Danish sports body warns athletes to stop using nicotine pouches

More and more Danish elite athletes are using nicotine pouches, Team Denmark, a group promoting elite sports, said this week, while warning it was negatively affecting their health and performance.  

Athletes reportedly use the pouches both during training and in competitions.

“Sports officials from the federations of athletics, golf, ice hockey, and equestrian sports have reported an increase in athletes using these products,” Majke Jorgensen, a nutritionist at Team Danmark, told AFP.

Some just use it recreationally, “while others believe or have read that it provides them with a performance advantage,” the nutritionist added.

However, studies show using these nicotine pouches can have health impacts.

For instance, nicotine increases heart rate and blood pressure, which can heighten overall strain on the cardiovascular system, according to a 2010 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

In sports like golf, where precision and maintaining a steady heart rate are crucial, nicotine negatively impacts athletes’ performance, Jorgensen added.

The sports body not only advises athletes to stop using nicotine pouches but also encourages coaches and staff to avoid them, in order to reduce young people being exposed to them.

In 2022, 12.9 percent of Danes aged 15 to 29 consumed smoke-free nicotine products, according to the Danish Health Authority.

While so called snus, which are pouches containing tobacco, is banned in Denmark, nicotine pouches without tobacco, also known as “white snus”, are legal.