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USA Today
3 days ago
- Health
- USA Today
Young kids, babies are getting into nicotine pouches. What parents should know.
Poison control centers are sounding the alarm on nicotine pouches as cases of young children accidentally ingesting them surge around the country. The warning comes amid new research showing calls that involved children under 6 increased by 763% from 2020 to 2023, according to the study published July 14 in the journal Pediatrics. The steep increase in calls to poison control centers is partly due to the rising popularity of nicotine pouches, said Natalie Rine, study co-author and director of the Central Ohio Poison Center. Children were also home more during this period as the pandemic prompted stay-at-home orders, which gave them more access to nicotine products stored in the house. 'The popularity of these products started in 2019,' she said. 'There was a large increase in sales between 2019 and 2022… and we started getting calls more frequently.' Nicotine pouches, sometimes referred to as "lip pillow" or "upper decker," are small microfiber pouches containing nicotine powder. Here's what parents should know about keeping their kids safe from nicotine pouches. 'Nicotine hiccups': What are they and why do they happen? How is nicotine dangerous to kids? Nicotine pouches were 1.5 times more likely to be associated with a serious medical outcome and twice as likely to be associated with a medical admission compared to any other nicotine product included in the study, such as cigarettes or liquid nicotine. Nicotine is a highly toxic substance to young children, especially in a concentrated form like a nicotine pouch, according to Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. FDA seeks to limit nicotine in cigarettes, most cigars. Vapes and Zyn are excluded. After ingestion, some minor symptoms can include nausea and vomiting, Rine said. But as the dose increases, children can experience high blood pressure and a fast heart rate, which can escalate to seizures and respiratory failure. Among the 135,000 calls made to poison control centers between 2010 and 2023, study authors found that nicotine was linked to two deaths in children under 6. How to prevent an emergency The best way to prevent a child from ingesting a nicotine pouch is to keep products out of the house, Rine said. If parents or guardians choose to keep nicotine products at home, she recommends they take the following precautions: What to do if your kid swallows a nicotine pouch If a child is experiencing a medical emergency, Rine urges parents to call 911. If they're showing mild symptoms, she recommends calling the national Poison Help Line to access free, confidential expert advice from specially trained nurses and pharmacists. 'We're always there to help talk you through what symptoms you're seeing with the child, based on the history that's given,' Rine said. She warns against trying to induce vomiting, as that can lead to a secondary problem if fluid enters the lungs. 'Inducing vomiting is one of the bigger misconceptions that's out there,' Rine said. 'More often than not, you have the potential to cause more of a problem than what you're already dealing with.' Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@
CNN
3 days ago
- Health
- CNN
As nicotine pouches' popularity soars, they're also responsible for more poisonings in young kids, study finds
Nicotine pouches are a fast-growing source of nicotine poisoning in young children, according to a new study. Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Ohio analyzed more than a decade's worth of data, examining over 134,000 cases of children under 6 who accidentally ingested nicotine through products like vapes, gums, and lozenges. Most types of exposures fell after 2016. But one delivery method — nicotine pouches — shot up, rising more than 760% between 2020 and 2023. 'It's a high-concentration nicotine product, and it tastes good,' said Dr. Natalie Rine, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center at Nationwide Children's Hospital and co-author of the study, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. 'There's nothing telling the kid, 'this is bad, you should spit it out' … and that's where you get into trouble.' The miniature white packets that users tuck between their lip and gum hit US shelves in 2014. They don't contain tobacco but are instead filled with nicotine, either synthetically or naturally derived, along with flavorings and sweeteners. The discreet, sweet and smokeless nature of nicotine pouches has raised concerns among public health advocates, who are closely watching their rising popularity among teens and young adults. They've become the second most-used nicotine product among young people, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Youth Tobacco Survey found that nicotine pouch use among teens doubled between 2021 and 2024. Still, the overall user base remains small. Just 0.5% of Americans use nicotine pouches, compared with 9% who smoke cigarettes and 3% who vape or use e-cigarettes, according to US Census Bureau data. Levels of nicotine in pouches can vary from 3 to 12 milligrams per pouch. At their lowest doses, they deliver more of the stimulant than a cigarette, and even small amounts of nicotine can be dangerous for small children. Ingesting just 1 to 2 milligrams — less than what's inside a single regular-strength pouch — can cause nausea, vomiting and tremors, among other serious symptoms, according to the National Library of Medicine. The study found that nicotine pouches were associated with a 150% greater risk of serious medical effects and were twice as likely to lead to hospitalization than other smokeless nicotine products swallowed by children, like gums, lozenges, e-liquids, tablets and powders. Although the vast majority of pediatric nicotine ingestions resulted in little to no harm, more than 1,600 children had serious medical outcomes, the study found. Two children died after ingesting liquid nicotine. Rine recommends that parents avoid using nicotine pouches in front of children to keep them from imitating potentially risky adult behaviors. She also suggests keeping nicotine products physically out of kids' reach and to have conversations with other caretakers, like babysitters and extended family, about doing the same. If a child may have ingested a nicotine pouch, Rine says, the best first step is to call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Trained staff can guide caregivers based on a child's symptoms and help them decide if emergency care is needed.
