Nicotine pouches vs snus: the difference

It comes down to what is inside. Here is what FDA's pages say about each:

FDA says nicotine pouches contain nicotine "in the form of either nicotine powder or nicotine salts," and the nicotine can be extracted from tobacco leaf or made without tobacco. Other ingredients can include fillers such as microcrystalline cellulose, sweeteners such as xylitol or maltitol, flavors and preservatives.

The key line from FDA: "they do not contain cut, ground, powdered, or leaf tobacco itself." For more, see what are nicotine pouches.

Snus is an oral tobacco product. FDA's tobacco product pages group it with smokeless tobacco products, alongside dip, snuff and chewing tobacco, which means it is made with tobacco itself.

PouchSelect's shelf is nicotine pouches (ZYN, VELO and Pablo), so we don't go into snus products in more detail here.

Both are tobacco products. The federal minimum age to buy any tobacco product has been 21 since the law was signed on December 20, 2019, and FDA says that covers "a tobacco product containing nicotine from any source, including non-tobacco nicotine."

Nicotine pouches made with synthetic nicotine are covered too: since April 14, 2022 they are regulated as tobacco products and need FDA authorization to be marketed. FDA also publishes a list of authorized nicotine pouch products.

No. Nicotine pouches still contain nicotine and are still tobacco products. FDA states: "All tobacco products are harmful and potentially addictive."

WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.