To quit nicotine pouches, you'll have to start by reducing your nicotine intake. That's easier said than done, because nicotine pouches are very addictive and reducing your intake requires perseverance, grit, and willpower like Hal Jordan. Fortunately, there are some hidden tips and tricks that can help you quit nicotine pouches more easily.
One of the easiest ways to quit nicotine is with nicotine replacement therapy. Instead of replacing nicotine pouches with something different, you just switch to lower concentration products, until your cravings are weak enough to ignore. We'll walk you through the steps in detail below.
Quick Guide to Quitting Nicotine Pouches
Here's the easy quick guide that highlights the things you need to do to quit nicotine pouches:
- Reduce Nicotine Intake: Going cold turkey on nicotine pouches is much harder because of the nicotine withdrawal symptoms. For a better experience, you will have to slowly reduce your nicotine intake.
- Change Consumption Habits: Quitting nicotine isn't just about not using the pouches or products. You have to change your consumption habits to avoid relapses and reduce your reliance on nicotine gradually.
- Quit Nicotine Completely: The final step of quitting nicotine is the actual cessation. When you've reduced your intake, changed your consumption habits, it's finally time to say goodbye to nicotine in the safest way possible.
Why Should You Quit Nicotine Pouches?
You should quit nicotine pouches because long-term reliance, and abuse can cause nicotine dependence. Nicotine is a very addictive chemical and produces a number of adverse health effects like artery thinning, heart problems, substance abuse disorders, etc.
These effects can combine with other age-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol, IBS, etc to make the situation even worse. These effects are even more pronounced in mental health patients because of the stimulating and depressing effects of nicotine.
Using nicotine pouches during pregnancy can negatively impact the health of a child. Nicotine use can also exacerbate temporary or unforeseen medical circumstances like sudden gum damage, a broken tooth, etc.
What Will You Experience When Quitting Nicotine Pouches?
When you quit nicotine pouches, you'll experience a lot of short-term negative impacts on your mental health and functionality. These short-term effects can last for a few weeks and are caused by the bodies reliance on nicotine.
The long-term effects of quitting nicotine are all good because your body goes back to its default state. We'll discuss the details of how and when these different effects manifest:
Short-Term Effects of Nicotine Cessation
When you quit nicotine, your brain begins to free fall because of slumping dopamine levels. The longer you've been using nicotine, the more intense the free fall will be.
- Brain Fog
- Lower Motivation
- Reduced Focus
- Digestive Cycle Disruption
- Slumps in Mental States
Constant use of nicotine forces your brain to acclimate to new levels of stimulants and endorphins. When you pull away from nicotine, the endorphin levels drop back to the usual levels. However, your brain assumes its in a depressed state because the normal just isn't enough.
You feel more irritated, distressed, and anxious. From a more personal experience, you'll feel an urge to use pouches. There's this feeling of emptiness of under your gums that intensifies after every meal, start of a specific song, or whiff of coffee.
Long-Term Effects of Nicotine Cessation
As the nicotine and its byproducts leave your system, you'll slowly regain functionality. You'll feel more active, less foggy, and more energetic. Your sleep cycle will return to normal because nicotine disturbs your sleep rhythm with cravings.
Nicotine has a diet-suppressant effect, so you will feel hungry. You will most likely gain some good weight and muscle. This applies to quitting any sort of nicotine product, be it smokeless tobacco, lozenges, vapes, and other NRT options.
When you quit smoking or using oral nicotine pouches, you might also feel the color returning to your skin. Nicotine has an oxidative effect on skin, which bleaches it. When you quit nicotine, the grayish tint fades and you slowly regain that radiant youth.
How Long Does It Take to Quit Nicotine Pouches?
Quitting nicotine pouches can take anywhere from 1 to 6 months. The period depends on how long you've been using nicotine pouches and your consumption habits. Nicotine breaks down completely within your body within 3 days.
However, byproducts like cotinine can take up to a month to completely leave your system. During and after this period, your body craves another dose. You'll have to persevere for at least a few months to break free of the yoke.
Another important thing to remember is the mental barrier. Whole numbers and major events like the 3-month period, or an anniversary can leave users vulnerable. The time it takes to quit is subjective and it will test your mettle.
Complete Guide to Quit Nicotine Pouches
Understanding the process is important guarantee a clean break from nicotine pouches. We've explained all of the steps below for you:
1. Reduce Nicotine Intake
Quitting cold turkey is never a good idea because it doesn't work. Statistics have proven that most nicotine users who go cold turkey, relapse within 6 months. Instead of doing that use a surefire method like reducing intake gradually.
If you're using 8 pouches per day, reduce that to 6 pouches per day for a week. When you get acclimated to that figure, reduce the number again. When you reach four pouches, reduce the nicotine concentration instead of the number of pouches.
Here's a schedule of how this process works:
| Week | Nicotine Concentration | Nicotine Pouches Used Per Day |
| Week 1 | 20 Mg Per Pouch | 10 Nicotine Pouches Per Day |
| Week 2 | 20 Mg Per Pouch | 8 Nicotine Pouches Per Day |
| Week 3 | 20 Mg Per Pouch | 6 Nicotine Pouches Per Day |
| Week 4 | 20 Mg Per Pouch | 4 Nicotine Pouches Per Day |
| Week 5 | 15 Mg Per Pouch | 4 Nicotine Pouches Per Day |
| Week 6 | 10 Mg Per Pouch | 4 Nicotine Pouches Per Day |
| Week N | X Mg Per Pouch | 4 Nicotine Pouches Per Day |
The goal is to reduce nicotine intake as much as possible. By the end of it all, your intake should be minimal enough to quit completely. This method also applies to other forms of nicotine use like vaping, smoking, and dipping.
2. Change Consumption Habits
You must change your consumption habits to avoid relapses because your brain will be looking for excuses to go back. The goal is to change small things in your everyday life that could reinvigorate your urge to use a ZYN or any other nicotine pouch.
For example, most people use a nicotine pouch after their morning coffee. However, you can use a nicotine pouch after the coffee if it's not around. To achieve this, you could remove all the nicotine pouches from the kitchen and store them in a locked cupboard.
The extra hassle you'll have to go through to get a pouch will discourage your urges. You'll automatically stop craving nicotine less intensely. Don't follow the same patterns as before, no matter what!
3. Quit Completely
You should quit nicotine completely when you're past the 1-month mark or when you're using less than 10 mg of nicotine per day. To make the process easier, you can try using nicotine-free energy pouches as alternatives like VELO Zero.
These are innovative products with no nicotine powder or other derivatives. They only contain flavors and help people quit nicotine by curbing the oral fixations. Whenever you feel the urge to smoke or use a nicotine product, pop one under your upper lip and you're good to go.
After you stop using nicotine pouches, you'll have to double down on diet, exercise, and other lifestyle practices. In a briefer way, you have to remove every aspect of nicotine from your life, even the thought of using it.
Relapse Risks and Prevention
Nicotine addiction isn't a joke and we know you'll falter along the way. The cravings often combine with our sense of nostalgia and create a compulsion strong enough to forgo our goals. Please remember, we'll all human and this can happen to anyone.
It still doesn't mean you should give up. Instead, analyze what called that compulsion and eliminate it for your next run. One of the main reasons for relapse is stagnation or regression into older consumption or lifestyle habits.
We recommend joining a support group online or in your local community. Having the support and advice of other people with the same goals can make your journey much easier. A hard road is often much easier with company, so find the right groups.
There's a Subreddit titled r/quittingZYN, and you can find hundreds more on Facebook or other online forums. Listen to people who have been through the same situations, and you should be good.
Using Alternatives to Nicotine Pouches
If you want to quit nicotine pouches but find it too tedious, switch to another alternative. One alternative is nicotine gum, a chewing gum infused with nicotine that can keep your cravings miles away. Another alternative that you can try is a nicotine patch.
Patches are medicated NRT for all forms of nicotine and tobacco addictions. You can use them to quit pouches, chewing tobacco, dip, smoking, or vaping. In fact, most rehab doctors use nicotine patches to help long-time users quit their addiction.
Conclusion: Quit Nicotine Pouches Easily
Nicotine pouches are a great alternative to cigarettes, snus, and other forms of harmful tobacco. However, even nicotine pouches have their risks, like reliance on them can cause addiction and a crippled lifestyle. Sustained and excessively high levels of nicotine can cause mental and mood problems.
When you think your nicotine pouch consumption is becoming too much, it would be wise to call it quits. With the power of gradual reduction, you can quit ZYN and other nicotine pouches without experiencing the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
Find support groups, identify your dependency, and choose a course of action. The first step to quitting any addiction is understanding when you want to start. When you're done with the process, you'll be living a much healthier life, without any dependencies.
