Nicotine Pouches
phaidenbauer • 4 Jan 2026 •
I originally planned to get rid of these fucking nicotine pouches by the end of last year and the start of this year.
Well, I put the last one in beneath my lip yesterday around lunch, and by this morning I woke up with a craving I wasn’t expecting.
So I brushed my teeth, shaved, and into the car I went. I know I’m being an idiot following the cravings of an addiction, but it is an addiction nonetheless. I guess I have to reduce them more gradually instead of trying a cold withdrawal. My willpower just seems not to be enough to bear it through.
It’s crazy how much more the addiction is for them in contrast to the cigarillos I smoked or the cigars.
Back to square one, I guess.
Comments
What mg pouches are you using? Have you considered a step-down approach with patches?
@Winkletter Thanks for your advice!
@therealbrandonwilson Currently I’m on Fox Bubblegum, each pouch about 16 mg. I don’t really taste the bubble gum anymore. I tried reducing it to smaller pouches, but somehow they don’t give off the same “vibe” 🙈. I take about 6 to 8 of them per day, depending on the stress level (there is definitely a correlation there).
So the amount of nicotine isn’t even that high compared to a cigar, which averages out around 250 mg or so, but I guess it’s linked to the way faster absorption through the membranes.
My idea now is to get down to 4 at max. We’ll see how that goes.
Wow, 6 mg is more than enough for me, and I usually do 3 mg. By the way, even though the tobacco in cigars contains a substantial amount of nicotine, you only absorb about 1-4 mg. You are getting way more in the pouches. https://cigarcountry.com/blog/how-much-nicotine-is-in-a-cigar/
My advice as a former smoker is to not beat yourself up. It’s like a puzzle room where you have to go through lots of little trials to escape. Addiction literally rewires your brain. I can remember walking through snowstorms to buy a pack of cigarettes. I’d get home, satisfy the craving, and then crush the rest of the pack up. Two or three days later I would do it again. Eventually, though, I stopped buying cigarettes during my usual grocery shopping, and the resistance of going back to the store won out.
It might help to kill the part of your brain that is worried about wasting money and time. Destroy your stash as often as necessary. Force yourself to make the trek out to the store every time the craving overwhelms you.