‘Nic sick’ kids left dizzy, vomiting & gums bleeding…rise of superstrong nicotine pouches used by stars like Jamie Vardy
WHEN influencer Maya Orjiekwe tried to wean herself off her drug of choice she suffered hot sweats, restlessness and tingling hands.
The 24-year-old wasn’t coming off hard core drugs but nicotine pouches which can easily be bought in any supermarket or garage.
Instagram/mentoredbymayaMaya Orjiekwe was just 16 when she got hooked on nicotine pouches[/caption]
Channel 4 / Patch DolanThe pouches are the equivalent of 17 to 20 cigarettes[/caption]
Maya, of Manchester, was just 16 when she found herself hooked on the emerging alternative to nicotine.
She was just one of thousands of kids reeled into addiction by pouches before they are old enough to legally smoke – with schools reporting an increasing number of pupils getting ‘nic sick’ and suffering horrific side effects.
Despite managing to get herself off the pouches Maya is now back on 15 a day which deliver 17 mg of nicotine – equivalent to between 17 and 20 cigarettes.
Maya, a women’s lifestyle coach, said: “If I’m stressed, I need nicotine. If I’m hungry, I need nicotine.
“It used to be maybe one of a morning, one of the night, but it’s now at least 14/15, and it never used to be like that.
“I thought I’d just stop, but nicotine withdrawal, for me, it was hell. That first 72 hours, it’s the hot sweats, it’s the restlessness, it’s the tingles in the hands.
“The sweating, brain fog. I thought it’d be a walk in the park, but I wasn’t in control of my own body. I quit for two straight weeks. Did not touch it. Got through the hardest part.
“But I made an excuse. I was like, ‘oh, I’m doing a long distance drive’. Bought one, and then after that, it was like, ‘let me go get another one’.
“I don’t want to be dependent on it anymore, but I know I’m gonna have to go through it again, and I know that’s not an easy thing to go through with everything I now know.”
USED BY 1 IN 5 FOOTBALLERS
Fame FlynetJamie Vardy uses nicotine pouches[/caption]
The pouches are meant as an alternative to cigarettes but experts claim they are a gateway drug to smoking – and trap the young into a cycle of addiction.
It’s been made famous by footballers like Jamie Vardy and Newcastle’s Jamaal Lascelles with a new report by the Professional Footballers’ Association revealing last week that one in five top flight stars use it.
England and Leicester striker Jamie Vardy admitted using the legal product in his autobiography to help him “chill out” and was pictured carrying it at Euro 2016 before saying he had stopped after a social media backlash.
The Sun previously told how players were sneaking the pouches into games by hiding them between their TOES.
But while it’s an epidemic gripping British football, it’s nothing compared to what’s happening on the streets, with experts warning this “next generation product” is as dangerous to youngsters as smoking.
They are also worried about an illegal version of snus which contains tobacco and is available on social media.
Just like the legal version, the pouches are placed against the gum so users can get an instant hit. Tobacco use has been linked with cancer, stroke and heart disease.
DIZZY, VOMITING AND BLEEDING GUMS
tiktokSchool kids are using nicotine pouches – promoted all over TikTok[/caption]
Teenagers are getting hooked thanks to influencers online, with a new Channel 4 documentary discovering over 100,000 videos promoting the product on TikTok.
In February, over 200 schools were warned that ‘snus’ nicotine pouches are the “‘new thing on the block.”
Snus has been around in Sweden for generations where they are a big part of Scandinavian culture.
The tobacco version is banned in the UK but in 2019 a legal tobacco free version, known as nicotine pouches, arrived on the market as a reduced risk alternative to cigarettes.
Alarmingly, a lack of regulation means under-18s can legally purchase these addictive pouches, some of which are pumped with more than double the amount of nicotine a pack of cigarette contains.
But in the documentary presenter Tir Dhondy discovers the illegal version is freely being sold in shops across the UK – and the industry is worth a massive £45.8 million.
Schools have reported pupils feeling “nic sick” after using these pouches, becoming dizzy, vomiting and even suffering from bleeding gums.
Dentists have warned the usage among young people is “alarming” and can be detrimental to oral health.
Alicia Drummond, founder of the Teen Tips charity, recently slammed the endorsement by premier footballers as “really unheplful” adding: “These influencers have got to start taking some responsibility and understanding they are being followed by young people who are vulnerable.
“She added: ‘”We don’t want anybody getting hooked on nicotine, but particularly not at a young age when they’re developing their brains. We need to protect them.”
This could be this generation’s version of cigarettes or vapes
Tir Dhondy
And a study of users commissioned as part of the documentary showed that it was a gateway to cigarettes with 19 per cent admitting they didn’t smoke before using the pouches but now they do.
And 32 per cent of users say they now need a stronger version than when they first started using it.
Tir said: “It just feels like tobacco companies will always find a new nicotine product, which gets a young generation of people addicted.
“Nicotine pouches are obviously safer than cigarettes, but they are also getting people who weren’t smoking addicted to nicotine.
“And a lot of the people who are taking this product are young people. I just think people need to be made more aware of how difficult these products are to give up.
“More research needs needs to be done about the long term harmful effects of nicotine use, and we also need to be making sure that the more harmful tobacco version isn’t sold alongside nicotine pouches.
“This could be this generation’s version of cigarettes or vapes.”
NICOTINE RUSH
Channel 4 / Patch DolanPresenter Tir Dhondy investigated the nicotine pouch epidemic[/caption]
Like vapes, the nicotine pouches come in a range of flavours like berry, lemon and mint.
Users get to choose what strength of nicotine they want on a scale of dots, with one dot being a low dose and six the max strength.
Presenter Tir spoke to a group of young users to discover why they have turned to these pouches despite the risks.
For 26-year-old Jean Paul, he thought it would help him quit smoking, but it’s only made him worse.
He said: “I was trying to come off smoking so I thought I could call this a nice alternative but it’s not really a thing to help you transition.
“It’s just like I’m doing this now but then I’m going to smoke a cigarette in a minute and then when I’m at home I can smoke again so there’s no actual break period from actually having the rush, you’re just always feeding that nicotine habit.”
In very stressful periods of my life, like when I would take exams in school it helps to calm my nerves
Nora
Louis, 29, added: “I started it recently, I found it’s useful when you’re at work because you can get a bit chill, like a nicotine rush.”
And Nora, 22, agreed the rush helps calm her nerves.
She said: “In very stressful periods of my life, like when I would take exams in school it helps to calm my nerves.”
Like many of the British top flight footballers hooked on Suns, 21-year-old athlete Alexander says it’s better than smoking.
He explained: “So I started when I was about 16. I was doing sports. Obviously you can’t drink as much or smoke as much, so this was the answer.”
GATEWAY TO SMOKING
Channel 4These nicotine pouches are being used by people who don’t even smoke[/caption]
But experts warn that these pouches can become addictive.
Doctor Harry Tattan-Birch is an addiction specialist at the University College of London.
While he admits that compared to cigarettes, the tobacco free version of these products do reduce the risk in terms of cancer, his worry is that they are a gateway to cigarettes.
He said: “The biggest risk is people who try these products who don’t smoke or vape.
“Nicotine patches and gum are designed and licensed as a way to stop you from using nicotine entirely.
“So someone’s meant to use a high dose when they quit smoking and then gradually wean off.
“Whereas with nicotine pouches, there’s this rapid release of nicotine that people tend to enjoy, and it leads people to want to do that again.
“Over time, they’ll need more nicotine to get the same subjective feeling, and then someone might progress onto a stronger and stronger product.”
Dangers of getting addicted to 'alternatives'
The Sun feature writer Grace Macaskill tells how easily it is to get hooked on nicotine products
My name is Grace and I’m an addict.
I’m hooked on nicotine lozenges and have been for the last 10 years.
After years of smoking I’d had enough of smelling like an ashtray and spraying copious amounts of perfume on my stinky clothes and thought I’d found the solution with nicotine lozenges.
They worked a dream – until I tried to cut them down. Just like pouch users, whenever I try to quit these pesky little white tablets I feel sick and hot, shaky and anxious.
It’s just as bad as trying to quit fags, which studies have shown are just as addictive as hard core drugs like heroin.
When I’m chowing down on lozenges like boiled sweets on a work day I can easily get though a ten pack of 2 mg, convinced they help with my stress levels.
In reality, they hype me up enough to type – and think – at 100 mph which, combined with the lack of sleep due to high levels of nicotine, leaves me feeling exhausted every single morning.
Yet still I sadly lurch from one little rush to the next.
I’d love to say that they’ve kept me off the fags but that would also be a lie because – despite the stink and obvious health risks – I still ‘enjoy’ a cigarette on a night out (or on a particularly stressful day)
The truth is the little blister packs of lozenges have become my security blanket. If I run out I panic. If I’m going on holiday I make sure I pack plenty.
France has become my favourite destination not just because I love the country, but because I know I can get my mitts on some top-quality mint versions. I’ve known to come back with a suitcase full – and there’s no limit at customs.
I know I should put them aside – and, honestly, I have tried – but the thought of going cold turkey leaves me, well, cold. I try to cut back but soon find myself consuming as many as ever.
I’ve heard the same from other users and thousands of people have taken to online forums to get advice on how to come off lozenges or gum.
They might be better than cigarettes, but my advice to anyone plumping for nicotine alternatives is please, please cut them down as fast as you can.
As for me, after writing this down I’m determined to cut back, then stop. I promise…
And talking about the health impacts, he added: “Nicotine is not a harmless drug, it’s a stimulant.
“Most of the harm is likely to come from cardiovascular problems like heart attacks, stroke, heart disease.
“Also, there’s this strong link between poor mental health and using nicotine. Some people have the subjective feeling that nicotine helps them with anxiety but I think some of that is from the drug itself leading someone to feel anxiety that the drug then alleviates.
“When people stop using nicotine entirely their mental health tends to improve.”
HANDED OUT AT FESTIVALS
Nicotine pouches are handed out at festivals
In the last couple of years, Nordic Spirit and VELO, two of the biggest brands in the market, have run huge marketing campaigns, popping up all over the country, handing out free samples, sponsoring music festivals and working with influencers to promote their brands.
But many users might be unaware that these brands are actually owned by tobacco companies.
Doctor Rosemary Hiscock from the Tobacco Control Research Group at Bath University says their research shows the tobacco companies are using nicotine pouches as their “next generation product” after realising many young people were starting to turn their backs on cigarettes.
She said: “Nicotine pouch users might not realise that the major nicotine pouch brands are owned by the big tobacco companies.
“Nordic Spirits is owned by JTI Japan Tobacco. And there’s VELO, that’s owned by British American Tobacco.
“Cigarette sales are now in decline and so I think nicotine pouches are the tobacco companies future proofing themselves, because as long as there’s still people addicted to nicotine, they will still make money.
“We monitor the tobacco companies and look at documents such as their annual reports and the presentations they give.
“One of the ways that they talk about these products is they call them ‘next generation products’.
“The tobacco companies are keen to state that they’re not targeting young people, but we know that the younger that you start using nicotine, the more it takes hold and the harder it is to quit.”
A spokesperson for British American Tobacco UK that own VELO told Channel 4: “We are clear that VELO is for adult smokers and nicotine users only and a tobacco-free alternative to cigarettes.
“We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to introduce specific regulation for nicotine pouches to ensure robust product quality, responsible marketing, and minimum age of sale requirements and hope it will do this as part of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
“We have also championed an industry code of conduct, which imposes restrictions on nicotine pouch packaging designs, communications and sale activities.
“VELO’s marketing complies with all applicable laws. We require brand partners to be adults and that their audience is predominantly adult.
“We also require all our partners to market our products responsibly.”
Snus: Hooked on Nicotine is available to watch here: https://www.channel4.com/programmes/snus-hooked-on-nicotine-untold
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