An Introduction to Smoking Cessation Products

Nowadays, smoking and vaping in public places is becoming more and more unacceptable, and it’s not just indoors.  Even outdoor areas now have limited places for smokers to light up a cigarette, or vapers to fire up their e-cigs.  Smokers aren’t tolerated almost everywhere, except in the comfort of their own homes.  So it will come as no surprise to learn that every year, millions try to quit the habit.  Approximately 53% of smokers tried to quit, according to this 2022 report and with tobacco killing a whopping 8 million people a year, for so many, stubbing out that final cigarette is essential. The smoking cessation market is huge – there are still 1.3 billion people globally who light up cigarettes every single day, but a lot of products that claim to stop smoking just don’t live up to expectations.  Since the 1980s there’s been an influx of products.  Nicotine gum, nicotine patches, nicotine spray, e-cigs and vape products to name but a few – and some work better than others.  However, some have also been labelled as potentially harmful, particularly vape products because as more studies come to fruition, the vapours themselves used in these products have potential health risks too.

A new product that’s beginning to gain traction in the smoking cessation market has recently come to light.  Nicotine pouches were first introduced less than a decade ago in 2016 and are currently enjoying staggering growth.  A completely tobacco-free product that doesn’t involve combustion, many people are heralding it as the very best smoking cessation product available today.  Could it be the right product to finally put an end to harmful smoking?

What Are Nicotine Pouches?

As they sound, nicotine pouches are small pouches that contain a cellulose matrix blend, involving nicotine, flavourings and other harmless substances.  Available in varying strengths (often stronger than other cessation products for longer-lasting effects to curb cravings), the user places a pouch inside the mouth, holding it in place between the cheeks and gum or behind the lips.  Nicotine is slowly released into saliva and through the gums, and the effects can last up to two hours – much longer than the average cigarette.  What’s more is they are completely discreet, so can be used anywhere at any time, without offending anyone or delivering a foul odour and as they come in a selection of mouth watering flavours, there’s something for everyone to enjoy!

There’s little data out there as yet, but more countries are offering these products for sale and people are beginning to see the smoking cessation benefits.  Here are some genuine stories from real people who’ve seen extraordinary results!

Nikolai Lebedev’s Story

I first started smoking when I was just 13 years old, at the time, it was considered a cool thing to do – as it wasn’t something meant for children.  I continued smoking all the way through my teenage years until I developed a 20-a-day habit.  I would start smoking first thing in the morning and had my last cigarette just moments before going to bed, and even though I am quite a fussy person, my clothes smelled really bad, my teeth were badly stained, and I found it difficult to date women who were non-smokers.

I got married two years ago, and my wife recently gave birth to our first child.  It was that moment that really made me sit up and think, especially as over the last few years I’d developed a nasty smokers’ cough.  I didn’t want to ruin my life and end up with lung cancer or heart disease, I had a young family and I wanted to live a long life.  So I decided I had to quit.  At first, I tried vaping, which definitely helped me but then I started to read negative press about e-cigs, and my wife convinced me to try something else.  So I switched to nicotine patches, which didn’t help, and I was soon craving tobacco or an e-cig.  So I tried nicotine gum but couldn’t get along with the flavours.  I then went cold-turkey, which lasted four days until I found myself in a store buying a pack of 20 cigarettes again.

I was worried that I’d never quit smoking until I went on vacation and saw nicotine pouches on sale.  I thought I’d try them, at that point, I was happy to try anything!  Well, I was shocked to find that over a period of 24 hours, I didn’t even think about smoking a cigarette!  I bought enough pouches to last my vacation (and some extra ones for when I returned home).

Upon my return, I did some research and found a couple of brands available locally.  I also discovered that I could buy lots of flavours online from websites like Snuzzer and since then (6 months ago), I haven’t touched a cigarette once.  What’s more, I can enjoy my nicotine fix wherever I like, without disturbing other people and without people even knowing about it.  I don’t expect to smoke ever again, thankfully, and I’m already feeling the benefits.  Better sleep, more energy, ability to exercise for longer (and harder) and I’ve lost the smokers’ cough.

Carmen Martinez’ Story

I am 63 years old, and I’ve smoked since I was 18.  Back then, it was perfectly acceptable to smoke, everyone did it and no one realised the dangers.  I smoked for 44 years, daily, around 15 a day.  It is an expensive habit but it’s also really unpleasant and I’ve tried to quit for years and years. When I turned 60, I felt I looked 10 years older thanks to the damage smoking has done to my skin (irreversible, sadly). I also began to suffer with pains in my chest, so I visited the doctor who warned me that smoking was causing stress to my heart.  I had a blocked artery so had a stent fitted  and was strongly advised to quit.

Having already tried lots of different cessation products, and a course of hypnotherapy (which didn’t work for me), I was at a loss as to what to do.  I even attended classes to help stop smoking, but it just made me want to smoke more!  It was actually a work colleague who recommended nicotine pouches from pouchmafia.  She told me that her husband had quit his 20-a-day habit using them, so I thought I’d try them.

Since buying my first pack of nicotine pouches (in a delicious peach flavour), I haven’t looked back.  Almost immediately, I felt the craving for a cigarette lift and I enjoyed the flavour too, so much so that I tried other flavours with every purchase.  Not only have nicotine pouches help me kick the habit, but they’ve given me more confidence.  I’ve whitened my teeth, taken up yoga and Pilates, feel more energetic and I’ve noticed that I sleep better.  I am so thankful for these little pouches, which I mostly buy online, although there are some available in local tobacco stores.  I feel they’ve given me a new lease of life, and hopefully lengthened it too.

Jean-Pierre Fournier’s Story

I stopped smoking because I wanted to save money to buy a new car and cigarettes in my country were becoming ridiculously expensive.  Plus, even in France, smoking is becoming more socially unacceptable.  At first, I switched to vaping products, but these too were proving too expensive, so I tried other things to help me give up like patches, gum and even sprays.  None of them worked and my cravings returned even while I was using these no-smoking aids.  It was a friend who recommended nicotine pouches and I was sceptical at first.  After trying my first pouch, I noticed that the craving to smoke literally disappeared and it was a few hours before I wanted a cigarette.  Instead of having a cigarette, I just used another nicotine pouch, and like magic, again, my craving disappeared.

It’s been a while now.  Nicotine pouches aren’t cheap, but they are less expensive than cigarettes and as I don’t have to light a pouch, I believe they must be better for me, plus they’ve got no tobacco in them.  I am hopeful that it won’t be long before I have a brand-new car and I owe that thanks to nicotine pouches, which helped me to finally bin my cigarettes.

Let’s Wrap Up

There are some studies that have begun in European countries and the USA to test the efficacy of nicotine pouches as a smoking cessation product.  Doubtless, we will see the results in the next few months but in the meantime, nicotine pouches are discreet, don’t contain tobacco and aren’t a combustion product.  They also deliver a generous dose of nicotine that stays in the system for longer than the average cigarette, banishing cravings.  If you’re looking to quit a bad habit, and you’ve tried other, less superior cessation products, this could well be the solution you’ve been looking for!