From Vaping to... Nicotine Gum?
I still remember the first time I tried nicotine pouches.
It was halfway through a long alcohol-fuelled night in Warsaw, 2019. I was in the sky bar of a hotel, the conversation switched to pouches and Snus, and someone handed me one to try.
The hit nearly blew my head off, while the burning, stinging sensation on my cheek was unpleasant to say the least!
I know some people love pouches, but despite several attempts, I’ve never got on with them.
Airplane mode, with its smoothest sensation, is easily the best of the bunch, but when we did our recent write up on nicotine pouches it was my colleague Helen who trialled them for a week.
Now, though, vape companies are starting to branch out into nicotine gum. Nicotine gum is nothing new, of course, but when companies which are great at flavours, such as Doozy, start to bring out products, it’s worth giving them a go.
As someone who hates long flights — or long office meetings where I can’t vape — thanks to nicotine withdrawal, I figured it was time to give them a try.
First try
Doozy Chewz nicotine gum is about as simple to use as you can get - at least once you’ve worked out how to get them out of the box!
The boxes come with a double lid - lift the top flap up and you can place old nicotine gum there until you make it to the bin, but you have to grasp the whole top and pull to actually get at the gum.
Once I had the gum, I popped it into my mouth and, following Doozy’s instructions, bit into it and then tucked it into the side of my mouth.
There was a slightly sharp and tingling sensation - but not nearly as strong as with pouches. I did find it slightly off putting to start with, although the tingling was offset by the delicious minty taste - not too far off my favourite menthol e-liquid, although a little sweeter.
I could also feel the impact of the nicotine, even though I found the hit to be slower than the one you get from vaping. (I use 18mg e-liquid, while the nicotine gum was 20mg.)
It was certainly pleasant enough to continue, so I decided to carry on using it for the week.
The good and the bad
That tingling sensation? After several days, I’d completely stopped noticing it.
What it doesn’t do is completely replace the desire to vape.
There’s something about vapour, the feeling as it tickles the back of your throat, the satisfaction as you exhale and watch it dance gracefully in the air.
That said, it does alleviate nicotine cravings. If I go without vaping completely, I’d give some of my cravings a 9 or a 10 out of 10 in intensity - when I use nicotine gum, I find it is more like a 3 or 4 out of 10.
There weren’t too many negatives either. One of the biggest ones is that you can’t use it while drinking or eating, so that makes it pretty useless in the pub.
I also had to resist the urge to chew continuously - you’re supposed to tuck it in your cheek and only chew occasionally when the taste or nicotine hit diminishes.
That top lid I mentioned earlier is useful, especially when you finish your gum but are in full work flow and don’t want to go in search of a bin. But after a little while, the spent gum does start to look a little disgusting.
Final thoughts
Despite my qualms, I’m impressed with Doozy’s nicotine gum option, and I much prefer it to nicotine pouches.
It may never completely replace vaping for me, but I can see it making those interminable flights and meetings far more bearable.