Oral nicotine pouches have arrived at U.S. college campuses
<b>Objective:</b> Examine trends in the prevalence of oral nicotine pouch (ONP) use among U.S. college students. <b>Participants:</b> During the Spring 2025 semester (January-early May), we enrolled 578 undergraduate and 888 graduate students from a large Midwestern University. <b>Methods:</b> Students completed an online survey assessing ONP use and their reasons for use/nonuse. Their history of using other substances and sociodemographic characteristics were also assessed. <b>Results:</b> For the undergraduate and graduate samples, ever use of ONPs was 15.4% and 11.4%, respectively; monthly use was 2.9% and 2.5%, respectively. Prevalence was elevated in particular subgroups, such as undergraduate students who were members of a fraternity (41.2% ever ONP use). For both samples, the most commonly cited reason for ONP use was "I like the buzz." <b>Conclusions:</b> ONPs have become popular on U.S. college campuses. This trend has implications for nicotine addiction and underscores the need for further research and attention from public health.
Authors
- Brittney Keller‐Hamilton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8574-7263)
- Megan E. Roberts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4743-2145)
- Amy K. Ferketich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8390-8679)
- Tong Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2213-1015)
Institutions
- The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center (US)
- The Ohio State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Journal of American College Health
- Published
- 2025-10-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2025.2552837
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.33