Nicotine Pouch Use Among Young Australians Sparks Concern

Concerns around nicotine pouch use among young Australians have been raised after a recent survey of Australians aged 16 to 39 years old found that 26 percent had used pouches before. Nicotine pouches are small prefilled bags of nicotine that are placed between the lip and gum to dissolve and absorb into the bloodstream. The pouches are illegal to buy or sell without a prescription. Yet, out of the 1,598 respondents, 19 percent had used nicotine pouches in the last 30 days and one-third reported procuring the pouches from a tobacconist. The Melbourne University researcher who conducted the study, Michelle Jongenelis said that the survey results suggest nicotine pouches should be monitored. Research on nicotine pouches and Australian usage is currently limited....