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Signal: Market / evidence · Evidence: Confirmed with evidence gap · Scope: Wales / Great Britain · Family: Oral nicotine

Date: 30 September 2026

What the latest data show

Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) reports that 3.2% of 11–17-year-olds in Great Britain said they had ever tried nicotine pouches in its 2026 survey. Awareness among 11–17-year-olds was 48%.

ASH Wales’ 2025 survey found that 52% of adults in Wales had heard of nicotine pouches, rising to 79% among 18–24-year-olds. 10% of 18–24-year-olds in Wales currently used nicotine pouches.

What the evidence gap is

The GB youth estimate should not be presented as a Wales-specific figure. We do not currently have an equivalent representative Wales-wide estimate for nicotine pouch use among under-18s.

Why this is on our radar

Nicotine pouches are an established consumer nicotine format and awareness is high among younger adults. The available data support monitoring, but they do not show that pouch use is widespread among school-age young people in Wales.

Sources

Read the ASH Wales nicotine pouches guide

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Journalists can use the ASH Wales Media Centre for Wales-specific data, background and spokesperson requests.

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