What Are Fake Nicotine Pouches?

• Fake nicotine pouches mimic real brands but lack safety and ingredient controls.
• Non-compliant products are real pouches that are not intended for the UK market.
• Counterfeit products may contain unverified ingredients or inaccurate nicotine levels.
• QR codes, batch numbers, and quality control can help identify genuine products.
• Buying from trusted UK retailers like Haypp ensures you receive regulated and authentic products.

Fake nicotine pouches are counterfeit versions of legitimate, tobacco leaf-free nicotine pouches.  

They are designed to look like popular brands, but they bypass essential safety testing, ingredient regulation, and hygiene standards. 

Alongside counterfeits, consumers can also encounter non-compliant nicotine pouches.  

These are real products from authentic manufacturers that are not intended for the UK market. This means that their labelling, nicotine strengths, or formulations fall outside UK consumer safety rules. 

To protect your health and legal rights as a consumer, it’s important to avoid both fake and non‑compliant products. This guide shows you: 

Demand for nicotine pouches (often called ‘snus’ in the UK) from popular brands such as VELO, Nordic Spirit, Pablo, and Killa has grown rapidly.

This has led to a rise in both counterfeit and non-compliant alternatives. 

These counterfeit pouches may copy brand names, fonts, colours, or design elements, but: 

• Ingredients are unregulated
• Nicotine levels may be incorrect
• Pouch materials are lower quality
• Packaging often lacks traceability (e.g. batch numbers, manufacturing details)

Counterfeit pouches and non-compliant snus can differ from legitimate pouches in the following ways: 

• Nicotine levels may be higher or lower than advertised
• Nicotine pouch ingredients may not follow UK or EU safety guidelines
• Pouch material may feel dry, thin, or inconsistently filled
• Packaging may lack batch numbers or verifiable manufacturer details

Knowing how to spot fake nicotine pouches helps protect you from unverified products. 

Here are the most reliable ways to spot fake nicotine pouches.

Most pouches cost around £4 per can (as of February 2026). Extremely low prices, especially from unverified sellers, may signal counterfeits. 

Of course, reputable retailers like Haypp do run limited-time deals (we regularly update our 99p snus deal page). Check overall pricing on site to see if it’s credible.

If the pouch appears unusual in texture, smell, or taste, avoid using it.

Look out for a bland or faint smell, a sour or bitter taste, dry pouch material, and a nicotine release that doesn’t correspond with the stated strength.

Poor packaging quality is one of the easiest ways to spot fake nicotine pouches:

• Thin, flimsy plastic
• Blurry or misaligned printing
• Missing seals
• Faded colours
• Strange fonts or spelling mistakes

UK-approved nicotine pouches must clearly display in English: 

• Nicotine strength
• Addiction, pregnancy, and under-18 warnings
• Instructions for use
• Batch numbers, production dates, and manufacturer details

Check for red flags relating to manufacturer details:

• No listed company address
• No customer service information
• Recently created websites with little or no trading history

Here are some ways to spot fake nicotine pouches and confirm authenticity: 

• Check that batch numbers are clearly printed and legible.
• Use QR codes which redirect to an official verification page.
• Buy only from trusted UK retailers, like Haypp UK, with clear support channels.
• Read customer reviews of retailers, such as Haypp’s Trustpilot reviews.

The best way to avoid fake or non-compliant snus pouches is to buy nicotine pouches online from trusted UK retailers–like Haypp. 

Haypp prioritises consumer safety and transparency. We protect our UK consumers in the following ways: 

• We only work with manufacturers that follow UK product safety and quality standards.
• Industry-leading age verification, like Yoti, to ensure products are only purchased by adults.
• We independently test products via a third-party laboratory and publish results publicly on Nicoleaks.
• We use our own strength category system to support informed consumer choice.
• Unlike other retailers, we do not sell nicotine pouches above the strength of 20 mg/pouch, which follows the guidelines set by the Swedish Institute for Standards (SIS/TS 72:2024).
• We offer a transparent returns and complaints process managed by the Haypp customer service.