People are smoking fewer traditional cigarettes, but alternative products such as vapes, e-cigarettes and, most recently — and dramatically — nicotine pouches are taking hold.
asserted
products → smoke → hold
Nicotine pouches are positioned as an aid for people trying to quit smoking.
asserted
pouches → position → smoking
Tucked in between the lip or cheek and gums, nicotine pouches are more discreet than a vape, one of the factors thought to be driving their use.
asserted
pouches → tuck → use
Given their newness, the long-term effects of pouches are unclear, but nicotine is known to be highly addictive.
uncertain
nicotine → give → pouches
“Research has indeed shown that nicotine pouches have grown among Canadians,” says Geoffrey Fong, a professor of psychology and public health sciences at the University of Waterloo, a senior investigator for the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and principal investigator at the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Policy Evaluation Project.
asserted
Fong → show → Project
Between 2022 and 2024, ITC Canada national surveys show that nicotine pouch use increased from 3.6 per cent to 5.3 per cent among Canadian adults (18+) who smoke or formerly smoked.
asserted
who → show → adults
Among youth ages 13 to 15, current nicotine-pouch use rose from 1.0 per cent in 2022 to 2.5 per cent in 2024, then levelled off in 2025.
asserted
use → rise → 2025
Early ITC research has shown that when people start using a new nicotine product, they don’t substitute the old one completely, increasing the total amount of nicotine they use, says Fong.
asserted
Fong → show → nicotine
“So, it’s really a booming industry.
asserted
it → ’ → ?
The rise of nicotine pouches among young non-smokers has been swift, and the medical community and policy experts are concerned about the implications.
Public health experts attribute the growth of nicotine pouches to lifestyle marketing reminiscent of the tobacco advertising of the past — now banned in Canada — and social media, where influencers promote nicotine as a wellness hack.
“The advertisements seem to appeal to, or are designed to appeal to, younger folk, and I think sometimes they’re portrayed as being an alternative to smoking a cigarette, and they’re implying that it might be safer,” says Dr. Michael Mak, a staff psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.
uncertain
Mak → concern → Toronto
Imperial Tobacco Canada’s Zonnic is the only government-approved nicotine pouch available for sale in the country.
asserted
Zonnic → approve → country
Pouches are kept behind pharmacy counters and are limited to mint or menthol flavours.
asserted
Pouches → keep → flavours
Product packaging is required to note that nicotine is addictive and that pouches are not for use by people under 18.
asserted
pouches → require → 18
Yet, the illicit market is booming.
asserted
market → boom → ?
“We see Zyn.
asserted
We → see → Zyn
We see on! (made by Helix Innovations)
asserted
We → see → Innovations
We see all of these, and down the road, we may be seeing the Chinese-manufactured pouches,” says Fong.
uncertain
Fong → see → pouches
“It’s out there.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
When Zonnic launched in 2023, “they had extensive marketing with lifestyle advertising, showing happy young people in a social setting or in association with athletics.
asserted
they → launch → athletics
The same type of classic lifestyle advertising that they had used in the past for cigarettes,” says Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst at the Canadian Cancer Society.
asserted
Cunningham → use → Society
“There are other channels and social media, of course, and influencers and so on, that just get the message through,” says Fong.
asserted
Fong → be → message
That’s not what the market is.
asserted
market → ’ → ?
Nicotine pouch brands are continuing to widen their reach, from music festivals to NASCAR.
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brands → continue → NASCAR
Philip Morris International’s Zyn and British American Tobacco’s Velo sponsor Formula One racing teams, which have found a new audience in Gen Z.
Fong notes that youth must be protected, but at the same time, smoking cigarettes kills one-half to two-thirds of its regular users.
“It’s always challenging because there’s a population that would benefit because (nicotine pouches) are harm-reducing,” says Fong.
asserted
Fong → sponsor → users
“Then there’s, of course, the group of non-users, mostly youth, that they would be harm-producing or increasing.
asserted
they → ’ → that
How do you balance that off?
asserted
you → balance → that
No one knows, but countries have taken different positions on this.
asserted
countries → know → this
Alberta, Ontario and the convenience store industry are lobbying to have nicotine pouches available for sale beyond pharmacies, arguing that they shouldn’t be subject to more retail restrictions than cigarettes.
asserted
they → lobby → cigarettes
National Post recently reported the federal government is “open” to loosening the rules banning sale at convenience stores.
asserted
government → report → stores
Rates of cigarette smoking may be dropping as the use of alternative nicotine products climbs, but you wouldn’t know it from pop culture.
uncertain
you → drop → culture
Heated Rivalry star Hudson Williams went viral for smoking at Milan Men’s Fashion Week in January.
asserted
Williams → heat → January
“I’m trying to quit,” he later told Wonderland magazine.
asserted
he → try → magazine
Kylie Jenner’s cover shot for Vanity Fair’s spring issue showed her lighting a cigarette.
asserted
her → show → cigarette
According to the Lights, Camera, Tobacco? report by American non-profit Truth Initiative, in 2025, eight out of 10 “Best Picture” nominees at the Academy Awards involved tobacco, several of which starred celebrities smoking on screen, including Timothée Chalamet and Selena Gomez.
uncertain
several → accord → Chalamet
So far, despite increasing media depictions, the data hasn’t shown an increase in smoking cigarettes, say Cunningham and Fong.
asserted
Cunningham → increase → cigarettes
Restrictions on nicotine products have led to health benefits, says Mak.
asserted
Mak → lead → benefits
“I think that loosening the restrictions is a move backwards.”
asserted
loosening → think → restrictions
The Aporia
