Nicotine pouches are available to buy in the following places:

• Many small convenience stores
• 7-11’s
• Walmart (albeit at a very limited range)
• Online stores.

My favorite place to buy nicotine pouches — and my recommendation to you — is online at Nicokick.com (see my Nicokick review) as with Nicokick you have a much wider range available to you than any brick-and-mortar store, they’re super fast to ship and answer any support queries, and you will get very good prices (probably the same as the average convenience store, or even better since Nicokick often runs promotions).

Some places say you need to be 18, while others say you need to be 21+. Lets have a look at the terms and conditions of the biggest online suppliers of nicotine pouches:

Zyn.com: “To place an order, you may either need to provide evidence of your age or confirm that you are above 18” (source)

Nicokick.com: “People under the age of 21 are not permitted to place orders” (source)

Northerner.com: “People under the age of 21 are not permitted to place orders” (source)

Note that the Tobacco 21 legislation (requiring anyone purchasing any tobacco product to be 21 and older) couldn’t apply to nicotine pouches, since they contain no tobacco. I wasn’t able to find a definitive source for any kind of legislation pertaining to nicotine pouches specifically. However, my guess would be that you should be 21 to purchase nicotine pouches.

While nicotine pouches are still quite new, there’s no shortage of different brands and flavors. On our reviews page, we’ve already reviewed a number of nicotine pouches including on!, Zyn and Velo, as well as many smaller brands. I thought many of them were sub-par, but of all the brands we’ve written about, there are certainly at least a couple that we can feel comfortable recommending. On this page I’ll summarize what I think the best nicotine pouches are for most people.

My top 3 nicotine pouches

#1: on!

On! (yes, that’s how you write it) is my favorite all-round nicotine pouch brand, and also one of the largest. They have a very wide range of flavors and strengths, and if you’re trying nicotine pouches for the first time, you should definitely be able to find a product in their line-up that’ll be suitable for you.

See our complete on! review

#2: Zyn

Like on!, this is one of the biggest brands and a pioneer in the nicotine pouch market. They’re based in Sweden and one of the best selling pouches. You can be confident you’re getting a quality product when you get these. However, be warned that they’re not for the faint of heart! Many people say that taking a Zyn pouch delivers nicotine much harder and faster than other brands with the equivalent nicotine content. So while I like Zyn, I advise only trying it once you’ve started with a low-strength, good all-round nicotine pouch (like on!) and now want something stronger.

See our complete Zyn review

#3: Frē 

Frē is an almost completely-unknown brand, but they’re just as good as on! and Zyn in my view. Like Zyn, though, they’re quite strong, coming in at 9mg and 12mg of nicotine content. You may be able to get Frē for cheaper than Zyn, and if so, it’s worth considering (otherwise, if you want a lighter nicotine pouch, you can skip it and get a low-strength on! pouch instead).

Nicotine pouches I don’t necessarily recommend

• Velo (also Lyft) — see my Velo review where I brought up some of the issues with this pouch including the lack of taste and hardness
• Dryft — see my Dryft review where I say it’s a decent product, but not the best because of its dryness

This varies greatly by brand and product, but the answer is nicotine pouches range in nicotine content from 2mg to 11mg per pouch. All brands offer pouches with different nicotine contents, and it’s up to you how much nicotine you want to have in your pouch. Here’s a few things I’d say on this matter:

• If your aim is to quit smoking, go with a relatively high amount of nicotine and gradually move on to lower-nicotine pouches until you’re off your nicotine dependence completely
• Nicotine amount isn’t the only factor in how strong a pouch tastes. As we’ve noted in many of our reviews, a 6mg pouch from Zyn (for example) will hit you much stronger than a 6mg pouch from Velo, which feels much weaker. How long it takes for the nicotine to be released is also a major factor
• If you’re not a smoker and trying nicotine pouches for the first time out of curiosity, definitely start with a pouch with a low nicotine content

Nicotine pouches and snus are very similar, with the only difference being that nicotine pouches do not contain any tobacco. Snus does.

Nicotine pouches do not stain your teeth, as they are all white.

Yes, nicotine pouches and snus can definitely help you quit smoking. They provide an alternative means to get nicotine and replicate most of the feelings you feel when smoking a cigarette, and you may find that after trying nicotine pouches, you will have no desire to go back to smoking ever again. This is one of the main reasons people try these pouches for the first time, and there are numerous reports of people having successfully quit smoking from nicotine pouches.

For example, here’s one person who stopped smoking immediately after trying snus for the first time:

First impression was that the taste was interesting but pretty decent. But within a minute or two, the nicotine that I craved started flowing and it was heavenly. After 15 mins or so, I took the portion out and lit a cigarette and suddenly I wanted the snus again. I put out the cigarette and grabbed another portion. (source)

And all kinds of comments from people who stopped smoking thanks to snus:

(source)

Interestingly, as you’ll see, there are many reports of people who tried everything else to quit smoking and were only able to quit after discovering nicotine pouches. This is all anecdotal, of course, and there haven’t been many studies (if any?) rigorously trialing whether nicotine pouches should help you quit smoking more than any other method or more than taking anything else, such as nicorete gum and the like. But the anecdotal evidence definitely seems to suggest that nicotine pouches are one of the best ways for smokers to quit smoking.

Therefore, if you’re a smoker trying or hoping to quit, it’s definitely worth at least trying nicotine pouches and see if you take a liking to them. You just might find that, like the example at the top of this page, you vastly prefer it over smoking and never go back to cigarettes again.

Like bubble gum, nicotine pouches are not meant to be swallowed. So try to avoid this. In the event that you do swallow one, don’t panic — nicotine pouches aren’t toxic, and it’s very unlikely you’ll feel sick from swallowing one. The worst that will probably happen is you’ll need to sit on the toilet for a while. In the numerous reports I’ve read of people who have swallowed pouches, the vast majority of people say nothing happened.

Using nicotine pouches is very simple:

1. Open the lid
2. Put a pouch between your lip and gum
3. Enjoy a slight tingling sensation and wait for the flavor to be slowly released. You can chew slowly to release flavor faster

It’s up to you whether you want to chew nicotine pouches from your upper lip or lower lip. Taken from ukvaperstore.co.uk, here’s an example picture of a user putting a pouch between their gum and upper lip:

Generally speaking, users prefer to put a pouch behind their upper lip as above. Also, as above, you’ll probably find it more comfortable to put it to one side of your mouth rather than right around your middle 2 front teeth.

It’s also possible to put the pouch on your tongue first and use your tongue to position it wherever you want, rather than using your fingers. Try both methods and see which one you’re more comfortable with.

Placing behind the upper lip vs lower lip: Nicotine pouches are designed to be spit-free, and if you place a pouch behind your lower lip, you may find that you’ll salivate more, making you want to spit. That is why most people prefer to put a pouch behind their upper lip, but depending on the brand, its strength and your tolerance to these pouches, you may find that putting a pouch behind your lower lip is preferable.

Nicotine pouches can last up to an hour, but it depends on how much you chew and the particular brand. You can leave a pouch in your mouth for as long as you want, but after a certain period of time you’ll find the flavor going away, at which point you’ll want to put in a fresh one.

My own experience is that nicotine pouches can last as little as 15 minutes, but if you’re not constantly chewing, any brand should definitely last much longer than that. By about 30 minutes you should notice the flavor starting to subside.

There have been reports of people taking nicotine pouches for 2 hours or more, but this definitely seems quite excessive and I’d expect the bag would be completely dissolved by then.