The Unseen Mess: Nicotine Pouches Emerge as a Widespread Litter Problem

As nicotine pouches surge in popularity, their discarded remnants are increasingly turning public spaces into a new kind of pervasive litter, drawing comparisons to the ubiquitous cigarette butt.

A New Tide of Tiny Trash

For Denver bartender Gabby Masseran, the past year has introduced a new challenge to her professional joy: used nicotine pouches. Once a familiar sight of discarded gum, the underside of bar tables, empty drink glasses, and even urinals at her workplace now frequently contain these small, white packets. Masseran, 23, recounted her observations to NBC News, stating, "I just started noticing them the past year, people just spit them all over the ground, in the urinal, in anywhere they could possibly spit it except for the trash." She added, "It used to be gum under the tables, now it’s just Zyns."

Masseran's frustration is not an isolated incident. She reports hearing similar complaints from fellow bartenders as nicotine pouches—small, disposable sachets designed to deliver nicotine through the gums without smoke or vapor—have become one of the fastest-growing segments of the tobacco market. These pouches, containing nicotine salt and other chemicals, are sold by various companies in different doses and flavors, with their effects lasting anywhere from 30 minutes to nearly two hours.

Exploding Popularity, Challenging Disposal

Despite the rise of other tobacco alternatives like vapes, the popularity of nicotine pouches has exploded. Stored in circular, gum-like dispensers, sales of these products soared by an astonishing 641% between 2019 and 2022, according to 2024 research cited in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

As their use expands, these small pouches are now rivaling the cigarette butt as a highly visible and potentially environmentally damaging remnant of consumer habits. This growing issue has even caught the attention of sanitation officials. Joshua Goodman, deputy commissioner for public affairs at the New York City Department of Sanitation, acknowledged the problem. "We don’t necessarily track the specific type of each piece of litter," Goodman told NBC News, "but I can tell you that nicotine pouches (like their predecessor, cigarette butts) represent a unique problem for us — everyone knows not to litter, but for some reason, people think these small items don’t count." He emphasized that these pouches constitute litter, just like any other discarded item, and belong in a trash receptacle.

Jonathan Alpert, a New York and Washington, D.C.-based psychotherapist and author, offers a behavioral explanation for the burgeoning litter crisis. Alpert suggests that nicotine pouches are "becoming the cigarette butts of the smoke-free era." Users can discreetly consume the product multiple times a day in public spaces where smoking or vaping is often prohibited or discouraged. "The litter problem is partly behavioral," Alpert explained. "Cigarette smokers were already accustomed to flicking a butt away outside. With pouches, users often remove them quickly and discreetly, and the nearest place to discard them becomes a golf course, the underside of a bar table, or the sidewalk. It’s less visible than smoking but produces its own kind of mess."

Battling the Behavior: From Bars to Brands

The visible impact of discarded nicotine pouches has ignited a wave of online outrage among bartenders, restaurant workers, and patrons. Gabby Masseran, taking her grievances to TikTok, informed her followers that she even resorts to discarding drink glasses found with used pouches, expressing concerns that they could never be truly sanitized "even if she washes it 1,000 times."

In response to the mounting issue, some bars have begun posting signs explicitly requesting patrons to dispose of their pouches properly in the trash. Masseran reiterated the pervasive nature of the problem, stating, "It’s so disgusting and nasty. I’ve heard it from so many other bartenders… that they just find Zyns everywhere, especially underneath the tables."

While Zyn remains the most popular brand in the market, the company now faces significant competition from numerous other companies offering their own versions of nicotine pouches. Beyond nicotine, some brands have even introduced pouches containing caffeine or simply flavor.

PMI U.S., the company responsible for marketing Zyn in the United States, has addressed the issue by encouraging responsible use and disposal among its consumers. The company's website advises users to store used pouches in the dispenser's top compartment until proper disposal is possible.

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