Young Danes sleep with nicotine pouches under their lips but avoid municipal quit programs

A growing number of young Danes use smoke-free nicotine products, with around 80 percent reporting they feel addicted, yet few seek help from local quit programs, a new study reveals.

Some 160,000 people aged 15 to 29 regularly or occasionally use nicotine pouches or snus, according to a survey by the National Institute of Public Health, DR reports. Nearly 80 percent of users say they feel dependent, and among daily users, 77 percent express a desire to quit.

Despite this, municipal quit programs see little engagement from young users. Peter Vestergaard, who runs nicotine cessation efforts in Vejle Municipality, notes that few young people join their courses.

“They don’t come to our sessions,” he says. “They haven’t yet felt the consequences, and most believe they can quit on their own.”

Charlotta Pisinger, a professor of tobacco and nicotine prevention at the University of Southern Denmark, argues that traditional quit programs—designed for adult smokers—fail to meet young users’ needs. Many young people, she says, develop severe dependencies, such as sleeping with nicotine pouches under their lips.

“We need entirely new approaches tailored to young people and smoke-free products,” Pisinger explains. She leads U-Niko, a national research project developing youth-focused quit methods, set to conclude in 2027.

The initiative shifts support from municipal buildings to schools, emphasizing peer experiences over traditional instruction. In Vejle, advisors visited classrooms, resulting in about 30 young people signing up for counseling—either in groups or individually.

“Just getting them to join was a success,” Vestergaard says. “Recruiting for these programs is extremely difficult.”