Manufacturers, importers and packagers of smokeless tobacco products distributed for sale in the U.S. are required to measure the quantity of nicotine contained in each of those products and report that information to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Additionally, since Taboka and Marlboro Snus are sold in pouches, a calculated average of nicotine content per pouch is also included for snus products.
The quantity of nicotine contained in our smokeless tobacco products is found by using the drop down menu on the
Nicotine by Brand page.
When measuring nicotine quantities, procedures prescribed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as published in the
Federal Register are used. These same procedures were used to obtain the nicotine quantities found by using the drop down menu on the right.
The nicotine quantities for the smokeless tobacco products listed in this menu are not comparable to those reported for cigarettes because the nicotine quantity is obtained using a different testing method than for cigarettes. For smokeless tobacco products, the quantity of nicotine is measured in the
tobacco as described above, whereas for cigarettes, it is measured in the
smoke using a method prescribed by the Federal Trade Commission. The amount of nicotine a person might actually obtain from smokeless tobacco products varies according to a number of factors, including how long a person holds the product in his or her mouth, how large a pinch of tobacco is placed in the mouth, the quantity of nicotine in the tobacco, and the quantity of un-ionized nicotine in the tobacco.
Nicotine in tobacco exists in two chemical forms – "free" (un-ionized) nicotine and "bound" (ionized) nicotine. The pH of a smokeless tobacco product can affect the estimated amount of its nicotine present in the un-ionized form as compared to the ionized form. According to CDC, "un-ionized nicotine is known to be the form of nicotine absorbed most easily in the mouth." To read CDC's information about pH and un-ionized nicotine, please click
here.
