We discuss the effects of nicotine addiction and how it can override our reasoning and chain us to a lifelong destructive habit of self harm, and how nicotine pouches can be used to manage nicotine addiction down a safer path.

TL;DR

Yes, nicotine pouches are addictive because they contain nicotine - a stimulant that affects the brain’s reward system. However, they may be less addictive than cigarettes due to slower absorption and lack of added chemicals that intensify dependence.

Understanding Nicotine Addiction

The fact that nicotine is addictive is not news to anyone, but understanding the mechanism of nicotine functioning can help us deploy safer methods to manage our nicotine addiction. There is a notion that the nicotine obtained from cigarettes is ultimately better than any alternatives.

This is largely tied to the rapid delivery and sensory reinforcement of smoking. Some of it is physical and a lot of it is psychological. Join us as we explain how nicotine addiction works, so you can get it to work for you by using safer alternatives like nicotine pouches to remove toxic byproducts, while still satisfying cravings.

How Substances Become Addictive (and Where Nicotine Fits)

Once something starts making changes to the reward system in your brain it can become addictive. Certain substances and activities can cause changes in your brain chemistry that compel you to repeat them once the association is made, creating an addiction loop. This can be positive, such as chasing the endorphin high from exercising; remembering how good these actions make us feel can drive us to repeat them so as to experience that same reward. This creates a cycle that is beneficial to our wellbeing.

However, negative consequences of addiction can also occur when harmful substances such as nicotine and alcohol are involved. These chemicals can trigger the same reward system, but with negative consequences. Nicotine differs from other drugs, and alcohol, in that the substance itself is not harmful. It's a stimulant that affects the brain in much the same way as coffee. The harm comes from how it is ingested - tobacco products are the most dangerous way to use nicotine.

How Nicotine Affects the Brain’s Reward System

Nicotine stimulates the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and reinforces the brain’s reward pathways.(1) Dopamine has become a hot topic in the last few years in relation to the algorithm-driven addiction loops assocated with social media. Instagram doomscrolling for likes, comments or entertainment work in much the same way.

A surge in dopamine causes us to feel pleasurable sensations that we instinctively want to repeat. This cycle is a key element of the brain’s reward system, which evolved to reinforce behaviours that were beneficial to us - like finding food and forming social bonds. We’d remember how good these actions made us feel and be driven to repeat them to experience that same reward.

Nicotine hijacks the brain's reward system by causing us to associate it with a sense of pleasure and reward - even though it offers no real benefit. It then takes this hack to the next level by suppressing our brain activity in areas tied to reward processing when our body is absent of nicotine, this can trigger feelings of anxiety and stress.

Over time, nicotine alters our neural pathways and the very structure of our brain. The result is a powerful physical and psychological craving that is known as nicotine withdrawal and it is this cycle of artificial reward and deprivation that forms the foundation of nicotine addiction.

Nicotine pouches seek to eliminate tobacco completely, by providing a simpler and more transparent method. The addiction remains, but the harm is removed. Additionally, instead of inhaling the nicotine, you are absorbing it through the lining of your mouth. This eliminates your lungs from the equation entirely, which can be welcome news if you are a lifelong smoker with concerns.

Social media addiction and nicotine addiction both use the same reward system in your brain - Dopamine.

The Difference Between Physical and Psychological Addiction

In simple terms, physical addiction involves withdrawal symptoms that can affect the body like nausea, cramps, sweating and vomiting. Psychological addiction can include symptoms ranging from cravings, anxiety and changes in behaviour.

Nicotine can affect you physically in the following ways:

• Dependence: The body can adapt regular nicotine intake and experience withdrawal once that level decreases.

• Brain Changes: Neurotransmitters in the brain adapt and alter to the constant release of dopamine that nicotine triggers in the brain.

• Tolerance: The body may adapt the nicotine levels and require stronger doses or more frequent exposure to achieve the same pleasurable reward feeling.

Psychological effects of nicotine can include:

• Overwhelming Compulsions: Strong urges to do something even if you know it's harmful. Anyone who has attempted to quit smoking will understand how the compulsion to light up another cig can override even the most steadfast logic and will.

• Triggers: The activation of cravings in certain situations or when carrying out specific tasks. An example of this would be feeling the urge to smoke after a meal.

• Coping Mechanisms: The dopamine release of nicotine and its positive initial effects can lead to an association with overcoming negative emotions like anxiety and stress. This continues even when, ironically, it’s nicotine that’s causing the negativity.

Are Nicotine Pouches as Addictive as Cigarettes?

Nicotine pouches provide a harm reduction method for people who still wish to use nicotine. You may be interested to know if nicotine pouches are more addictive than cigarettes. As we’ll see below, there's more to it than the volume of nicotine.

Nicotine Delivery: Pouches vs. Cigarettes

One of the big differences between nicotine pouches and cigarettes is the absorption rate. Cigarettes deliver a powerful hit of nicotine to the brain instantly and the experience is over within a couple of minutes. Nicotine pouches on the other hand, take a few minutes to build up, but the experience is more consistent and can last for up to 30 minutes. Let's go into why this differs in more detail.

Nicotine is found naturally in tobacco plants, but over the years, the tobacco industry has been manipulating it to make the effects of the nicotine more impactful and the withdrawal more noticeable. In 1995 the former chief of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) testified in an investigation that cigarette companies manipulated tobacco to get people hooked faster.(2) This included adding the following:

• Ammonia which would make it travel to the brain faster.

• Sugars make smoke easier to inhale and increase nicotine’s addictive effects.

• Genetically engineered tobacco plants to double the nicotine content. (3)

• Flavourings like liquorice, chocolate and menthol to increase appeal to younger smokers.

Nicotine pouches on the other hand, provide a cleaner nicotine experience with a short list of ingredients that are mostly there to improve the flavour and balance the pH of the pouch. The nicotine used in pouches is derived from the tobacco plant in the form of nicotine salts or created synthetically in a lab. Food grade flavours are added to make the experience more enjoyable, but they do not increase the effects of nicotine. There are no added sugars and certainly no ammonia. So how does the experience differ from smoking?

• Not as fast acting, nicotine pouches take longer to release their nicotine and the effects build up slowly over a period of 5 minutes, peaking after around 10-15 minutes of use.

• Nicotine content transparency, the amount of nicotine in pouches is measured in mg/g or mg per pouch so you know how much you are getting.

• pH adjusters, like sodium bicarbonate are used to balance the pouches with your oral pH.

• No hidden chemicals, unlike tobacco, all the ingredients of nicotine pouches are clearly displayed on the tin.

Cigarette tobacco has been supercharged with thousands of chemicals to increase the nicotine content and make it more addictive - a process which also greatly increases the harm. Nicotine pouches are not as addictive as cigarettes because they are missing a number of additives and reinforcements that make the smoking experience so intense:

• Slower delivery method, cigarette smoke hits you faster and the nicotine is absorbed much more rapidly than in nicotine pouches.

• No added chemicals, cigarettes have been designed to increase the nicotine experience whereas nicotine pouches contain a purer form of nicotine that is more gradual.

• Nicotine pouches are missing many behavioural reinforcements like the act of inhaling and exhaling the smell of a lit cigarette and the social cues - all of which can be habit forming. Nicotine pouches are more discreet, smokeless and lack ritualistic cues, making them less habit forming.

The Role of Habit Formation in Addiction

Habit forming can be very beneficial, it frees up brainpower by incorporating certain regular tasks into a system that requires less thought. Some activities we do so often, we could do them on auto-pilot. Think of taking a shower in the morning when you’re half asleep, making a cup of tea while having a conversation or going about your daily commute while planning the day ahead - all of these can be done almost automatically with very little thought.

If the circumstances suddenly change, the auto-pilot can be switched off and you can quickly take control again. Positive habits take a long time to develop and require regular reinforcement before becoming second nature. Take exercise for example, many of us have gone through phases of joining a gym only to find ourselves languishing on other activities after a few attempts.

Drug habits are different in two key ways: they can be picked up very quickly and they can dominate our decision making and actions, even if circumstances become negative. (4) According to research, nicotine from smoking hits your brain so quickly and releases such a high amount of dopamine that it can become addictive after the first few cigarettes.(5) The habit forming power of nicotine addiction is strikingly clear when you stop to consider cigarettes. No other product in the world can display a graphic image of how it can painfully kill you, quadruple its sale price, and still maintain commercial success.

Do Nicotine Pouches Cause Stronger or Weaker Cravings?

Nicotine pouches are unlike cigarettes in many ways that could reduce the impact of the cravings you experience, however, it is still likely that you will become addicted to nicotine pouches if you use them frequently. Here are reasons that your cravings would be less severe compared to cigarettes:

✅ Provide a purer form of nicotine that’s not manipulated to be as addictive as possible, but rather to supply you with an alternative supply of nicotine using a safer delivery method.

✅ Onset is more gradual, the rush is not as great as the one from inhaling smoke.

✅ They can be used for up to 30 minutes before gradually tapering off, so the nicotine is sustained over a longer time, unlike the feast or famine delivery method of cigarettes, which can lead to crashes and a return to strong cravings after a short time.

✅There is also no ritual aspect or visual and olfactory cues.

❌Flavourings come in a variety of sweet fruit and candy options. While not directly tied to addiction, they can increase appeal and enjoyment.

Can Nicotine Pouches Help You Quit Smoking?

Nicotine pouches can be used as an effective alternative to smoking. They have a number of benefits that could make them highly attractive to anyone used to navigating the social and financial hurdles of smoking cigarettes:

While nicotine pouches remain addictive, they do remove the harm from tobacco and combustion. Nicotine pouches are a relatively new product, having landed in the UK in 2019, so there are no long term studies available, but all the ingredients are also found in everyday food and cosmetic items. The NHS does not list nicotine pouches as a recognised form of nicotine replacement therapy, however, many of the nicotine products they do recommend such as gum, lozenges and oral strips contain many of the same ingredients as nicotine pouches.

🧪 What’s Inside a Nicotine Pouch?

Conclusion: Are Nicotine Pouches Addictive or Not?

Nicotine pouches are designed for people who are already hooked on nicotine. They are by definition an addictive product. Cigarettes have been overengineered to be as addictive as possible with the addition of harmful chemicals like ammonia, whereas nicotine pouches offer a purer experience with a far more transparent and user friendly ingredient list. If you are not addicted to nicotine and do not wish to become dependent on it, then do not use nicotine pouches. Smokers or vapers who have made the successful switch to nicotine pouches can use the variety of nicotine strength options to gradually wean themselves off nicotine.

Areas Where More Research is Needed

The long-term effects of using nicotine pouches are yet to be determined. The individual ingredients by themselves are not harmful and nicotine is not a known carcinogen, and aside from its highly addictive properties, is regarded as a stimulant. There are some concerns that nicotine pouches may have a negative effect on oral health, although there is no evidence of this to date.

FAQs

Sources

(1) uchicagomedicine.org - Nicotine and cocaine leave similar mark on brain after first contact

(2) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov - Tobacco companies aimed to keep smokers hooked, court told

(3) truthinitiative.org - How Big Tobacco made cigarettes more addictive

(4) pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov - On habits and addiction: An associative analysis of compulsive drug seeking

(5) sciencedaily.com - Nicotine Addiction Can Start Within A Few Days And After Just A Few Cigarettes