Smokers in Great Britain are increasingly reaching for nicotine pouches to help them quit — and new research suggests the product may be working for some of them, even as Ottawa keeps it locked behind pharmacy counters.
In a preprint study published on medRxiv (October 23, 2026), University College London researcher Sarah Jackson and colleagues analyzed survey data from 7,995 adults in Great Britain who tried to quit smoking between June 2021 and July 2026.
The share using pouches as a quitting aid rose from 2.4% to 6.7% over that period. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, it climbed from 2.2% to 18.9%.
After adjusting for other factors, the overall link between pouch use and quitting was uncertain. But among people who were not also using e-cigarettes, pouch use was associated with greater success in quitting.
"If causal, this suggests a potential role for pouches among people not already using an established cessation aid," the study said.
Sweden offers a population-wide example. A 2026 report from the Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs found about 5% of Swedes aged 17 to 84 smoked daily in 2025, while 19% used snus or nicotine pouches daily. Daily smoking has "decreased dramatically since 2003", the report said.
In Canada, a Health Canada ministerial order announced August 22, 2024, requires pouches to be sold only by a pharmacist or someone under a pharmacist's supervision, kept behind the pharmacy counter, and limited to mint or menthol flavours.
Zonnic, made by Imperial Tobacco, is the only authorized brand to be sold in Canada. However, Health Canada says it continues to receive reports of unauthorized nicotine pouches being sold in convenience stores, gas stations and online, and Health Minister Marjorie Michel has acknowledged the illicit market is an issue.
Michel ruled out loosening those rules on September 22.
"That's not something I'm considering," Michel told the media.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally had urged Prime Minister Mark Carney in a March 2026 letter to reverse the restrictions.
"When a regulated alternative is more difficult to access than cigarettes, it sends the wrong signal and complicates efforts by adults working to lessen their dependence," the letter said.
The study has not yet been peer-reviewed.