Russ WareAs a smoker from a relatively young age, switching to vaping was something of a revelation. Less harmful, less expensive, and far less smelly. Finding a vape was not just something that helped me finally break the hold tobacco had on me; it improved my life in more ways than one. I also enjoyed it and was interested in the technology, as well as how vaping was being perceived by smokers and non-smokers alike.
Recently, however, I started to wonder what the next step should be and if I could get by without my vape. Going cold turkey and using no nicotine didn’t seem like an option, so I looked at potentially the next best thing: nicotine pouches.
Out of curiosity (and a bit of skepticism), I decided to ditch my vape for a week and rely solely on pouches. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, but I thought that I would give it a try anyway. Here’s how it went.
My Usual Vape Habits and Routine
I am an average vaper. Day to day, I use a 40W pod vape filled with 12mg/ml freebase e-liquid and a 0.6-ohm coil. I started on the highest strength available where I live (20mg/ml), but settled on a mid-strength vape juice fairly quickly. I was never a heavy smoker, and when I switched to vaping, I tended to vape in the same way that I smoked: taking 10-15 puffs when I felt the need and then putting the vape aside until the next craving hit.
More recently, I have found myself “grazing” on my vape, taking a couple of hits every five minutes or so throughout the day. To curb this new habit, I decided to put a stop to vaping in the house. This is fine when I’m working and the weather outside is nice, as it gives me a break from my screen and a little boost of Vitamin D. But when I’m doing other things (cooking, gaming, watching a movie, etc.), or when the weather is bad, stepping outside to vape is a bit of a hassle.
I have used nicotine pouches before, both when they first became popular and when covering them in various articles for Versed Vaper, but never for more than a day. I didn’t hate those experiences, but the use of pouches never stuck because I didn’t see any real need to investigate a potentially more convenient way to get my nicotine fix.
With the weather starting to turn bad again, and some great shows coming up on TV, now seemed like the perfect time to test nicotine pouches properly to see if they could replace, or perhaps supplement, my vape.
The First Few Days (Days 1-2)
Despite having tried nicotine pouches previously, popping one under my lip at 6:30 in the morning instead of reaching for my trusty vape felt strange. To add to this, the tingling sensation that comes with using a nicotine pouch always feels odd but not unpleasant.
I chose 9mg ZYN pouches (Cool Mint flavor), assuming I would need something close to the strength of my vape juice, but there’s no doubt that the nicotine took longer to kick in compared to using my OXVA XLIM SQ Pro 2. After 30 minutes, I removed and discarded the pouch and was pleasantly surprised by how well it had curbed my cravings, which are undoubtedly strongest in the morning.
The rest of the first couple of days went pretty smoothly. I used approximately 10 pouches a day, far fewer than one an hour, and had no overly strong cravings. What I did miss, however, was the act of inhaling. That hand-to-mouth ritual is, by now, so ingrained that I caught myself reaching for a vape that wasn’t there many times. This longing for a lungful of vapor was particularly strong after meals and with my morning coffee. I also noticed that my mouth was drier than usual at the end of the first day, and had to make a mental note to drink more water.
Settling In (Days 3-5)
By midweek, the rhythm of using nicotine pouches instead of vaping started to settle in properly. I was still missing the act of inhaling, but I could feel it becoming less of a constant niggle in my brain. The pouches were convenient, and I started to see their appeal more clearly. I could pop one in while working, driving, grocery shopping, and anywhere else where vaping is not allowed or not practical. I was also beginning to enjoy not having to remember to charge my vape or refill the tank.
The pouches continued to manage the nicotine cravings well, but I found that more were needed each day as the week went on. By Thursday (day 4), my usage was up to 14 a day, or just under one per waking hour. I expected the opposite, assuming my body would become accustomed to this new nicotine delivery method and be able to extract more from each pouch as time went on, but that wasn’t the case.
The feeling of having a very dry mouth continued, but it was never a huge problem. What was worse was the occasional stomach pain and slight nausea the pouches seemed to cause. It wasn’t every time, and usually subsided quite quickly, so it wasn’t enough to make me want to throw my remaining ZYN pouches in the trash. However, the fact that I had never experienced that when vaping, and that there was no rhyme or reason to when it would occur, made it more surprising than anything else.
The Final Stretch (Days 6-7)
As the weekend rolled around, I was starting to feel restless without my vape. The nicotine hit from the pouches was doing its job and felt steady. It was still managing the cravings, but popping a ZYN under my lip, and knowing it had to be there for 30-45 minutes, never gave the same immediate “hit” as taking a long draw on my vape.
Most of my weekend was spent out and about, socializing, running errands, and enjoying the increasingly rare sunshine, so while the pouches were still convenient at times, they felt less so than during my work week. By the time I was drinking my Sunday morning coffee (once again without a satisfying lungful of vapor), I had concluded that switching entirely from vaping to pouches probably wasn’t for me.
The novelty was wearing off, and while I’d adjusted to using nicotine pouches fairly easily and the whole process felt less like an experiment and more like a routine, I couldn’t wait to reacquaint myself with my vape come Monday morning.
Vaping Vs. Nicotine Pouches: My Experience and Comparison
- Flavor and Enjoyment: Vaping wins here, hands down. Pouches couldn’t compare to the taste of my favorite e-liquid, and just didn’t provide the satisfaction of a long draw on a vape.
- Nicotine Cravings: Vaping provides a more immediate hit of nicotine to beat those cravings that arrive out of nowhere. Pouches are slower to start working, but can provide a steadier and more even nicotine hit.
- Convenience: Pouches are the winners here. There is literally nowhere you can’t use them, and they don’t involve any recharging, refilling, or leaking liquid.
- Social Factors: Pouches are discreet, odorless, and stigma-free. Vaping, while accepted in many circles, still raises eyebrows.
- Cost: For me, vaping would be negligibly cheaper. I used four cans of pouches in a week, costing around $20 in total. A week’s worth of vape liquid (35-40ml) would cost me, at most, $15.
- Risk to Health: Neither option is entirely risk-free, but I would assume that pouches are less harmful to health than vaping, purely because they bring none of the uncertainties that come with inhaling vapor.
Swapping Vaping for Nicotine Pouches: My Takeaways
Did I miss vaping? Yes, especially the flavor and the act of inhaling. But while cracking a can of ZYN open didn’t provide the same satisfaction as drawing on my vape, I was surprised at just how functional and convenient they can be as an occasional substitute.
Could I switch completely? Probably not long-term. I enjoy vaping too much, and the convenience of nicotine pouches was somewhat tempered by the continuous dry mouth and occasional stomach problems they caused me. However, I could absolutely see myself using pouches in specific situations: when travelling, working, or when the weather is terrible and I just don’t want to venture outside.
Would I recommend vapers try nicotine pouches? If you’re a vaper looking for a discreet or convenient backup, pouches are worth trying. They won’t fully replace the experience of vaping for most people, but they can get the job done when needed.
Versed Vaper Team
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