While smoking’s popularity has declined over the past decade, 14% of adult men in the United States still use cigarettes. What does this mean for their romantic life? While we can’t speak for everyone, the stats provided by dating app Hinge show that smokers may not be getting a fair shake. Hinge claims that men who openly identify as smokers on their dating profiles “get rejected 89% of the time.”
Could there be other reasons for the rejection? Perhaps. But with algorithms more likely to pair non-smokers with other non-smokers on dating apps, it’s simply more difficult for the smoking community to find the love of their life in the non-smoking community.
What is it about smoking that turns people off? It could be a number of things, front the smell to the fact that a date may need to pop out in the middle of a movie to catch their nicotine buzz.
So, what can smokers do to boost their love life IQ? One option may be switching to nicotine pouches.
Benefits of nicotine pouches
For those who want their nicotine and need a convenient, discreet way to use it, nicotine pouches offer a lot of perks. Let’s take a look at them.
No brown stains
You can sometimes tell if someone is a smoker by the color of their teeth, gums, and even fingers. Nicotine pouches have no tar, so they don’t create the notorious brown residue associated with cigarette use. Your next date won’t be able to identify you as a pouch user based on stains alone.
Better breath
You can try to hide smoking all you want with breath sprays and gums, but once you light up it’s pretty obvious that you have smoker’s breath. This is something that can steer the first date in the wrong direction. With nicotine pouches, there is no smoke, and you can choose from a variety of “fresh” flavored products that may actually boost your breath. Pick a peppermint, cinnamon, or other option for a nicotine buzz that doubles as a breath freshener.
No spark or ash
Smoking would be bad enough if it was just about the smoke. Add in the ash that falls from the end of your cigarette, and you now need to carry an ashtray—not a good look. Nicotine pouches have none of this mess because they aren't combustible.
No smoky residue
There’s really no way to hide a smokey car interior or coat, even if you’ve tried washing and detailing. Because guess what? As soon as you light up again, the smoke just comes back.
What does this mean for a date? If your partner is a non-smoker, they’ll know instantly upon entering your car or home. They may also pick up on the smell as soon as the two of you meet. For someone who hates smoke, this can be a deal-breaker, no matter how much air freshener spray you use.
Nicotine pouches, on the other hand, have no smoke or associated odor. You can maintain a fresh home and car interior without doing anything beyond your standard cleaning routine.
Super discreet
You should feel you can be yourself on a date, but if you don’t want to lead with your nicotine use, you don’t have to. Nicotine pouches hide under your lip while you use them—until you’re ready to spit them out. It’s simple and low-key. Most people, including your date, won’t ever have to know that you’re a nicotine pouch user until you’re ready to tell them.
More money for dinners
Let's face the facts about dating today: it's not cheap. With the cost of even fast food going through the roof, a Saturday night dinner date can cost $50 or more with no guarantee that the evening will go well.
Smokers spend, on average, much more than their nicotine pouch counterparts, meaning they'll have less to spend toward that burger lunch or evening matinee. As if you needed another reason to skip cigarettes, their budget-busting reality can put a damper on savings funds for another fun date night.
More face time
When asked about the annoying activities that can kill a date, Match.com users reported checking cell phones as a major no-no. But there was one activity ranked higher: stepping out in the middle of a date for a smoke. It may be because you come back smelling like cigarettes, but it could also be that interrupting a date to take time for yourself is seen as disruptive or even selfish.
When setting the tone for a first date, give your partner all the attention they need by not going outside to smoke. Nicotine pouches let you stay present so you can focus on your time together and avoid missing the moments that could set you up for a lifetime of love and happiness.
What about chewing tobacco or snus?
If you’re concerned about how smoking may affect your love life, chewing tobacco or snus may seem like a suitable alternative. Unfortunately, both of these products contain tobacco, which means they can contribute to many of the same issues that smoking does. You may still have stained teeth and bad breath, among other unpleasant side effects.
Nicotine pouches differ in that they are a cleaner, fresher way to get your nicotine. Unlike chewing tobacco, you won’t have to pause in the middle of your date to spit or carry around a gross spit cup to store that gross brown liquid. You can use nicotine pouches without worrying about spitting, so there’s less of a stigma and mess.
Nicotine use and dating
While you definitely don’t want to hide your true self when looking for love, it makes sense to want to keep nicotine use discreet, at least in the beginning. You may feel like it’s something that you don’t want defining you and your personality. With nicotine pouches offering a cleaner, fresher way to get nicotine, it's possible to let your personality and good conversation dazzle your date in a way that may be more difficult for a smoker or chewing tobacco user.
With more dating apps requiring you to honestly answer questions about smoking status, you may even find the dating pool to be larger when you put “no” for your smoker status but keep your nicotine options open with a pouch. Many dating apps haven’t addressed nicotine pouch, gum, or patch use in their profile fields, so you won’t have to worry about it.
Whether you use nicotine pouches as a way to stop smoking or you’ve been a fan of them for some time, there are some obvious perks to using them over other nicotine sources, especially when looking for love. The lack of smoke, no bad breath, and no staining make pouches a better way to enjoy nicotine with no interruption in your date. First impressions matter, which means you’ll be in a position to show your true self.
