Understanding nicotine pouches strengths

Nicotine pouches, or ‘tobacco-free snus’, are rapidly growing in popularity in the UAE and KSA. The increased demand for nicotine pouches has not only resulted in the development of many different brands, flavours, and formats, but also strengths, to suit the nicotine needs of every user. Whilst having lots of choice in nicotine content is great, it can make choosing an incorrect strength more likely. Just a couple extra milligrams of nicotine can make a world of difference in terms of the desired and undesired effects of a Nicopod. A pleasurable, stimulating buzz can quickly turn into feelings of sickness, nausea, and cause tolerance issues if ill-suited intensity is chosen.

For these reasons, it is useful to understand the concept and measures of nicotine pouch strength, which can be slightly confusing since it differs between different brands and manufacturers!

The Basic Measures of Nicotine Pouch Strength

When browsing our website, you may have come across nicotine pouch strength values. Nicotine pouch strengths usually stated in mg/g or mg/pouch and can help you determine what our strongest nicotine pouches are. But what exactly do these mean?

• Mg/g – This simply means milligrams of nicotine per gram! So, 15mg/g would refer to 15 milligrams of nicotine per gram of the constituents of the nicotine pouch.
• Mg/pouch – An even simpler value so you don’t have to do any maths to find out how much nicotine is in a single pouch! Mg/pouch refers to milligrams of nicotine per pouch. So, 15mg/pouch means that there is exactly 15 milligrams of nicotine in the nicotine pouch.

How Do I Interpret the Nicotine Pouch Strength Label?

Most nicotine pouches will feature nicotine mg/g and/or mg/pouch values on the packaging, which you now know how to make sense of! Alongside these values, there is often a visual, text, or numerical indicator of strength, called the strength label, for a quick strength check. Interpreting this label is easy once you know how, so we are here as your guide!

• Visual Strength Labels – Typically represented by a series of dots, similar to those found on the cans of Nihiba nicotine pouches, Pablo nicotine pouches, and Velo nicotine pouches. Alternatively, you may see a line scale, like on Zyn nicotine pouch cans. All that you have to know to interpret visual scales is that more dots filled in a series of dots, or a longer bold line equals higher strength, and vice versa.
• So, for a brand offering products that are light, normal, strong, and extra strong, ranging from 4-15mg/pouch, 1 dot would mean ‘light/4mg-pouch’ and 4 dots would mean ‘extra strong-15mg/pouch’.
• Text and Numerical Strength Labels – Some nicotine pouch brands do not offer a visual indicator of strength. Instead, they may use text, like ‘strong’, or ‘extra strong’, as seen on Shiro nicotine pouch cans. Numbers also used, usually ‘1,2,3,4’ etc, which you will see featured on LOOP nicotine pouch cans, corresponding to a certain strength, i.e 4 equals ‘strong’ and 5 equals ‘extra strong’. For text labels, “it does what it says on the tin” is very relevant here; you simply read the text! ‘Strong’ means strong and so on. For numbers, it is the same as a dotted or line scale; the higher the number that is bold or emphasised, the stronger the nicotine pouch will be, and vice versa.

Some Common Areas of Confusion

So, what the two most common reasons for nicotine pouch users being confused when interpreting the nicotine strength label and nicotine milligram values? Well, firstly, different brands use different nicotine strength labels. Secondly, there is a distinct difference between nicotine mg/g and mg/pouch values.

• Nicotine Pouch Strength Label Differences – The only time that interpreting the strength label can get slightly confusing is when you use different nicotine pouch brands. Brands dose products along their strength spectrum with different mg’s of nicotine. So, if two brands use a similar dotted strength scale from 1-4, with one brand dosing ‘normal’ at 6mg and ‘strong’ at 15mg/pouch, and the other dosing ‘normal’ at 10mg and ‘strong’ at 25mg/pouch, the dotted scale does not mean the same for both brands! This is why it is important always to check mg/g or mg/pouch values, to know exactly how much nicotine you will consume.

• Mg/g and Mg/Pouch Differences – Although milligrams per gram and pouch are surefire ways to know how much nicotine you will consume, the differences between the two types of values can be confusing. For example, you may have been eyeing up a nicotine pouch that stated to be 20mg/g and thought “no thanks, too strong!”, However, the reality is that the nicotine pouch probably has a nicotine content of only 10mg/pouch! Why? This is because most nicotine pouches weigh less than a gram and therefore contain less nicotine than the mg/g value. So, the 20mg/g that looks scary is in fact not! If only the mg/g value given, you can calculate the mg/pouch with this simple calculation:

Mg/g x Pouch Weight = Mg/pouch

Example:
20mg/g x 0.5g (Pouch Weight) = 10mg/pouch

No nicotine pouch weight given? No problem! We always state the total weight of the nicotine pouches in the can. You can calculate the weight of a single pouch like this:

Nicotine Pouch Total Weight in Grams / Pouches in Can = Pouch Weight in Grams

Example: (Nihiba)
14.70g (Total Weight) / 20 (Pouches in Can) = 0.735g

The Take-Home Message

Now you know everything that there is to know about understanding nicotine pouch strengths! Remember to always check the mg/g and mg/pouch values to be extra sure. Now it is time to order some nicotine pouches! We have a huge selection, from Tobacco Series to Shisha Series, in strengths as strong as you like! You can be sure to find a flavour and strength that suits you! Feeling adventurous? Take a look at our nicotine pouch mix packs.