South Africans flock to nicotine pouches for a more affordable fix

In many of the nations where vaping is legal, one of the reasons for its popularity is that it’s typically much more affordable than smoking. That’s not the case in South Africa, though, thanks to a new tax on vaping products that puts the price of vapes roughly on par with that of cigarettes on a puff-for-puff basis. Some have openly wondered if the tax could end up driving some vapers back to smoking, which would be a terrible blow to public health given South Africa’s high smoking rates – particularly among men. 

Some South African nicotine users, however, are getting their smoke-free fix a different way – they’re switching to nicotine pouches instead. Thanks to a legal loophole for products that use lab-created nicotine rather than tobacco-derived nicotine, many nicotine pouches aren’t defined as tobacco products according to South African law. Therefore, they aren’t subject to the same punitive taxes as vapes – and they’re helping people save a lot of money.

If you haven’t begun to see nicotine pouches at your local retailers yet, rest assured that you will very soon – and in this guide, we’ll tell you everything that you need to know about them.

What are nicotine pouches?

Nicotine pouches are oral nicotine products that look similar to snus except that they’re white. While snus pouches are dark because they contain tobacco, nicotine pouches have no tobacco and instead contain isolated nicotine along with flavours and plant-based fillers and binders. 

You use a nicotine pouch by placing it in your mouth and parking it between your gum and upper lip. The nicotine absorbs through the soft tissue in your mouth, and the pouch lasts about 30-60 minutes before the flavour runs out. 

Along with the fact that they cost less than other nicotine products, an additional benefit of nicotine pouches is that they don’t require spitting like chewing tobacco. That makes it possible to use them anywhere. 

Nicotine pouches are also available in a wide variety of flavours, with fruit and mint options being the most popular.

How popular are nicotine pouches in South Africa?

According to AHREFS – a company that tracks monthly search volumes for keywords on Google – South Africans have taken notice of nicotine pouches in a huge way over the past two years. The keyword phrase “nicotine pouches” received 683 searches in November 2022 and is on pace to receive 2,411 searches in November 2024. That’s an increase of 253 percent in just two years. AHREFS forecasts that the monthly volume will exceed 2,900 searches by the end of 2025 – and as more people become aware of the cost savings, the actual search volumes could end up exceeding the forecast by a large margin.

Are nicotine pouches more popular than vapes?

Nicotine pouches haven’t become more popular than vapes in South Africa yet, although the tax has reduced the popularity of vapes compared to two years ago. In November 2022, 5,481 people in South Africa searched Google for the term “vapes.” For November 2024, “vapes” is on track to receive 5,103 searches. That’s a decrease of about 6.9 percent. 

It’s estimated that about 4 percent of South African adults are regular vapers; that’s approximately 1.58 million people. Although the decrease in monthly searches for the term “vapes” suggests that the vape tax has slowed the adoption of vapes among South African smokers, vaping probably isn’t in danger of losing its market position to nicotine pouches any time soon.

Are nicotine pouches popular in the rest of the world?

Globally, nicotine pouches represent the fastest-growing segment of the nicotine industry. According to Global Market Insights (GMI), the total size of the nicotine pouch market worldwide was 6.6 billion USD (119.4 billion ZAR) in 2023. GMI forecasts that the market will grow at a compound annual rate of 17.5 percent through 2032, eventually reaching a size of 27.4 billion USD (495.4 billion ZAR). 

According to GMI’s market report, nicotine pouches could comprise as much as 39 percent of the market for nicotine products in the United States by 2032. Although government regulations impacting the availability of certain brands, strengths and flavours could potentially stifle the industry’s growth, it certainly seems clear that tobacco-free alternatives like nicotine pouches and vapes will increasingly make traditional tobacco products obsolete. 

We caught up with Paras Parmar – owner of The Vape Life in Dublin, Ireland – and he reports that nicotine pouches have experienced the same explosive popularity growth in Europe as they have in South Africa and elsewhere. “I think the popularity comes down to the fact that you can use the pouches anywhere,” Parmar says. “Although vaping has many benefits compared to smoking, you can’t vape in places where smoking isn’t allowed. People are very interested in a nicotine product that has no restrictions.”

Big tobacco has entered the nicotine pouch industry

Many of the world’s biggest tobacco corporations have entered the nicotine pouch industry – and if you use nicotine pouches, there’s a good chance that your preferred brand actually comes from a well-known tobacco company.

Philip Morris International (PMI) – the maker of Marlboro cigarettes and the world’s largest tobacco company – has diversified its product portfolio over the past several years to include a number of alternative nicotine products. PMI is the maker of the IQOS heated tobacco system and acquired the NJOY brand of vaping products in 2023. PMI is also well aware of the increased popularity of nicotine pouches and acquired Swedish Match – the maker of ZYN, the world’s best-known nicotine pouch brand – in 2022 at a cost of 16 billion USD (289.4 billion ZAR). 

PMI isn’t alone in its quest to claim a slice of the nicotine pouch industry.

• British American Tobacco has also entered the nicotine pouch industry through its subsidiary R. J. Reynolds, the maker of Camel cigarettes. The Reynolds nicotine pouch brand is called Velo.
• Japan Tobacco International is the maker of the Nordic Spirit nicotine pouch brand.
• Imperial Brands is the maker of the Zone X nicotine pouch brand.

If the streets seem a little less smoke-filled these days, the popularity of nicotine pouches might be a big reason why – and even if you don’t use nicotine yourself, it’s hard not to appreciate the fact that nicotine pouches seem poised to play a key role in South Africa’s smoke-free future.