Duke researchers recently found that oral nicotine pouches (ONPs) contain large levels of artificial sweeteners that significantly enhance their appeal and consumption rates, especially among young people.
The study, co-authored by Sairam Jabba, senior research scientist at the Duke School of Medicine, and Sven-Eric Jordt, associate professor in anesthesiology at the School of Medicine, found that popular ONPs like Zyn and On! contained high levels of sugars, even in products marketed as “unflavored.”
Jabba noted that people are conditioned at an early age to find sweeteners and flavors appealing, as they make bitter substances like medicines more palatable. Thus, adding them to ONPs can make the product more appealing to young users.
“You have to add things that would make it [easier] on the user … especially for younger people who want to initiate on these [nicotine] products,” he said. “It has to be more appealing for them.”
The study was conducted using two main methods: chemical analysis and behavioral experiments on mice.
Through chemical analysis of product extracts, the researchers found that popular nicotine varieties added two artificial sweeteners, acesulfame-K and sucrose, which are commonly found in many beverages.
Researchers then conducted an experiment using mice to determine whether sweeteners influenced their preference for ONPs. The researchers genetically deleted mouse taste receptors responsible for detecting sweetness and gave these “transgenic mice” nicotine product extracts.
Comparing these mice to their wild-type counterparts, the team found that those unable to taste sweetness consumed less of the pouch extract. According to Jordt, the sweetener enabled the mice to “overcome the aversion” to nicotine.
“Sweetness is a very powerful kind of conditioner. If you associate a certain flavor with also being sweet, then that's something we're programmed to crave, and we expect a nutritive reward,” he said.
The study highlighted that many nicotine products consumed by the public were branded as unflavored, despite containing multiple sweeteners. The researchers also noted that major tobacco companies deliberately adjust their sweetener content in smokeless products, with Jabba describing oral nicotine pouches as packets of nicotine enhanced with small amounts of high-intensity artificial sweeteners “200 to 700 times sweeter than table sugar.”
Jordt explained that the increased sweetness of nicotine products follows a trend seen across the food industry, which he referred to as a “like an arms race.”
According to Jordt, the tobacco industry has taken advantage of the lack of legal provisions surrounding ONPs.
“[These companies] find some kind of a legal loophole that's, in effect, quite unscientific, but it's written into the law,” he said. “So then we [need] the laws to be updated to reflect the most current science.”
Jordt hopes that his findings will help drive policy changes aimed at better regulation of nicotine products “to make these products less attractive to children.” He suggested that the Food and Drug Administration investigate ONPs to potentially limit or ban their use.
“These products should be for adults, preferably for adults who want to quit smoking,” Jordt said.
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Srilakshmi Venkatesan is a Trinity first-year and a staff reporter for the news department.