Last month, I told my 17-year-old son James, “Give me some; I’ll try it too.”
I took a snus (a tobacco pouch) from a small tin.
We both did it at the same time after he told me, “You put it on your gums, under your lip.”
James turned white as a sheet in an instant and had to sit down.
He quickly locked himself in the bathroom with his head bowed because he was sure he had to throw up.
After a few minutes, I was still feeling sick and dizzy.
I had never heard of snus before, but now I do.
If you’re a parent, you should also learn about it.
Some schools have had to send warnings to parents because they are worried about how much their kids are using it.
The word “snus” is used for two different things, which is confusing.
The first is a type of smokeless tobacco that is popular in Nordic countries.
It is used by putting some of the substance or a paper bag that dissolves in your mouth.
James and I did not use this method. In the UK, you can’t buy or sell this.
But there are also nicotine pouches that can be used in the same way but don’t have any tobacco in them.
People who use them call them “snus,” even though they are different.
There is a legal loophole that lets these be sold to people under the age of 18.
Some goods even say they are 18+.
This means they are becoming a popular way for young vapers to get nicotine, even though ministers want to make it illegal for teens and young adults to use them.
A vaper named James told me about snus on social media.
It’s becoming more and more popular among professional footballers—one in five of them use snus, nicotine pouches, or both.
Nearly half of them want to stop using the items.
When James first told me about snus, I thought he meant “snuff,” which I remember was a popular way for older guys to smoke in the 1980s.
He explained it better and claimed it was better than continuing to vape.
I told him I didn’t think the product existed.
Soon, though, he bought some from eBay, which is when I decided to give it a try too.
No, I don’t usually use harmful drugs with my kids—far from it.
But we are open and honest with each other, and I don’t worry much about James’s or my 18-year-old son Charlie’s behavior.
But both of them vape, and I’ve been hooked on nicotine since I was 16, and I smoked for years before I switched to vapes, so I don’t really feel like I can tell them not to.
I wanted James to try it with me to see if it was safe for him, so I could connect to him if I didn’t agree with him, and so he wouldn’t keep his nicotine habits a secret from me.
It doesn’t make sense for me to deny that my kids use vapes or other products, but I do want to make sure they know everything they need to know and are as safe as possible.
Even though I tell my kids not to buy disposables, they still do it.
And it’s not just our family.
Every kid we know vapes, and I know it’s a big problem in schools, where one doctor thinks vaping could be used by as many as 15% of students.
There are many reasons why kids try different nicotine products, but I think TikTok is to blame for my family trying snus.
James saw a few videos of other people using the products.
I really thought it was just another trend, so I told him that December day that if he was trying it, I had to find out what it was.
I thought the round, brightly colored tin with its cool writing was meant to catch the eye of young people.
Not many details or directions were given, and the “pods” looked like chewing gum wrapped in paper that would dissolve.
They didn’t smell bad. We did it.
There was no question that we would throw the things away right away after putting them under our gums and getting sick.
I was shocked by how strong this snus was.
As someone who had used tobacco for a long time, I knew that if it could make me feel this way, then it could not be safe for teens, no matter how strong it was.
James and I both felt bad afterward.
I thought we both wanted to get rid of it, but I forgot how stubborn teens can be.
After about 36 hours, I was getting ready for bed when I heard a weak “Mum” cry from the next room.
When I got to James’ room too late, he was already sick on his bed and on himself.
James is the only one who knows why he tried it again, but I think it shows how dangerous it is to buy this kind of thing online and how shockingly it can affect teens and even people who have used nicotine for a long time like me.
We didn’t know how strong it was, and the packaging didn’t help me figure it out.
I was really mad that James did it again; he’s not stupid, and he had been feeling really sick before.
I don’t understand why teenagers do the things they do, but it made me worry about what other goods are out there that kids can easily get their hands on.
I was worried about how easy it would be for them to get into stronger pouches, since it would be hard for me to tell them apart as an adult.
It’s safe to say that James got smarter after the second “try” and threw away his stash right away.
Later, I learned that his friends had also had bad experiences with snus.
For now, it looks like they have all given up on it.
Social media is also having an effect on the real world.
On the high street, people wearing branded clothes stopped my older son and offered him a pouch in return for a selfie for their Instagram.
The fact that my son was able to quickly get snus was a real wake-up call for me.
It showed me what’s out there and how products can affect kids.
It’s one thing to vape, but I can’t believe how easy it was for my son to find this nicotine option.
This is not just a warning for teens; it’s also for parents.