Let’s say you’re 4 years old. You can’t yet read, but your little eye spies something on the kitchen counter that looks like an unexpected treat.
It’s in a round package and looks just like those candy mints Mom always has in her purse.
A new study warns that this kind of confusion is behind a 763% spike in children under age 6 accidentally ingesting nicotine pouches, sometimes landing them in the hospital.
Researchers from the Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Central Ohio Poison Center analyzed calls that came into U.S. poison centers from 2020 through 2023.
The team examined nearly 135,000 cases of nicotine ingestions among children younger than 6 and found that most involved children under the age of 2. While most ingestions did not result in longstanding effects, 39 cases involved major medical outcomes and two children died.
Nicotine pouches contain a crystalline powder with nicotine, flavorings and other additives. Some people use them try to stop smoking cigarettes.
The researchers advise that the safest thing for parents or guardians who use nicotine pouches is to keep them away from home. If that’s not avoidable, then lock them out of sight, away from food.
If you must keep them in a purse or backpack, store them so that curious eyes and prying little fingers can’t get to them. And don’t use nicotine pouches in front of your kids.
Children who ingest nicotine pouches might vomit or stumble, sweat heavily, develop a rapid heartbeat or have seizures.
The study authors suggest that flavor bans and childproof storage rules could help keep pouches out of youngsters’ hands, ensuring that the only cost of adults quitting nicotine is some crankiness.
