US nicotine pouch users are turning away from smoking

8.5 million Americans expected to use pouches this year

Nicotine pouch users in the United States are increasingly abandoning smoking, and making the safer pouches their sole source of nicotine, according to new research from TobaccoIntelligence.

A survey of nearly 500 regular users conducted late last year, and just published, found that although some nicotine pouch users do still smoke or vape, the proportion who rely solely on the pouches increased substantially between 2022 and 2024. 

It also found that health concerns were the single biggest reason for switching to nicotine pouches, and that around 80% of pouches sold in the United States fall into the “light”, or lower-nicotine, category. According to TobaccoIntelligence, the US nicotine pouch market is currently the largest worldwide by value and number of users, and has seen dramatic growth over the last half-decade to reach an estimated 8.5m users this year, against around 1m in 2020. 

Nearly all of the users surveyed only started using pouches in the last two years. 

“Our findings underline one of the most striking developments in the US nicotine market over the last couple of years — the way that the pouch format has come out of almost nothing to be a significant player,” said Barnaby Page, editorial director at TobaccoIntelligence. 

“Now the big question is how much further it can go, and there may be a lot of factors affecting that, ranging from negative media coverage on health effects to the knock-on effect of President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese vapes.” 

The two new reports from TobaccoIntelligence, US: The Nicotine Pouch Market, March 2025 and US: The Nicotine Pouch Market – Consumer Survey Report, March 2025, are available through a subscription to TobaccoIntelligence or for separate purchase.