What's Up with the Nicotine Pouch Craze?

Nicotine pouches: the new kid on the performance-enhancing block or a recipe for cardiovascular and cancer catastrophe? Navigate the murky waters of a previously widely-used insecticide (now banned by the EPA) turned consumer product with Dr. Matt DeLaney. Dive into a discussion weeding out whether nicotine pouches are the new caffeine or should be avoided as in agriculture.
References: PMID: 25810571, PMID: 28931527, PMID: 35010774, PMID: 20414766, PMID: 36869349
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[@ethanwagner5603]

This was great... appreciate the information. One doctor to another, the honesty is appreciated.

[@hippoem]

So glad you enjoyed it!

[@christianingmarkjlsvik7872]

Great video! But I must point out that you said that Zyns have less nicotine than cigarettes at 1:33 . This is technically true, but only around 1/10 of the nicotine in each cigarette can actually be absorbed in the body. The EU has a law banning cigarettes that have more than 1mg of nicotine, but that is measured in the absorbable «free nicotine». Nearly all of the nicotine in nicotine pouches can be absorbed, but it is released over a longer span of time, so the effects aren’t felt as strongly using a Zyn pouch as a cigarette.

[@christianingmarkjlsvik7872]

Here is an anecdote of the risks of nicotine pouches: I live in Norway, where nicotine pouches, and the similar tobacco pouches known as «Swedish snus» have been widespread among youths for decades. There are many brands on the Norwegian market, and the nicotine strength of these can be as high as 50mg per pouch, but most people thankfully stay below 20mg (which is definitely too much for me).
Since the age of 17, I became more and more addicted to nicotine pouches, and after two years, I was going through roughly 12 pouches of 13mg/pouch nicotine strength daily, in addition to drinking around 4 (pretty big) cups of coffee daily.
Then one day, as a 19-year-old man with no known health complications, I had an episode of an extremely high heartbeat. (I think it’s called tachycardia?) I measured my pulse at more than 200 BMP, and freaked out, calling the emergency number, fearing for my life. The lady at the emergency central told me it was not an emergency, and that I should go to the doctor (I never did 🙊). After that, I was much more cautious about my nicotine and caffeine consumotion, and it has never happened again.
A while after this episode, I heard from a friend that she had also experienced the exact same thing, and at a party, I learned that this was a phenomenon that people knew about.
I still have no idea how serious this is, or what exactly causes it, but it definitely lights up a red flag about nicotine consumption for me.

[@GDSchaefer]

I really appreciate the honest and well thought out answer to this question. I wish more content discussed the risks and benefits of choices we make and is honest when the research just simply hasn't been thoroughly conducted yet. Would you be able to make a video discussing the differences in risk between coffee and zero calorie/sugar energy drinks? Specifically for someone trying to improve performance on long overnight shifts?

[@mcd2d]

@GDSchaefer, thanks for the feedback. I'm gonna dig into the coffee vs. energy drink issue, stay tuned for the video!