Parents of teens warned over Snus TikTok trend: Hit from addictive £4 nicotine pods and tobacco pouches – popular with Premiership stars – can leave users feeling sick and dizzy, and have been linked to heart disease and oral cancer

• Read more:  Boris Johnson lashes out at Rishi Sunak’s ‘barmy’ smoking ban and warns it will be a ‘monstrous waste of police time and resources’ in Mail column

Parents are being warned about the dangers of tobacco pouches and nicotine pods – sometimes known as ‘Snus’ – after their use has grown increasingly popular amongst teenagers after being promoted on TikTok. 

Popular in Nordic countries for decades, the term ‘Snus’ (pronounced snooze) traditionally refers to tobacco pouches but is now also being used to describe nicotine pods, which contain no tobacco. 

Pods/pouches – also sometimes known as ‘dip – are placed on the gum under the upper lip and left for up to two hours, allowing the nicotine to take effect by entering the bloodstream. 

While research data on the health impacts remains limited, Snus has been linked to heart disease, oral cancer and respiratory conditions, with the more extreme varieties containing nearly three times as much nicotine as an ordinary cigarette. 

On TikTok, there are hundreds of clips promoting Snus (pronounced ‘snooze’), with brands including Killa, Nordic Spirit and Velo sold in colourful tins in a wide variety of flavours including watermelon, cola and blueberry mint. 

TikTok videos promoting the use of smokeless tobacco pouches and nicotine pods – often known as Snus (snuff) – have seen a suggested increase in use – with a new 12-month study set to look at how many professional footballers in the UK are using the product, and the potential health impacts of doing so 

While it’s currently illegal to buy and sell Snus in the UK, it’s legal to use it if you’re over 18 and it’s easily bought online.

The majority of tobacco-free nicotine pouches and pods are sold online in the UK via polished-looking websites – with users asked to confirm their over 18 status before buying them. Purchases take seconds, with next day delivery available from many of the sites selling such products. 

The amount of nicotine in pods and pouches varies per brand, with one ‘normal’ pouch containing around 4mg. However, many of the products on sale appear to be marketed as ‘extra strong’, containing around 12.8mg per hit. 

A £5.49 ‘extreme’ pack of Cuba Ninja Bubblegum has a whopping 30mg per pouch – the average traditional cigarette contains 12mg. 

On TikTok, companies selling products such as Killa promote the ‘nicopods’, reaching a wide audience and often under 18s

The use of Snus is nothing new; in wartime Britain, a variation of it known as ‘snuff’ was hugely popular, although the tobacco fibres were sniffed directly into the nasal cavity.

The last decade has seen the use of Snus on the rise in the UK after high profile celebrities have been pictured with tins – including Leicester City footballer Jamie Vardy and Prime drink co-founder KSI. 

While playing for England in 2016, Vardy was pictured in France clutching a can of Red Bull and a tin of Thunder Snus. 

In the US, everyone from The Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl to Slash from Guns ‘N Roses and many Major League Baseball players have said they’ve tried Snus. 

One TikTok video, posted by @Snusboys1, sees a first-time user trying a pouch of cola flavoured £3.99 Killa, containing 12.8mg of nicotine, in a branch of Five Guys burger restaurant.

The clip shows the young male tucking the pouch under his lip. Five minutes later, as the nicotine hit rushes in, he’s seen sweating, and says that he feels ‘dizzy’ before he rushes to the toilets to vomit, pleading with his friend to stop filming. 

Nicopods use strong imagery on the tins, which cost between £4 and £7 for a 20-pod can. Right: A Pablo X-Ice cold tin of pods contains 12.8mg of nicotine per pod

Polished-looking websites make the pods and pouches easy to buy online

Last month, the Professional Football Association (PFA) announced it would, alongside Loughborough University, conduct a year-long study into the use of Snus in pro football in a bid to find out how prevalent it’s use is, and to learn more about the health impacts. 

Former professional footballer Danny Murphy told TalkSport last month that as a former smoker, he’d used Snus: He said: “Yeah [I have used snus]. They are quite strong. I wasn’t a fan. I was a smoker for years. I hate to admit it and I don’t now thankfully.

‘I didn’t need them but I know loads of lads… because it was more accepted, socially, to have that in your mouth than to be sitting there smoking a fag.’

Research released last year by Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) found that just over five per cent of young adults, aged 18 to 24, have tried using Snus in the UK.

Some organisations, including campaign group Snus & Nicotine Pouch Users Alliance, who MailOnline has tried to contact for comment, claim the use of pouches and pods could ‘save lives’ because they’re potentially less harmful than inhaling smoke. 

GP Dr Naveed Akhtar told MailOnline that using perceived ‘healthier’ alternatives to cigarettes is still very likely to harm your health.  

In one clip, a first-time user sucks an ‘extra strong’ Killa cola flavoured nicotine pod while being filmed. Five minutes later, as the effect kicks in, he says he feels ‘dizzy and sick’ 

He explains: ‘When comparing snus to smoking and vaping, it’s crucial to recognise that all three have health risks. Smoking remains one of the most hazardous behaviours, with a plethora of health issues associated with it. 

‘Vaping, while potentially less harmful than smoking, is not without its risks, particularly concerning lung health. 

‘Snus, in this context, might be a less harmful alternative to smoking but should not be seen as a safe option and still carries health risks, including links to heart disease, oral health, and overall fitness. In addition, nicotine addiction can still disrupt sleep, appetite, and overall energy levels, affecting physical performance and recovery.’ 

Tobacco-free products currently don’t come under the same regulations as cigarettes and e-cigarettes – falling only under general consumer product safety regulations, meaning under 18s could access nicotine pods. 

The clip closes with the first-time user vomiting in the bathroom of a Five Guys burger chain after trying the ‘nicopod’

Writing in the Nursing Times earlier this year, Dr Sarah Brown, a paediatric respiratory consultant at Royal London Hospital called for better regulation around the selling of pouches. 

She wrote: ‘There needs to be increased awareness of the use of smokeless tobacco and nicotine products by children and young people and further data collected. 

‘This should include data on usage, perceptions and how products are acquired, with work in schools to make pupils, parents and teachers aware of any dangers. The legal loophole whereby nicotine pouches are unregulated and can be sold to children needs to be addressed.

Leicester City star Jamie Vardy pictured in 2016 in his England training kit, carrying a tin of nicotine pods

Dr Brown also called for health professionals to ‘make parents who use them aware of the dangers of nicotine poisoning to children, and ill-advised statements regarding the safety of smokeless tobacco need to be challenged.’

This week, Rishi Sunak used his Tory conference speech to announce he wants to increase the legal smoking age annually in a bid to try and stop teenagers ever taking up cigarettes – but didn’t mention associated products beyond vapes.

Smoking currently causes one in four cancer deaths in the UK and significantly increases the risk of strokes, heart disease, dementia and still birth.

The PM told those gathered at Manchester Central that the government will ‘bring forward measures to restrict the availability of vapes to our children. Looking at flavours, packaging, point of sale displays and disposable vapes.’

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