Nicotine pouch poisonings on the rise among children, new study shows

Nicotine pouch poisonings on the rise among children, study shows

A popular nicotine product is increasingly making young kids sick after they accidentally ingest it, according to a new study.

WASHINGTON - A popular nicotine product is increasingly making young kids sick after they accidentally ingest it, according to a new study.

What we know:

A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that U.S. poison centers reported 134,663 nicotine ingestions by children younger than six between 2010 and 2023. That includes nicotine from various products, including the liquid in vapes, gums, and lozenges. Most ingestions were among children younger than two years old. Nearly all of them occurred at a residence, and 55 percent of the ingestions were among boys.

Also among the study’s findings: nicotine pouch ingestions have soared. Researchers found that between 2020 and 2023, the rate of pouch ingestions among children younger than six increased by 763 percent.

"There’s no smoke, there’s no vapor, there’s no spitting associated with those. It’s just a pouch that’s in your cheek," explained Central Ohio Poison Center Director Natalie Rine, one of the study’s co-authors.

Big picture view:

Most of the ingestions – from any nicotine product – did not lead to serious health issues, researchers said. Although, Rine cautioned, some did.

"Like the saying goes, the dose makes the poison," she told Fox 5. "So, if there’s a smaller dose of nicotine that’s exposed, there might be some symptoms, nausea and vomiting, but if you get a prolonged exposure or a really large dose of nicotine, you can see serious nicotine poisoning up to and including things including seizures, respiratory failure, coma, and death as reported in a couple of the cases we saw."

What you can do:

Rine recommended that parents lock-up nicotine products, saying to treat them just like you would a medication or any other potentially dangerous substance.

Philip Morris International released the following statement to FOX 5:

"The latest data from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control show that youth use remains low. ZYN is the only nicotine pouch authorized by the FDA as appropriate to protect public health. In making that conclusion the agency noted that ZYN's packaging is designed to be child resistant. We welcome the chance to meet with these researchers and educate them on the robust actions Swedish Match takes to guard against underage use."

Dig deeper:

To view the full study, you can click here.