Pant S, Anderer S. Can Nicotine Pouches Help People Quit Smoking? JAMA. Published online January 02, 2026. doi:10.1001/jama.2025.22811

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2843607

“In its December authorization of on! PLUS pouches, the US FDA said its evaluation found the products to contain lower levels of most harmful and potentially harmful constituents than other oral and smokeless tobacco products. While acknowledging that no tobacco products are risk-free or safe, the agency concluded that the authorized pouches have “the potential to provide a benefit to adults who smoke cigarettes and/or use other smokeless tobacco products that is sufficient to outweigh the risks of the products, including to youth.”

A six-minute audio description about new authorizations of nicotine pouches at:

https://edhub.ama-assn.org/jn-learning/audio-player/19029165

Comment: Lower levels of harmful constituents are no assurance that some “benefit” to adult nicotine users will offset the harm from youth use and the continuity of lifetime nicotine addiction that may result. E-cigarettes were also claimed to have great potential for adult cessation, but turned out to be primarily marketed to and harm children.

Though nicotine pouches are not burned, tobacco companies feel sure that they can keep nicotine dependency fueling their profits since alternative nicotine products can sustain the flame of profitable addictions. The hypocrisy of the tobacco industry with harm reduction products is clear since it does not reduce/eliminate the business of its primary harmful product, cigarettes. Stephen Hamann