Why Do Footballers Use Snus or Nicotine Pouches?

A 2024 Loughborough University study commissioned by the Professional Footballers’ Association found that 18% of surveyed male Premier League and EFL players currently used snus, nicotine pouches, or both. The result describes the English professional players who answered the survey; it does not show that one in five footballers worldwide used nicotine pouches before major matches.

The same survey found current snus or nicotine-pouch use among 22% of the 51 Women’s Super League players who responded.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup ran from June 11 to July 19, 2026, and featured 48 teams in 104 matches. The English-league survey does not establish how many players at that tournament used snus or nicotine pouches.

What Anti-Doping Tests Show About Nicotine Exposure in Football

Anti-doping urine data can show nicotine exposure, but not which nicotine product a player used.

A peer-reviewed analysis of 60,802 in-competition urine samples collected in Italy from 2012–2020 found nicotine positivity in 29% of football samples, with yearly rates ranging from 18% to 40%. The researchers could not determine whether exposure came from smoking, snus, nicotine pouches, vaping, or another nicotine product.

The study measured nicotine exposure rather than product experience: it could not identify pouch use, explain why players used nicotine, or show a performance benefit.

The 2026 World Cup featured 48 teams and 104 matches. The English survey cannot be used to estimate how many national-team players used nicotine pouches during the tournament.

From Snus to Tobacco-Free Pouches: The Harm-Reduction Shift

Here's what changed.

Traditional tobacco snus has a long history in Scandinavian sport. The documented experience differs: Henrik Larsson described past snus use, while a photograph of Zlatan Ibrahimović did not establish the pouch type. Larsson said he used snus “to calm down a bit” before Sweden’s 1994 World Cup penalty shootout against Romania.

But the 2024 PFA/Loughborough study found that tobacco-free nicotine pouches are now MORE commonly used than traditional snus among the English professional footballers it surveyed.

Why the shift?

Snus contains tobacco; nicotine pouches do not contain tobacco leaf, and the 2024 football study found that players often used ‘snus’ as a catch-all term for both. Nicotine pouches still deliver addictive nicotine, and a product’s anti-doping status does not prove that it improves performance.

This mirrors the broader nicotine pouch market's explosive growth. The global market is projected to reach $22.84 billion by 2030, driven largely by harm-reduction demand.

Nicotine pouches avoid smoke exposure, but that does not make them risk-free or a proven performance aid. The 2024 football study instead highlighted nicotine dependence, stress relief, focus, boredom, and social use.

When Footballers Reported Using Snus or Nicotine Pouches

The 2024 PFA/Loughborough study of players’ experience found that snus or nicotine pouch use was most common after training and after games, with relaxation and stress relief reported more often than performance enhancement.

• After training (86%)
• After games (85%)
• Before games (men 56%; women 55%)

Among current users in the 2024 survey, 56% of men and 55% of women reported use before games, while 10% of men and 27% of women reported use during games.

Jamie Vardy — a former Leicester City striker and England international — publicly described his experience of past snus use in his 2016 autobiography: "I used to have the odd fag on a night out at Fleetwood, but one of the lads introduced me to snus when I signed for Leicester, and I found they helped me chill out."

He also dropped this bomb: "A lot more footballers use them than people realize, and some lads even play with them during matches."

Michail Antonio — a former West Ham striker and Jamaica international — explained it bluntly on the Footballers' Football Podcast: "The reasons why players do it is because of the pressures of football and life. It really starts to get to people, so they need that stimulus."

Major matches can create intense pressure, but the survey did not measure World Cup squads. Henrik Larsson’s 1994 account is a documented example of tobacco snus use before a shootout, not evidence that the practice was typical.

The Invisible Advantage

Unlike cigarettes or vaping, nicotine pouches are completely smokeless and discreet.

Players can use pouches discreetly. Jamie Vardy publicly described past snus use. Zlatan Ibrahimović was photographed removing a pouch before entering a match, but the image did not establish whether it was tobacco snus or a tobacco-free nicotine pouch.

The PFA study said true usage figures are "likely higher" because some players may not disclose use and some reported sporadic, recreational use.

WADA Monitors But Doesn't Ban Nicotine in Sport

Here's the deal.

Nicotine has been on WADA's Monitoring Program since 2012 after 15% of professional athletes were found to actively consume it. A WADA-funded study found a +13.1% increase in time-to-exhaustion for nicotine-using athletes compared to nicotine-abstinent sessions.

In 2026, nicotine is on WADA’s in-competition Monitoring Program but not on the Prohibited List; that status does not override club rules, local law, or contamination risk.

Being absent from WADA’s Prohibited List means nicotine alone is not an anti-doping violation. It does not prove that every club permits pouch use, that every product complies with local law, or that an unverified product is free of prohibited contaminants.

The WADA study's findings are worth unpacking. The +13.1% time-to-exhaustion improvement was observed specifically in long-term nicotine users — not casual users. The researchers concluded that athletes addicted to nicotine would use snus to maintain their nicotine level to "feel normal" in order to improve sport performance.

Translation: It's not a magic performance booster. It's a dependency management tool.

The Social Contagion Effect in Team Sports

The 2024 survey of players’ experience found that 56% of male users and 73% of female users first tried snus or nicotine pouches because teammates were using them.

This is how habits spread in locker rooms.

A staff member at a Premier League club described a "heavy user" who said: "I'd love to come off it, but I can't. It's just everywhere I look. Every other player's taking it."

Former Stoke City and Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam shared his experience of the subject on BBC Radio 5 Live. He said: "It's big in the game, not just Premier League, League One, League Two, Championship, Scotland."

He described how it spread: "It's come in from Scandinavia really and a lot of the players are using it. It's the 'in' thing."

That cultural exchange helped spread the habit in English football. The 2024 English survey documents team influence within its sample, but it cannot show how the 2026 World Cup changed use across national teams.

What the 2026 World Cup Meant for Nicotine Pouch Visibility

The 2026 FIFA World Cup brought together 48 teams across 104 matches. Yahoo Sports published a 100-day countdown series, and FIFA named TikTok its first-ever Preferred Platform for the tournament.

Large audiences do not reveal how many players used nicotine products.

Public photographs can prompt discussion, but they do not establish a player’s product type, frequency of use, or reason for using it.

The 2024 survey of players’ experience remains the stronger evidence for prevalence and motives within its own English sample.

The Health Conversation Nobody's Having

The PFA study found that 58% of male and 86% of female players had received no education about nicotine pouch health impacts.

That's a massive awareness gap.

Players reported experiencing primary indicators of nicotine dependence: using it without awareness or intention, cravings, irritability, restlessness, and anxiety during withdrawal. Approximately half the users in the men's game indicated wanting to quit in the next 12 months.

But here's the thing: quitting is hard when you're surrounded by it daily. One surveyed player admitted: "I have quit twice for eight months but always seem to start doing it again. [I] find it hard to quit when I'm around it all day."

The PFA said it would use the findings to develop education and support for players.

FAQ

Are nicotine pouches prohibited by WADA?

In 2026, nicotine is on WADA’s in-competition Monitoring Program but not on the Prohibited List; that status does not override club rules, local law, or contamination risk.

Which footballers have publicly discussed or been photographed with pouches?

Jamie Vardy and Henrik Larsson publicly described past snus use; Zlatan Ibrahimović was photographed removing a pouch, but the image did not establish whether it was tobacco snus or a tobacco-free nicotine pouch. A photograph of a tin is not the same as a first-person confirmation of current use.

Why do footballers use snus or nicotine pouches?

Surveyed players reported relaxation, stress relief, focus, boredom, and social influence. Use was most common after training and after matches; 56% of male users and 55% of female users also reported use before games. These are reported motives and habits, not proof of a performance benefit.

Do footballers use nicotine-free pouches?

The 2024 football survey did not report nicotine-free pouch use; nicotine pouches contain nicotine, while nicotine-free pouches are a separate product category. A photo of a pouch tin is not enough to identify its contents.