Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42706592›Full record

ReviewJournal of internal medicine2026

Snus, nicotine pouches and cardiovascular disease: Evidence, mechanisms, and the challenge of novel nicotine products.

Magnus Olsson, Hanne Tønnesen, Jakob Hedberg, Johan Sundström, Eva Nordendahl, Björn Klinge, Michael Fored, Cecilia Magnusson, Daniel Jönsson, Peter Persson and 1 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of internal medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Magnus OlssonFaculty of Odontology, Health Technology Assessment-Odontology (HTA-O), Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.
Hanne TønnesenWHO-CC for Evidence-Based Clinical Health Promotion, The Parker Institute, Bispebjerg-Frederiksberg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark.ORCID 0000-0002-7161-3416
Jakob HedbergDepartment of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Johan SundströmDepartment of Medical Sciences, Clinical Epidemiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-2247-8454
Eva NordendahlClinical Epidemiology Division, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.
Björn KlingeDepartment of Dental Medicine, Periodontology and Dental Prophylaxis Unit, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-2100-2446
Michael ForedDepartment of Periodontology, Eastman Institute, Stockholm AB, Stockholm, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-7269-6399
Cecilia MagnussonDepartment of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.
Daniel JönssonDepartment of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0001-8298-539X
Peter PerssonDepartment of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden.ORCID 0009-0001-7573-3220
Aron Naimi-AkbarFaculty of Odontology, Health Technology Assessment-Odontology (HTA-O), Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-5248-9202

Funding

Knowledge Foundation 20250008
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Conventional Swedish snus is used by millions in Scandinavia and increasingly worldwide, yet its cardiovascular effects remain poorly characterized. The emergence of nicotine pouches-commonly referred to as 'white snus' in Sweden-that deliver comparable nicotine without tobacco constituents adds complexity to a heterogeneous landscape and raises questions about whether cardiovascular risk follows nicotine exposure regardless of product type. We explore epidemiological and mechanistic evidence on snus and cardiovascular disease, the contributions of nicotine versus tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs) to risks, and identify knowledge gaps, with focus on novel nicotine products and the research opportunity offered by the Swedish Tobacco Cohort (SWETOC). Epidemiological evidence suggests elevated cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality among snus users, with the most consistent signals for fatal myocardial infarction and heart failure. Associations with incident atherosclerotic events are more heterogeneous. Mechanistic evidence points to nicotine-mediated pathways, including sympathetic activation, endothelial dysfunction and increased arterial stiffness, whereas evidence for TSNA-driven CVD risk remains sparse, and declining TSNA levels in modern Swedish snus make that path less likely and harder to study. Nicotine pouches deliver comparable or higher systemic nicotine than conventional snus but lack long-term cardiovascular outcome data. Real-world cessation data from Denmark suggest structured programmes can achieve 6-month abstinence rates of approximately 53% among non-smoking nicotine users. The evidence supports nicotine as the primary driver of snus-associated CVD risk, with important implications for the cardiovascular safety of novel nicotine products. Evidence is needed to inform public health guidance, clinical advice and regulatory decisions. SWETOC represents a unique infrastructure to generate this evidence.

Indexed as

Cardiovascular DiseasesNicotineTobacco, SmokelessHumansNitrosaminesSwedenNicotineNitrosaminescardiovascular diseaseharm reductionnicotinenicotine pouchessmokeless tobaccosnusSWETOCtobacco‐specific nitrosamines

Identifiers

PMID42706592
PMCPMC13641279

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.