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Young men lead rise in nicotine pouch use
A study from UCL has found that the increased use of nicotine pouches in Great Britain is being driven mainly by young men. Around 7.5% of men aged 16 to 24 report using the products, compared with 1.9% of women in the same age group and about 1% of adults overall. The research estimates that roughly 500,000 people now use nicotine pouches, with nearly three-quarters of current users being male, and around half under 25.
Use among young people has risen, from under 1% of both young men and women in 2022 to around 4% by March 2025, while adult use has remained low and largely unchanged. Most pouch users also smoke or vape, and the study found that about 6.5% of attempts to quit smoking in 2025 involved nicotine pouches. Dr Harry Tattan-Birch, UCL researcher, links the growth in pouch use to marketing that disproportionately reaches young men, including sponsorships and social media influencers.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban sales to under-18s and tighten marketing rules. Dr Tattan-Birch stresses that balance is needed, and regulation should curb youth uptake without “making pouches so restricted” that adults go towards using cigarettes, which are more harmful.
Source: BBC News, 17 December 2025
See also: Harry Tattan-Birch et al. Oral nicotine pouch use in Great Britain: a repeat cross-sectional study, 2020-25. Lancet Public Health. December 2025 | ASH- Nicotine pouches
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Epping Forest MP backs youth-led research highlighting the harms of vaping
The MP for Epping Forest, Dr Neil Hudson, has publicly endorsed a youth-led report examining vaping among young people in the district, praising its depth, clarity and relevance. Produced by the Epping Forest Youth Council, the study drew on responses from nearly 3,000 pupils aged between 12 and 18.
The MP commended the young researchers for presenting clear evidence on the health, environmental and social impacts of vaping. He also highlighted concerns raised in the report about the litter of vapes, including the scale of waste they create, and the risks discarded devices pose to wildlife and pets.
Source: Epping Forest Guardian, 16 December 2025
See also: ASH - Use of vapes (e-cigarettes) among young people in Great Britain
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EU governments explore curbs on cross-border purchases of tobacco and alcohol
Several EU member states are considering tougher limits on how much tobacco individuals can import. The idea has emerged during negotiations on revising EU tobacco tax rules, where disagreements persist between countries favouring higher duties and those opposed to tax rises.
Denmark has put forward a compromise that would combine more modest tax increases with stricter caps on personal imports within the single market. The proposal aims to reduce cross-border shopping, which allows consumers to avoid high domestic prices by buying cheaper tobacco in neighbouring countries, weakening national anti-smoking strategies.
A group of countries including France and Germany has signalled openness to revisiting existing import thresholds, which currently allow relatively large quantities of cigarettes for personal use. Some governments want any changes to apply not only to cigarettes and newer tobacco products, but also to alcohol, where permitted cross-border volumes are even higher. The European Commission, however, has shown reluctance to fold these changes into the ongoing tax reform talks.
Source: Euractiv, 17 December 2025
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Comment: How junk food companies are being likened to the tobacco industry
Writing in The Atlantic, Nicholas Florko comments on the comparison between junk food companies and the tobacco industry. Florko highlights the lawsuit filed by San Francisco which argues that major food manufacturers have adopted tactics once used by cigarette companies, accusing them of designing highly appealing processed foods while obscuring their health risks. Robert Lustig, a professor of paediatrics at UC San Francisco, argues that junk food companies are aware of the risks associated with their food, but carry on as they are, much like tobacco companies.
Florko highlights that Coca-Cola, for example, has previously funded a research group that emphasised physical activity over diet in discussions of obesity, reportedly to shift attention away from the risks related to their products. However, Marion Nestle, professor at New York University, counters that food is inherently more complex than tobacco since research is still limited on what ultra-processed food is defined as, whereas the harms of cigarettes are well known.
Florko explains that this debate highlights both the appeal and the limits of comparing Big Food to Big Tobacco. While the analogy draws attention to diet-related illness and corporate influence, it also exposes how much harder food policy is to reform. Florko contends that unlike smoking, eating cannot be reduced to a single behaviour to avoid, and heavily processed products dominate everyday diets. Florko identifies that attempts by some cities to introduce a tax on soft drinks have failed and argues that transforming eating habits will be far more challenging than curbing cigarette use.
Source: The Atlantic, 16 December 2025
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US study finds young adults increasingly use cannabis alongside nicotine and tobacco
Research from Columbia University finds that co-use of cannabis with nicotine and tobacco is common among young adults. The researchers analysed data from 372 adults in New York, with data collected at 3 time points between 2021 and 2024. 34% reported using both cannabis and nicotine products at the visit 1, while 4% used only cannabis and 35% used only e-cigarettes. By the second visit, 29% had vaped cannabis, 28% had smoked it, and dual use with nicotine remained widespread. The findings highlight that combining cannabis with nicotine is a persistent trend.
Source: News Medical Life Sciences, 16 December 2025
Editorial note: This article is based on an unpublished study.
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Written answers
Asked by Lord Kamall, Conservative
To ask His Majesty's Government what advice the Attorney General provided about the proportionality and applicability to Northern Ireland under World Trade Organization rules of the generational smoking ban in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and the likelihood of a legal challenge at the World Trade Organization.
Answered by Lord Hermer, Attorney General, Labour
The Law Officers sit on the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee. As part of the process of approving a government Bill for introduction, as set out in the published Guide to Making Legislation, a legal issues memorandum is prepared for this Committee. This will set out all relevant legal issues.
Whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice outside of the PBL process is covered by the Law Officers’ Convention. This Convention provides that whether or not the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.
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Asked by Lord Kamall, Conservative
To ask His Majesty's Government what advice the Attorney General provided about the legality and applicability to Northern Ireland of the generational smoking ban in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and the compatibility of that ban with the Windsor Framework.
Answered by Lord Hermer, Attorney General, Labour
The Law Officers sit on the Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee. As part of the process of approving a government Bill for introduction, as set out in the published Guide to Making Legislation, a legal issues memorandum is prepared for this Committee. This will set out all relevant legal issues.
Whether the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice outside of the PBL process is covered by the Law Officers’ Convention. This Convention provides that whether or not the Law Officers have been asked to provide advice, and the contents of any such advice, is not disclosed outside Government.
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ASH Daily News is a digest of published news on smoking-related topics. ASH is not responsible for the content of external websites. ASH does not necessarily endorse the material contained in this bulletin.
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