A UBC Okanagan researcher is raising concerns about how a popular social media platform is making nicotine pouches trendy among young people. Photo by Swenico on Unsplash.
While originally created as a way to help people stop smoking, a UBC Okanagan researcher is raising concerns about oral nicotine pouches being portrayed as trendy and pleasurable, especially among young people.
Dr. Laura Struik, Associate Professor in UBCO’s School of Nursing, recently published a study examining how the social media platform TikTok appears to promote nicotine pouches, particularly the brand Zyn, as a lifestyle rather than a way to quit smoking.
“Oral nicotine pouches have become a popular alternative nicotine product, especially among youth,” she says. “This is concerning, given the substantial health risks associated with nicotine use at an early age. Popular, youth-led social media channels are being used to promote these products as a source of pleasure and indulgence.”
The study, published recently in JMIR’s Formulative Research, analyzed 250 videos that, according to TikTok’s engagement metrics, generated 16,488,662 likes, more than 114,120 comments and almost two million shares.
“Understanding the ways that people communicate about these products on social media is critical to informing public health efforts aimed at protecting youth from the harms of nicotine,” Dr. Struik adds.
Prolonged use of oral nicotine pouches can lead to serious health problems, she says, including gum recession, tooth decay, harmful mouth bacteria, oral cancer and heart issues. Although about six per cent of videos showed these effects, most portrayed use of oral nicotine pouches as an enjoyable and normalized lifestyle product among youth.
Content creators made videos showing how easy, discreet and shareable the pouches are, as well as the ability to use several pouches at once. Many showed people using the pouches doing everyday activities, such as working or exercising, to highlight how easily they fit into day-to-day life.
“One particular brand was framed as empowering, exclusive and socially desirable, where using the brand meant that you were part of a movement,” says Dr. Struik.
That particular movement used a common hashtag under videos where that brand was mentioned, signalling membership in a shared identity group.
“When a hallmark of brain development during adolescence is identity development, where teens explore who they are and experiment with different behaviours, like the use of nicotine products, it becomes really clear why these pouches would be especially appealing to a young person,” she adds.
The findings not only underscore how these nicotine pouches are being shown in a positive light on youth-led social media platforms, but also explain their growing popularity among young people.
“Social media serves as a powerful tool for the tobacco industry in normalizing the use of their products among youth—a profitable demographic for the industry because of young people’s propensity to become addicted to these products,” she adds. “This is a runaway train that we will be chasing after for years. They are not cessation products; they are nicotine addiction starters.”
