Schools are warning parents about the danger of “snus” nicotine pouches, saying children are increasingly using the powerful products as an alternative to vaping.
More than 200 schools will receive an email briefing on Monday informing them that “nicotine pouches are the new thing on the block”, from Teen Tips, an online wellbeing hub consulted by schools including Rugby and Wellington College. The hub will send the briefing to all institutions that use its services, around 100 state and 100 private schools.
Some schools have written to parents in recent weeks addressing the risks posed by nicotine pouches, which are colloquially referred to as “snus” and are placed between the lip and gum, so the drug can be absorbed into the bloodstream. They are popular among footballers and TikTok influencers.
Snus is a tobacco product originating in Sweden, a type of dry snuff, which is illegal to buy or sell in the UK but legal to consume. The term is also being used to refer to modern nicotine pouches which do not contain tobacco, such as those produced by Velo and Nordic Spirit. These are also placed on the gums, come in a variety of flavours, including berry and mint, and are sold in brightly-coloured packaging.
The pouches are not technically classed as tobacco products under UK law, and so can be legally sold to under-18s and advertised on social media, unlike vapes. In March, Sarah Brown, a paediatric respiratory consultant at Royal London Hospital, wrote in the Nursing Times that this legal loophole needed to be addressed.
Alicia Drummond, a psychologist who runs Teen Tips, said: “One of our schools rang up recently in a panic having found a white powder, and thought they had a cocaine problem. It was ‘snus’. Schools are spending a fortune on vape detectors but children have discovered they can get their nicotine fix through this. It is highly addictive and more difficult to detect.”
Viv Lamb, the PSHE co-ordinator at the private Oakham School in Rutland, said staff found empty packaging for nicotine pouches on site. “This is the next new trend,” she said. “In this academic year it has really been seen in schools. This product has exploded into the market.” The school has raised concerns with parents.
Some brands, such as Nordic Spirit, say their products cannot be sold to under-18s and that proof of age should be shown, but, because of the lack of legislation, trading standards cannot prosecute a shopkeeper who sells nicotine pouches to a child.
The southeast London private school Alleyn’s wrote to parents before Christmas warning them of the growing trend. Gavin English, deputy head at the £25,000-a-year school, said: “Children are seeing role models like footballers taking this. It’s used a lot among young men aged 18-25 and there are lots of references to it on YouTube and TikTok among sportsmen the children are plugged into.”
The Professional Footballers’ Association announced last year it would carry out research into the use of tobacco snus among players. David James, the former England goalkeeper, told the BBC in December he was “very concerned” about the number of players using tobacco snus, saying it was “detrimental” to their performance. Jamie Vardy has admitted to using the product, while Gary Lineker told The Rest is Football podcast in November that he vomited after being convinced to try a pouch.
English said that packaging for nicotine pouches had been found at Alleyn’s school. “Our primary concern is it is super-addictive. We have made clear to children that it is a prohibited substance and carries some pretty nasty risks. It can make kids feel dizzy, nauseous, messes with their stomach, all pretty unpleasant.”
He urged footballers and other influencers who were discussing the use of the pods on social media to “stop promoting this stuff” and said parents should talk to their children about the risks and be alert to signs of the colourful packaging at home.
“Footballers and influencers are role models whether they set themselves up to be or not. You are adults and can make your own decisions about what you put in your bodies, but set a good example to the young people who look up to you. If children are among your social media followers you have a responsibility to those youngsters — don’t show them this stuff.
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“It’s so frustrating. There are a million things you could be promoting that would lead kids down the right path — why muck around with nicotine pouches that will do them damage?”
Myton School in Warwickshire held an information session for parents last term and sent a newsletter about the risks of nicotine pouches, while staff at Kirkcaldy High School in Fife emailed parents about the trend.
One teenage girl from a school in southwest England who wished to remain anonymous said fellow pupils were using the pouches in lessons undetected by teachers. She said one boy had to rush to the lavatory with “nic sickness” and others have suffered bleeding gums.
“They have used snus at breaks in lessons and in changing rooms,” she said. “Teachers do not know what snus is, my parents do not. That is why it is hard for teachers, it just looks like a pack of gum or a pack of mint.”
Alastair Tighe, Wells Cathedral School head teacher, said the teacher responsible for safeguarding had “confirmed that this risk and matter is very much on his radar, alongside vaping”.
David Lee-Allen, chairman of Suffolk Association of Secondary Headteachers, said: “We have to keep educating young people and pressurising the authorities and get access to [nicotine pouches] shut down as soon as possible.”
Claire Hogg, a paediatric respiratory consultant at Royal Brompton Hospital in London, said: “Regulation is not there to stop children who have never smoked getting addicted to these products. In some cases these pouches are replacing the vapes. Any product with nicotine needs to be regulated.”