New & emerging products  /  New nicotine products

Nicotine is increasingly being sold in formats that do not look like cigarettes, vapes or traditional quit-smoking products. Schools and families may encounter pouches, dissolvable strips, pearls and other consumer nicotine products.

Last reviewed: 25 September 2026

QUICK ANSWER

Current UK guidance lists nicotine pouches, dissolvable nicotine strips and nicotine pearls as examples of consumer nicotine products. The Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 uses a broad definition designed to cover nicotine delivered through new formats as the market changes.

Many are small, discreet and do not produce smoke or vapour. That means use can be harder to notice than smoking or vaping. Packaging may also use flavours, colours or branding that do not immediately look like a tobacco-related product.

The key issue for young people is nicotine dependence. A product does not need to look like a cigarette or vape to deliver nicotine.

Not necessarily. Medicines such as nicotine patches, gum, lozenges and sprays are regulated medicinal products used to help people stop smoking. Consumer nicotine products such as pouches, strips or pearls are a different category unless a specific product is authorised as a medicine.

That distinction matters when schools or families are looking at packaging and deciding what sort of product they have found.

• Check the packet for the product name, nicotine content or strength.
• Do not assume a small mint-like product is nicotine-free.
• Ask calm, simple questions about what the young person thinks the product is and where it came from.
• Follow school policy for nicotine products rather than trying to punish based on guesswork.
• If someone feels unwell after using nicotine, seek medical advice; severe symptoms or collapse require urgent help.