The Best Place to Wear Your Nicotine Pouch, Upper Lip or Between the Cheek and Gums?

Introduction and How to Use Your Nicotine Pouch

Welcome to the world of nicotine pouches – or perhaps you’re already familiar with these neat, convenient and discreet sachets of magic?  Whether you’re new to smokeless alternatives for adults, or you’re a seasoned nicotine pouch enthusiast, this piece will give you some insight into how to get the most out of your pouch.  Particularly on wear to wear yours to experience a heightened reaction and which method is best.  There are a couple of tried and tested methods that work well for our customers, but first, let’s talk about what nicotine pouches are and how to use them.

What Are Nicotine Pouches?

Smokeless alternatives for adults are fast becoming the number one category in the tobacco and tobaccoless industries.  Firstly, nicotine pouches are exactly as they sound – little sachets of nicotine blended with other ingredients.  Secondly, they don’t contain any tobacco at all – removing the risk of tobacco-related cancers usually derived from smoking cigarettes (but prevalent in other tobacco use too).  Thirdly, nicotine pouches do not combust, eliminating fumes, harmful to non-smokers inhaling second-hand smoke, dangerous for smokers, especially to the cardiovascular and respiratory system and playing havoc with the environment by releasing poisonous substances into the air, adding to pollution problems.  Those are some of the (many benefits) of using nicotine pouches – but let’s not forget that smoking, and vaping too, are both banned from so many public places now – indoors and outdoors.  The real beauty of nicotine pouches is that you get all of the pleasure of smoking cigarettes (and much more), and you can use these sachets anywhere, at any time, without impacting others.

What’s In Nicotine Pouches?

Nicotine pouches consist of a small, highly perforated sachet that’s made of a cellulose matrix blend consisting of plant-based fibers, synthetic nicotine, flavorings, sweetener and water.  Synthetic nicotine is better than natural nicotine because it doesn’t contain any agricultural byproducts such as pesticides. There are plenty of different strengths of nicotine to choose from, so novice users should begin with a low dose (1.5 mg to 3 mg) whereas those used to nicotine, should choose a higher dose (6 mg +).  Not to be confused with Snus, nicotine pouches don’t contain any tobacco at all, making them a safer and healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes, vaping, chewing tobacco or using Snus.

How Do You Use Nicotine Pouches?

Nicotine pouches are easy to use.  You pop open your can and take out one, single sachet.  Then, you roll it around very gently between your thumb and forefinger to loosen up the contents.  This helps to release the flavor and nicotine.  Next, you slip the pouch into your mouth, as it’s designed for oral use (but must never be swallowed).  Place the pouch either behind the top lip, slightly angled away from the front teeth OR there’s another area in the mouth perfectly suitable.  That’s between the cheek and gums.  Once the nicotine pouch is in position, it begins to release its power and within a few moments, you’ll feel a real rush, of nicotine and flavor combined.  That rush creates a fabulous sensation of tingling combined with a small high.  Some people feel it all over their body!  Others experience a pleasing head rush and feelings of happiness, relaxation, or a burst of energy!  However you feel yours – that feeling keeps on going and depending on the strength you choose, you might get a kick that lasts up to two hours!

Remove your nicotine pouch any time between ten and 30 minutes and dispose of it carefully (there’s a little compartment underneath the lid of the can designed for used nicotine pouches).

Which position is best for nicotine pouches – let’s see….

The Upper Lip

Where you place your nicotine pouch is entirely down to personal preference.  We surveyed some of our top customers to find out about their usage.  When asked, around 65% told us that they prefer to place their nicotine pouches tucked behind their top lip.  This is because in this position, you don’t get as much saliva creation – and supposedly you experience a heightened hit of nicotine, with a consistent release of flavor too.  The upper lip is fairly comfortable as well and as nicotine pouches are very small, they aren’t noticeable in this position.  However, some people simply prefer to place them between their gum and cheek and we’ll go into why next.

The Cheek and Gum Area

You still get all the pleasure of a nicotine pouch when you place one between your gum and cheek area – and the nicotine and flavorings will still seep into your mouth, creating that remarkable feeling that only nicotine pouches can deliver!  You might find this a better place to put your pouch when in company as it’s less likely to move than when it’s tucked behind your top lip.  We’d suggest trying both (and alternating as well, so as not to put pressure on one area again and again), to decide which works for you.

The Lower Lip

There’s a third place that’s not as popular but it is still a suitable area for a nicotine pouch and that’s tucked behind the lower lip.  However, while the nicotine and flavorings still release with as much gusto as the other two areas, this place tends to be harder because the lower lip doesn’t sit as firmly against the teeth, so the sachet can move around somewhat.  The problem with this area is because of that sachet movement, there’s more likelihood of swallowing the pouch – which is not recommended.  Furthermore, the lower lip tends to be “messier” in that there’s more saliva production, and no one wants to be spitting saliva out in public!  One distinct advantage to the lower lip is faster release of nicotine.

A Brief Breakdown of the Three Areas

We’ve broken the topic down into easy-to-digest bullet points:

The Top Lip

• • Cleaner, less saliva

• • Comfortable

• • Difficult to swallow in error

• • Consistent nicotine release

The Lower Lip

• • More saliva production

• • Could cause irritation

• • More risk of swallowing a pouch in error

• • Can move around more than in other positions

• • Faster hit of nicotine

Cheek and Gums

• • The most secure position

• • Not as messy as the lower lip

• • Less risk of swallowing a pouch

• • Good release of nicotine and flavorings

• • Generally comfortable

If you asked us our own opinion, we advise trying all the areas to find the one that suits you best. However, we prefer placing ours behind our top lip because we prefer this position for nicotine release, comfort and it eliminates the risk of swallowing accidentally!  If you want to keep your nicotine pouch use to yourself, then you’ll need discretion. The cheek and gum area will probably work best for you then, as sometimes, there’s a slight bulge behind your top lip, whereas the cheek area is more bulbous, disguising using a nicotine pouch.

What About “Drip?”

You may have heard the term “drip” used amongst nicotine pouch devotees.  This is a term that relates to production of excessive saliva, which sometimes happens when using nicotine pouches.  It can be minimized by choosing extra dry nicotine pouches and most brands produce what they call “dry” pouches.  Try Velo, LOOP, Volt or Zyn for their Mini Dry nicotine pouches to avoid too much saliva production.  The top lip is good for reducing saliva production too, and it’s a less messy experience!

Top Tips for Using Nicotine Pouches to Your Best Advantage

To round up all the information above, we’ve compiled a short list of our top tips to get the best out of your nicotine pouches.

1. Choose a “dry” pouch if you don’t want drip (excess saliva).
2. Choose a slim pouch if you don’t want bulge or you prefer discretion.
3. Always lightly massage your pouch before use to loosen up the contents so you get a consistent hit of flavors and nicotine.
4. Never chew your pouch (or swallow it!).
5. Don’t eat or drink while using a pouch, this will interfere with the flavor, could make your pouch soggy and you’ll create more saliva.  You also run the risk of swallowing your pouch accidentally.
6. Choose the right amount of nicotine for your needs, go low if you’re new to the world of nicotine pouches, or choose a higher dose of 6 mg, 9 mg or even 15 mg if you’re a smoker looking to quit, or you’re used to the sensation of nicotine.
7. Never use an out-of-date nicotine pouch.  If in doubt, don’t use anything you’ve had for over a year, a stale nicotine pouch won’t taste very nice!
8. Switch out your position regularly to avoid putting pressure on one area as you could cause inflammation which can lead to gingivitis (gum recession).
9. When placing your nicotine pouch, don’t put it too close to your wisdom teeth (or back teeth if you’ve had your wisdom teeth removed), this will create a lot of saliva! 
10. Rinse your mouth out after use with water, drink a glass of water or brush your teeth to get rid of any traces of nicotine.
11. Finally, never exceed 8 pouches a day – too much nicotine can lead to nicotine poisoning.
12. Dispose of your nicotine pouch responsibly because these sachets do contain a potent substance.  Either wrap in a tissue and place in the trash or dispose of by placing your used pouch in the compartment behind the lid of your can. 

To Wrap It Up

There is no “best” place to position your nicotine pouch but there are preferred places, depending on the user.  We suggest trying different areas to see which works for you.  You might find that when you’re with other people, you use your cheek area to avoid dislodging your pouch and when you’re on your own, you use your top lip area – it is entirely personal.  Whichever place you use, choosing quality nicotine pouches from our inventory will always give you a superb experience! 

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few FAQs that we’ve compiled from our customers – if there’s anything else you’d like answers to, you can contact our customer services team for assistance.