might also experience minor gum and mouth irritation. Some nicotine users are more sensitive to this substance than others, which is why the ingredients in the pouch can irritate. Once you become acclimated to nicotine pouches, you shouldn’t encounter oral health problems.
Although these side effects are rare, people who use nicotine pouches are at a slightly higher risk of developing dental conditions like tooth decay and gum recession. If you swallow too much saliva from the pouch, you may become nauseous or develop an upset stomach.
When using nicotine pouches, some people have allergic reactions to the ingredients. Since nicotine is in cigarettes, it’s unlikely that these reactions are caused by the primary ingredient. However, you may be allergic to the flavorings or sweeteners. Get immediate medical attention if you have an allergic reaction. While nicotine is an addictive substance, it’s not that bad for your health. Most of the side effects associated with regular nicotine use are short-term ones.
Nicotine Pouches vs. Chewing Tobacco Side Effects
Many of the worst effects associated with cigarettes are caused by the act of smoking, which is why smokers often attempt to quit by switching to chewing tobacco. However, there are still serious side effects attributed to chewing tobacco. While nicotine pouches and chewing tobacco are two completely different products, they provide you with a smoke-free method for getting nicotine.
There are many differences between these two items, the primary of which is that nicotine pouches don’t contain tobacco. They are also placed in different locations of the mouth. When you use a nicotine pouch, you’ll place it between your gum and upper lip. In comparison, chewing tobacco is packed between the gum and lower lip or in the cheek. When it comes to placement, nicotine pouches are more comfortable.
If you use nicotine pouches, some spit will invariably be produced. However, it’s safe to swallow the spit. You’ll need to spit out the excess saliva you create when chewing tobacco, which is one reason why this product isn’t nearly as discreet as nicotine pouches.
As for flavor options, nicotine has dozens of different ones you can try, which include everything from menthol and mint to coffee and citrus. While chewing tobacco also has some flavor options, they are significantly more limited. You can find chewing tobacco in flavors like wintergreen. However, wintergreen isn’t the primary flavor, which means that you’ll mainly be tasting the tobacco.
One of the best aspects of nicotine pouches is that they come in different strengths, which can be as low as 4 mg or as high as 50mg. The only way to get more nicotine with chewing tobacco is by altering the amount you put in your mouth. A can of chewing tobacco usually consists of around 144 mg of nicotine or less.
If you haven’t used either of these products before now, keep in mind that chewing tobacco is loose. While some versions partition the tobacco for you, this isn’t common. In comparison, nicotine pouches are pre-portioned and are easy to place between the gum and upper lip.
Can Nicotine Pouches Cause Heart Problems?
A person’s blood pressure and heart rate can increase when they use nicotine pouches. However, these effects are caused by the nicotine entering the bloodstream, which means that they are perfectly normal. There have been no indications that more serious heart problems can occur among nicotine pouch users.
Are Nicotine Pouches Bad for Your Gums?
Research is still being done in this area. Nicotine has been used in the form of sprays, gum, and lozenges for decades, which means that there would likely be signs of damaging effects by now.
Some minor side effects and symptoms you might experience if you use nicotine pouches regularly include coughing, throat soreness, hiccups, and mouth ulcers. In recent studies, around 5% of people who used nicotine orally experienced throat and mouth soreness. Mouth ulcers are common among people who quit smoking, which means that they might not be tied directly to nicotine use.
One health benefit that’s possible when using nicotine pouches is that they have certain angiogenic effects, which means that they cause new blood vessels to grow. Tobacco has the opposite effect. While nicotine pouches shouldn’t cause any serious oral health effects, consider how long you’ve been using them. The risk of side effects may increase somewhat if you use nicotine pouches for years.
Tobacco products like snus have certain side effects that might apply to nicotine pouches. Snus is also placed in the mouth. While this product can have carcinogenic effects, they are caused by tobacco. Nicotine isn’t a carcinogen. On the other hand, snus users have reported localized gingival recession around the area where the product was held. While this hasn’t been reported with nicotine pouch users, it’s something you should keep an eye on.
Should I Quit Nicotine Pouches?
Nicotine pouches are much safer to use than cigarettes. They don’t come with the carcinogens and dangerous chemicals that are commonly present in tobacco cigarettes. There are, however, a few side effects that you should be wary of when you have a preexisting condition.
Let’s say that you currently have heart problems. Since nicotine pouches can increase your heart rate and blood pressure, it may be a good idea to stop using them. These products don’t produce many long-term side effects, which means that you should be able to continue using nicotine pouches without issue. Ask your doctor if there’s any reason you need to quit.
Best Nicotine Pouches to Try
If you’d like to stop smoking cigarettes but still want to obtain nicotine, there are many pouches you can try. You’ll also discover that there are numerous brands and flavors of nicotine pouches. For example, Zyn is among the most popular brands around. They offer 10 flavors, which include everything from spearmint and peppermint to cinnamon and coffee.
When you’re just starting, it’s a good idea to use a low-strength variety that allows you to become acclimated to a new nicotine product. Consider pouches that range from 4mg-8mg in strength. Once you get used to these pouches and the way that they provide nicotine, you can find varieties that offer nicotine levels of 15mg-50mg. Regardless of the nicotine level you choose, you’ll benefit from pouches that are spit-free and discreet.
Summary
While you may experience an increase in your heart rate and blood pressure when using nicotine pouches, it’s clear that this is a safer method of obtaining nicotine than smoking cigarettes. If you don’t feel well after using one of these pouches, consider switching to a lower strength. Inform your doctor of any unexpected symptoms that arise while using nicotine pouches. These symptoms may point toward a condition that’s unrelated to nicotine pouches.
When you’re searching for the best nicotine pouches, you can find everything you need with Nicobolt. The Nicobolt online store offers the most popular brands and flavors. You’ll find that the pouches made available with Nicobolt are moister and last longer. You can also select your preferred nicotine level, which ranges from 4mg-50mg.
