With the popularity of nicotine pouches (U.S. sales soaring by more than 600% between 2019 and 2022) as smoke epidemics grow, new research suggests that the flavors used in these products may fuel a significant difference in addiction patterns between men and women.
A study published today Oxford University Press reveals how sweeteners and flavor additives are attractive to users in determining how nicotine products are to their users, how these flavors affect consumption patterns, and the gender differences are surprising.
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine conducted experiments on rats to study how different flavoring agents affect nicotine consumption behavior. Their findings can help explain why certain flavored nicotine products have gained this appeal, especially among young consumers who may underestimate their addictive potential.
“The study examined the Yale School of Medicine’s lead author Deniz Bagdas said. “Female rats showed the highest preference for nicotine when used in combination with sweeteners, while males showed the highest preference for nicotine when used in combination with cinnamon.”
This gender distinction proved consistent throughout the study: female rats consume more nicotine when combined with sucrose or saccharin (such as sucrose or saccharin), while male rats exhibited a stronger preference for nicotine with cinnamon flavoring (cinnamaldehyde).
The timing of this study is particularly important, as oral nicotine products have become a major shift in people’s consumption of nicotine. These products, including gums, pouches, and other new formats, are increasingly seen as alternatives to traditional tobacco products such as cigarettes.
According to the World Health Organization, tobacco use remains a major global health threat, with 1.3 billion users worldwide and about 8 million tobacco-related deaths each year. Although smoking remains the most common form of tobacco use, alternative nicotine delivery systems are rapidly gaining market share.
The method of the study involved four-vial selection tests in adult Sprague-Dawley rats in both sexes. The researchers first determined that rats can distinguish between sweet and bitter taste, thus confirming their ability to detect flavor differences. They then performed dose-response analysis with various concentrations of sucrose, saccharin and cinnamaldehyde compared to pure water.
In the final stage, the researchers tested how these various flavor additives affected rats’ preference for water containing nicotine, 10 micrograms per milliliter.
The results were surprising: both male and female rats significantly preferred solutions containing sucrose (1%) and saccharin (0.1% and 0.32%), but there was no particular preference for solutions flavored with cinnamaldehyde alone. However, when nicotine is added to the mixture, the gender difference occurs significantly.
These laboratories find similarities to what some public health experts have observed in human consumption patterns. A recent U.S. National Online Survey highlights the strong preference for nicotine products by young consumers, who may consider nicotine pouches less addictive due to their inflammable form and youth-oriented marketing.
The appeal of flavored nicotine products seems to exceed simple taste preferences. According to previous studies cited in the study, although tastes do not significantly affect the body’s absorption of nicotine, they can greatly affect user satisfaction and increase the likelihood of continuing use.
For those who are concerned about the use of nicotine bags, especially among young people, this study provides valuable insights into how product formulas drive addiction. The differential response to sweeteners vs. flavor additives suggests that blanket methods that regulate these products may miss important nuances of appeal to different users.
The study also noted that “interest in the use of nicotine pouches among adult smokers who plan to quit”. This highlights the complex public health calculations surrounding these products, which may simultaneously serve as a smoking cessation aid for some products, while potentially introducing nicotine addiction to others.
From a regulatory perspective, research shows the need for evidence-based guidelines that consider how different additives enhance product appeal and may influence addiction patterns. As the market for oral nicotine products continues to expand, the impact on public health remains a moving target as the flavor profile and nicotine concentrations grow.
Researchers suggest that understanding these preference patterns can help develop more targeted harm reduction strategies and inform regulatory policies for oral nicotine products. By determining which additives can enhance the attractiveness of the product to different populations, this study may ultimately help create safer formulas to meet the need to use these products as stop-up aids without creating inappropriate attractiveness to new users.
As lawmakers and health officials continue to struggle with the rapid development of the nicotine product landscape, such research provides key data points to understand not only what people consume but why some products are less attractive to some users and nothing to others.
For parents and health educators focusing on youth nicotine use, these findings remind people that the dominant sweet, candy-like flavors may not only mask the bitter taste of nicotine, but also actively shape consumption and addiction patterns that we begin to understand.
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