More than 500,000 people in Great Britain now use nicotine pouches, with the rise driven largely by Gen Z, new research shows.

Nicotine pouches—small sachets placed between lip and gum to release nicotine—come in many flavours. Health experts warn they should not be used by anyone who does not already smoke; the products are banned in Germany and the Netherlands.

Use among people aged 16 and over in England, Scotland and Wales climbed from 0.1% in 2020 to 1% in 2025, equivalent to about 522,000 people. The sharpest increase was among young people, according to figures published in Lancet Public Health.

Researchers at UCL analysed data from the Smoking Toolkit study, covering almost 130,000 people aged 16 and over. They found a marked rise in prevalence, especially among Gen Z: 0.7% of 16- to 24-year-olds used pouches in 2022, rising to 4% in 2025. By contrast, use among those aged 35 and over showed “no meaningful change” over the same period. The research was funded by Cancer Research UK.

Use was higher among men—particularly men aged 16 to 24—and among people who smoked or vaped. More than two-thirds of pouch users also used other nicotine products, while 16% had never smoked regularly. The proportion of smokers who used pouches during their most recent quit attempt rose from 2.6% in 2020 to 6.5% in 2025.

Writing in Lancet Public Health, the authors said: “Nicotine pouch use has risen in Great Britain, primarily driven by sharp increases among young people, especially young men. Most users also smoked or vaped, and a growing proportion of smokers used pouches in attempts to quit smoking. These findings underscore the importance of implementing age-of-sale legislation for nicotine pouches and conducting research on their effectiveness for smoking cessation.”

Lead author Dr Harry Tattan-Birch, of UCL’s Institute of Epidemiology and Health Care, said the rise was “driven almost exclusively by young people, especially young men, while use among adults over 35 remained stable and low.” He suggested aggressive advertising on social media, billboards, in bars and train stations, and sponsorships of motorsports and music festivals may be targeting this group.

Dr Tattan-Birch added that pouches pose “a substantially lower risk to health than cigarettes and are likely less harmful than e-cigarettes,” but cautioned they “are not harmless” and currently can be sold to children with no marketing restrictions and no cap on nicotine content. He called the findings evidence for the urgency of the tobacco and vapes bill, which would ban sales to under-18s, restrict advertising and give powers to regulate flavours, packaging and nicotine levels. “Proportionate measures are important to limit uptake among teenagers,” he said.

Caroline Cerny, deputy chief executive of Ash, said the rise reflected “heavy and indiscriminate” marketing. “Over the past year, adverts have been plastered over buses, trains, and social media with giveaways at events popular with young people such as music festivals and shopping centres,” she said. “While they are likely to be less harmful than cigarettes, they shouldn’t be used by children or people who don’t already smoke, due to the addictive nature of nicotine.”

This article was adapted from an original report published on theguardian.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.