Table 1.
Participant characteristics and bivariate analyses examining differences between those aware† versus not aware of nicotine pouches, and those who have ever versus never used them, among young adults, US, 2022 (N=942)
| Characteristics | All | Aware of nicotine pouches | Ever use of nicotine pouches | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No | Yes | No | Yes | ||||
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | p | n (%) | n (%) | p | |
| Total | 942 (100) | 616 (65.4) | 326 (34.6) | 850 (90.2) | 92 (9.8) | ||
| Metropolitan statistical area ( MSA ) | 0.007 | 0.132 | |||||
| Atlanta | 145 (15.4) | 85 (13.8) | 60 (18.4) | 128 (15.1) | 17 (18.5) | ||
| Boston | 176 (18.7) | 124 (20.1) | 52 (29.5) | 164 (19.3) | 12 (13.0) | ||
| Minneapolis | 143 (15.2) | 101 (16.4) | 42 (12.9) | 125 (14.7) | 18 (19.6) | ||
| Oklahoma City | 83 (8.8) | 57 (9.3) | 26 (8.0) | 78 (9.2) | 5 (5.4) | ||
| San Diego | 112 (11.9) | 77 (12.5) | 35 (10.7) | 103 (12.1) | 9 (9.8) | ||
| Seattle | 128 (13.6) | 67 (10.9) | 61 (18.7) | 109 (12.8) | 19 (20.7) | ||
| Other | 155 (16.5) | 105 (17.0) | 50 (15.3) | 143 (16.8) | 12 (13.0) | ||
| Age (years), mean ± SD | 27.61 ± 4.61 | 27.70 ± 4.58 | 27.42 ± 4.64 | 0.375 | 27.59 ± 4.58 | 27.73 ± 4.84 | 0.789 |
| Sex* | <0.001 | <0.001 | |||||
| Male | 320 (34.3) | 183 (30.0) | 137 (42.4) | 267 (31.7) | 53 (58.9) | ||
| Female | 612 (65.7) | 426 (70.0) | 186 (57.2) | 575 (68.3) | 37 (41.1) | ||
| Sexual identity | 0.591 | 0.012 | |||||
| Sexual minority | 465 (49.4) | 308 (50.0) | 169 (51.8) | 431 (50.7) | 34 (37.0) | ||
| Straight | 477 (50.6) | 308 (50.0) | 157 (48.2) | 419 (49.3) | 58 (63.0) | ||
| Race | 0.100 | 0.217 | |||||
| White | 689 (73.1) | 464 (75.3) | 225 (69.0) | 617 (72.6) | 72 (78.3) | ||
| Black | 43 (4.6) | 27 (4.4) | 16 (4.9) | 42 (4.9) | 1 (1.1) | ||
| Asian | 115 (12.2) | 73 (11.9) | 42 (12.9) | 107 (12.6) | 8 (8.7) | ||
| Other | 95 (10.1) | 52 (8.4) | 43 (13.2) | 84 (9.9) | 11 (12.0) | ||
| Hispanic# | 82 (8.8) | 47 (7.7) | 35 (10.9) | 0.105 | 74 (8.8) | 8 (8.8) | 0.990 |
| No | 847 (91.2) | 561 (92.3) | 286 (89.1) | 764 (91.2) | 83 (91.2) | ||
| Past 30-day use of tobacco and other substances | |||||||
| Nicotine pouches | 18 (1.9) | 0 (0.0) | 18 (1.9) | <0.001 | (0.0) | 18 (1.9) | <0.001 |
| Cigarettes | 93 (9.9) | 34 (5.5) | 59 (18.1) | <0.001 | 70 (8.2) | 23 (25.0) | <0.001 |
| E-cigarettes | 172 (18.3) | 75 (12.2) | 97 (29.8) | <0.001 | 136 (16.0) | 36 (39.1) | <0.001 |
| Smokeless tobacco (e.g. chewing) | 16 (1.7) | 1 (0.2) | 15 (4.6) | <0.001 | 4 (0.5) | 12 (13.0) | <0.001 |
| Mean (SD)§ | Mean (SD)§ | Mean (SD)§ | Mean (SD)§ | Mean (SD)§ | |||
| Use intentionsa | |||||||
| Nicotine pouches | 1.21 (0.81) | 1.08 (0.45) | 1.47 (1.20) | <0.001 | 1.14 (0.61) | 1.84 (1.67) | <0.001 |
| Cigarettes | 1.48 (1.26) | 1.30 (1.01) | 1.82 (1.58) | <0.001 | 1.44 (1.19) | 1.90 (1.74) | <0.001 |
| E-cigarettes | 1.86 (1.75) | 1.63 (1.56) | 2.31 (2.00) | <0.001 | 1.77 (1.67) | 2.68 (2.21) | <0.001 |
| Smokeless tobacco | 1.09 (0.55) | 1.01 (0.10) | 1.25 (0.91) | <0.001 | 1.06 (0.42) | 1.40 (1.19) | <0.001 |
| Perceived harm to healthb | |||||||
| Nicotine pouches | 5.09 (1.62) | 5.21 (1.54) | 4.88 (1.75) | 0.003 | 5.15 (1.59) | 4.53 (1.78) | <0.001 |
| Cigarettes | 6.52 (1.10) | 6.58 (1.04) | 6.34 (1.21) | 0.009 | 6.52 (1.11) | 6.50 (1.06) | 0.884 |
| E-cigarettes | 5.45 (1.48) | 5.57 (1.39) | 5.23 (1.62) | <0.001 | 5.49 (1.45) | 5.11 (1.69) | 0.019 |
| Smokeless tobacco | 5.93 (1.29) | 6.01 (1.23) | 5.78 (1.40) | 0.009 | 5.94 (1.30) | 5.79 (1.25) | 0.287 |
| Perceived addictivenessc | |||||||
| Nicotine pouches | 5.95 (1.36) | 6.04 (1.27) | 5.74 (1.50) | 0.005 | 5.96 (1.36) | 5.89 (1.39) | 0.668 |
| Cigarettes | 6.54 (0.98) | 6.62 (0.88) | 6.39 (1.14) | <0.001 | 6.54 (1.00) | 6.52 (0.85) | 0.883 |
| E-cigarettes | 6.26 (1.16) | 6.33 (1.07) | 6.14 (1.31) | 0.018 | 6.26 (1.17) | 6.26 (1.09) | 0.976 |
| Smokeless tobacco | 6.08 (1.28) | 6.16 (1.20) | 5.94 (1.41) | 0.015 | 6.09 (1.28) | 6.07 (1.27) | 0.877 |
| Perceived social acceptabilityd | |||||||
| Nicotine pouches | 3.36 (1.74) | 3.10 (1.62) | 3.86 (1.84) | <0.001 | 3.26 (1.69) | 4.28 (1.91) | <0.001 |
| Cigarettes | 3.09 (1.75) | 2.82 (1.62) | 3.62 (1.85) | <0.001 | 3.04 (1.72) | 3.59 (1.97) | 0.004 |
| E-cigarettes | 4.58 (1.85) | 4.32 (1.85) | 5.07 (1.76) | <0.001 | 4.34 (1.85) | 5.09 (1.74) | <0.001 |
| Smokeless tobacco | 2.49 (1.57) | 2.24 (1.41) | 2.97 (1.75) | <0.001 | 2.42 (1.53) | 3.11 (1.82) | <0.001 |
Awareness: had heard of product.
10 preferred not to answer.
13 preferred not to answer.
On a scale of: 1=not at all, to 7=extremely. In the overall sample, t-tests indicated that:
Use intentions for nicotine pouches were higher than for smokeless tobacco, but lower than for cigarettes and e-cigarettes (p<0.001).
Nicotine pouches were perceived as less harmful than cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco (p<0.001).
Nicotine pouches were perceived as less addictive than cigarettes, e-cigarettes, and smokeless tobacco (p<0.05).
Nicotine pouches were perceived as more socially acceptable than cigarettes and smokeless tobacco but less than e-cigarettes (p<0.001).
SD: standard deviation.