Under the watchful eye of parents and teachers, teenagers place nicotine sachets between the upper lip and gums. The white sachets contain a powder consisting of, among other things, nicotine salts, flavorings and sweeteners and have a similar effect to cigarettes.

“The number of smokers has been declining for several years, so the tobacco industry is looking for new ways to market their products,” says addiction specialist Andrea Rabenstein of Ludwig Maximilian University Hospital of Munich. The sachets are highly addictive and many young people consume them at the same time as nicotine products, such as tobacco or e-cigarettes, says the German expert.

Nicotine sachets are popular among professional football players because, depending on the dose, they have a stimulating or relaxing effect, but unlike cigarettes, they do not cause lung damage. Nicotine pouches are banned in Germany. Not in Greece. Despite the ban in Germany it is relatively easy for someone to get them online.

In the mouth of professional athletes

In Berlin’s Trepto-Köpenik district, 80-90% of all schoolchildren said at prevention events last year that they either knew about nicotine pouches or had already tried them. “Even in the first high school there were students who had used such bags, which caused them to lose consciousness to transport to the first aid station,” the district office warned in early 2024.

Andrea Rabenstein states that nicotine sachets in the mouths of young people and teenagers go almost unnoticed by guardians and educators. At the same time the bags have a good reputation as professional athletes use them and are ubiquitous on social media such as Tiktok. Nicotine actually has a peppery, unpleasant taste. Flavors such as watermelon or mango make nicotine pouches particularly attractive, as do colorful vapes.

Carcinogenic substances have already been detected in nicotine pouches, the German doctor from Munich underlines and appeals to the relevant politicians: “The ban on advertising tobacco products and electronic cigarettes should be extended to online forums and social media. Any drug that enters a young person’s brain can easily develop into a lifelong addiction.”

The tobacco industry is calling for legalization

OR Federal Association of the Tobacco and New Products Industry (BVTE)on the other hand, argues that nicotine pouches should be legalized in order to combat what he claims is an illegal and uncontrolled trade. “We expect the next government to pass legislation that will legalize their sale to adults under tobacco legislation. The law could include maximum nicotine content limits and regulations on the substances contained,” says BVTE CEO Jan Meeke. In general, however, nicotine patches are the least harmful option for those who want to consume nicotine.

Nicotine sachets are not banned in Germany for no reason, says the German government’s commissioner for drugs, Burkard Blinert: “These are by no means healthy or harmless products. With the bags, a large amount of nicotine quickly passes through the body and at the same time they can cause addiction very quickly.”

Editor: Stefanos Georgakopoulos