Music festivals have always been a place where tobacco cigarette smoking is prevalent. However, in recent years a new nicotine product has been gaining popularity at festivals – the nicotine pouch. These smokeless, spitless pouches are becoming an increasingly common sight at events like Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Bonnaroo.
What are Nicotine Pouches?
Nicotine pouches like Velo Pouches are small, tobacco-free pouches that contain nicotine, flavours, and other ingredients. They come in different flavours like mint, fruit, and cinnamon. The pouches are placed between the lip and gum to allow the nicotine to absorb into the body. Unlike chewing tobacco, nicotine pouches don’t require spitting.
Nicotine Content in Pouches
The nicotine content in pouches ranges from about 3mg to 20mg per pouch, depending on the brand. This allows users to control their nicotine intake. In comparison, a cigarette has about 10mg of nicotine while a Juul pod can have 40mg per pod. So, nicotine pouches deliver less nicotine at once than traditional tobacco products.
Discreet, Smokeless Usage
At crowded festivals, nicotine pouches offer a more discreet way of getting a nicotine buzz compared to smoking cigarettes or vaping. The small pouches tuck discreetly under the lip and don’t produce smoke or require spitting. This allows users to take in nicotine without drawing attention.
Since many festivals have banned cigarette smoking in certain areas, nicotine pouches provide an easy way to use nicotine without having to leave the crowds.
Appealing to Younger Crowds
Nicotine pouches seem uniquely positioned to appeal to Gen Z crowds at festivals. With fun flavours and easy usage, nicotine pouches align with Gen Z preferences. In 2019, tobacco giant Altria, maker of Marlboro cigarettes, spent $372 million to acquire an 80% stake in a Swiss tobacco company that included the nicotine pouch brand, ‘On!’.
While cigarette smoking rates have dropped among younger people, nicotine pouch usage is on the rise.
More Acceptable Than Cigarettes?
While cigarette smoking has become less acceptable in public spaces, nicotine pouches are still new and fly under the radar. They don’t produce offensive second-hand smoke. Anecdotal reports from festivals say people are surprised when they ask to bum a pouch and learn it contains nicotine.
Time will tell whether public perception around using nicotine pouches changes as the products become mainstream. For now, they offer cigarette smokers a more acceptable way to get nicotine at smoke-free festivals.
Nicotine Pouches Are Readily Available
It is very easy to buy nicotine pouches online, and there is a huge range of different brands and flavours on offer. Some of the most popular brands include VELO, KLINT, NOIS, XQS, and 77, but there are many more besides. Why not try a few next time you attend a music festival?
Nicotine pouches have rapidly established themselves as a popular nicotine delivery method at music festivals. Their discreet nature and appeal among youth has fuelled this growth. For avid festival goers who want the convenience of a discreet nicotine product, pouches are the way forward.
