A new report from the Center for Environmental Health argues that while youth vaping has finally dropped, the tobacco industry has simply shifted tactics. E-cigarette use among teens hit a 10-year low in 2024, but nicotine pouches are now surging, especially among young people. According to federal data, youth use of nicotine pouches more than doubled between 2021 and 2024.
The products are discreet, heavily flavored and widely promoted on social media, often in ways that appeal to teens. Some pouches contain extremely high nicotine levels, strong enough to pose serious health risks.
The report documents a familiar pattern.
"What we saw with e-cigarettes is very similar to what we are now seeing with nicotine pouches," said Caitlin Moore, research manager at the Center for Environmental Health. "We found a bunch of different fruit flavors and also candy flavors like chocolate and caramel apple."
A decade ago, e-cigarettes were marketed as a safer alternative, even as products contained cancer-causing chemicals and lacked required health warnings. Legal action eventually forced companies like Juul to limit youth marketing and pull flavored products, which helped drive teen vaping rates down.
Now, the nonprofit watchdog organization finds that nicotine pouches are filling that gap and is calling for stricter enforcement of regulations and the end of flavored pouches.
- Caitlin Moher, research manager at the Center for Environmental Health and author of "A Candy Shop of Deception: Big Tobacco’s Evolving Plan to Addict Generations of Users"
