The truth about snus: Why one in five footballers are putting nicotine pouches in their mouths - as experts reveal what it really does to your body By John Naish for the Daily Mail Published: 11:52 EDT, 30 May 2024 | Updated: 11:52 EDT, 30 May 2024 e-mail View comments They may be super fit, health-conscious athletes put on strict diets. But professional footballers - such as Manchester United’s Victor Lindelof and Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy - have developed a penchant for a new class of nicotine product - called snus. In fact almost one in five male professional players in the UK is now taking nicotine orally – either in tobacco-free nicotine pouches or Swedish-style snus (which is illegal to sell in this country), which look similar but contain tobacco – according to a study published this week by Loughborough University, commissioned by the Professional Footballers' Association .
Both types of products come in small teabag-like sachets. These are placed under the lip, for between five minutes and an hour, to release nicotine through the gum into the bloodstream. Not only are both types highly addictive and may harm oral health (see box), but in particular tobacco-containing snus is considered risky and is banned throughout UK and the EU.
Even in Sweden where you can buy snus, there have been warnings about a potentially raised risk of cancer and death from heart disease. Most of the 679 male and female footballers surveyed said they used tobacco-free nicotine pou.