Nicotine Pouch Use Surges Among Young People

Youth and Young Adult Use

According to recently released data from the Tobacco Epidemic Evaluation Network (TEEN+) Study, nicotine pouch use among youth and young adults has surged in recent years, nearly quadrupling between 2022 and 2025. 

Released in September 2025, the latest TEEN+ data brief provides key insight into nicotine pouch use among youth and young people. TEEN+ is a nationally representative, longitudinal study of tobacco product use among over 10,000 youth and young adults in the United States.

Among the takeaways: nearly two in five youth and young adults under 21 who use nicotine pouches used them more than five days in the past month. Among those 21 or older, more than three in five reported using them for more than five days. The vast majority of youth and young adults who use pouches also use at least one other tobacco product such e-cigarettes, cigarettes or cigars.

Nicotine pouches are tobacco products that contain a powder made of nicotine, flavorings and other ingredients that dissolve in the mouth and deliver nicotine through the gums. According to the study, Zyn was the brand most commonly used, preferred by 84.3 percent of those who used pouches. Pouches sold in mint, wintergreen, menthol and citrus or other fruit flavors were most commonly used among youth and young adults. Among youth and young adults who use pouches, most are male, White, and non-Hispanic. The TEEN+ study also found nicotine pouches are marketed in places where youth and young adults spend time online and in person, such as on social media platforms and at music events.

Sales Data

The latest Nicotine Pouch Sales data, which provides estimates of nicotine pouch sales in the overall U.S., affirms the rapid increase in nicotine pouch use. According to the latest sales data brief, nicotine pouch sales in the United States surged by 250.8 percent between January 2023 and August 2025.

This sales data, analyzed by the CDC Foundation’s U.S. tobacco monitoring team, further show that very few pouches sold in the U.S. are tobacco flavored and most are mint flavored. However, prohibitions on sales of flavored nicotine pouches by California and Massachusetts created shifts in this trend. In Massachusetts, nicotine pouch sales are dominated by products marketed as smooth/original, which likely contain both sweeteners and byproducts which provide a cooling sensation. In California, where products containing such cooling sensations are prohibited, nicotine pouch sales are dominated by products marketed as smooth/original. In states without sales restrictions on flavored nicotine pouches, mint and all other flavors (e.g., fruits, candy, drinks) are the most commonly sold flavors.

Public Health Impact

The rapid rise in nicotine pouch use poses a serious public health risk. Pouches often deliver high doses of nicotine, raising concerns about addiction and long-term health impacts. Nicotine pouches were the second most commonly used tobacco product among youth in 2024 behind e-cigarettes, according to the National Youth Tobacco Survey, which provides national benchmark data on commercial tobacco, use behaviors and related risk factors among youth in the United States. As brain development continues up to age 25, nicotine use during adolescence can harm the parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood and impulse control.

Though nicotine pouches are often marketed as a cleaner or safer alternative to combustible tobacco products, no tobacco product is safe. The rise in pouch use among young people threatens to reverse decades of progress in reducing youth nicotine addiction. Continued monitoring and prevention efforts are critical to reducing access, curbing marketing that targets youth, and protecting brain health during critical years of development.

To learn more about the TEEN+ study and explore trends in tobacco product sales and use in the United States, visit https://tobaccomonitoring.org/.

Funding is provided by the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use through the CDC Foundation with a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the CDC Foundation.