NZ Herald: Smokers back new tobacco pouch to help quit the habit

Martin Johnston writes in the New Zealand Herald that smokers are finding a pouch-based quitting system helpful, according to New Zealand research.

The system, in which smokers put a pouch containing nicotine in their mouths – between cheek and gum – has been found to be a popular choice compared with gum and other therapies.

An excerpt: (read in full here)

“Most people in the Wellington-based study reported a strong desire to use the oral sachets to quit smoking, lead researcher Dr Brent Caldwell and colleagues said in their journal paper.

“”[They] preferred snus and Zonnic, which both had significantly fewer gastrointestinal side-effects than gum and resulted in greater reductions in smoking,” Dr Caldwell said. “[Zonnic and snus] look like attractive and effective options to help smokers reduce smoking or quit as they’re easy to take, people like the impact and they suppress withdrawal symptoms.”

“He said nicotine, when divorced from the harmful parts of cigarette smoke, was a relatively safe product. And unlike some chewing tobacco products, snus was not associated with an increased rate of mouth cancer.”