Smokeless nicotine pouches placed between the lips and gums could provide the safest alternative to cigarettes for addicts, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
President Trump’s top health adviser told Brazilian media last month that the pouches, which require no spitting since they do not contain tobacco, could help save Americans roughly $640 billion a year in cigarette smoke-related health costs.
“I think the nicotine pouches are probably the safest way to consume nicotine,” Mr. Kennedy said in a July 30 interview posted on YouTube. “Vapes are second. But the thing we really want to get away from are cigarettes.”
He cited an unspecified National Institutes of Health study that he said showed smokeless nicotine products could “have some health benefits” by reducing dementia risks.
“And nicotine itself does not cause cancer,” Mr. Kennedy added. “There’s no evidence that it’s carcinogenic.”
Officials at the American Lung Association, the nation’s leading lung health advocacy group, disagreed with his claims.
“Nicotine pouches are so new that we do not yet know all of the health consequences,” Thomas Carr, the association’s director of nationwide policy, said Thursday.
“However, smokeless tobacco products … can cause several different types of cancer and major dental problems,” he added in an email.
The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to a request for comment.
Some policy experts said the secretary’s comments, his first on the topic since taking office, could signal a rare softening of federal policy toward nicotine products.
“His comments are a welcome change of tone from the last administration, which was hostile to all nicotine products, even though different products carry different levels of risks,” said Guy Bentley, director of consumer freedom at the libertarian Reason Foundation.
Others pointed to data linking the widespread availability of pouches in Sweden and Great Britain to declining lung cancer rates.
“Public policy that encourages smokers to switch to less harmful alternatives, like nicotine pouches, will save lives and public health expenditures,” said Adam Hoffer, a policy expert at the Tax Foundation who favors taxing pouches at lower rates than cigarettes.
A spokesperson for Philip Morris International, a tobacco company that makes the nation’s top-selling nicotine pouches, also praised Mr. Kennedy’s comments.
“We’re glad to hear a member of the President’s cabinet speak out for science over stigma when it comes to nicotine products,” the spokesperson said in an email. “Educating adults who smoke about their options when it comes to better alternatives to cigarettes is critical to advancing public health.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 28 million American adults smoke cigarettes, with 480,000 dying annually from related illnesses.
At the same time, cigarette use has declined dramatically in recent years as marijuana and e-cigarettes grow in popularity among young people.
Jeremy Nighohossian, a health policy expert at the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute, said there is no evidence that nicotine pouches are safer or healthier than those practices.
“The [Food and Drug Administration] promotes four products containing nicotine as ‘safe and effective’ means to quit smoking: a patch, a lozenge, gum, an oral inhaler, and nasal spray,” Mr. Nighohossian said. “To date, they don’t treat the pouch similarly, but neither have they determined that it is unsafe.”
Doctors say that while pouches may carry fewer risks than smoking for young people, they have also been linked to oral health and cardiovascular problems, requiring more research.
Common nicotine symptoms include skin irritation, heart palpitations, elevated blood pressure and an accelerated heartbeat.
“Because of its highly addictive nature, people can experience withdrawal symptoms including anxiety, irritability, increased appetite and sleep disturbances,” said Dr. Craig Escude, a family physician and fellow of the American Academy of Developmental Medicine.
Lauren Czaplicki, an associate scientist in the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said the problem is that tobacco companies market nicotine pouches beyond people who want to quit smoking.
“The marketing of nicotine pouches to young people is of particular concern, given research showing that serious disruptions can occur when nicotine is introduced to developing brains, including negatively impacting learning, concentration, and anxiety regulation,” Ms Czaplicki said in an email. “Examples of concerning nicotine pouch marketing include the use of catchy flavors and names that tease the senses, attract one’s palate, and facilitate dependence, and misleading claims that downplay the risk of harm inherent to nicotine-containing products.”
