Tech startups are increasingly stocking offices with free nicotine pouches. The products are being framed as a workplace perk as companies chase sharper focus and stamina in an AI-driven, high-pressure environment.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a growing number of startups in the U.S. are offering nicotine pouches to workers, with some companies installing fridges and branded vending machines filled with flavoured products that employees say help them power through long hours.
Nicotine vending machines move into the office
Earlier this year, nicotine startups Lucy Nicotine and Sesh installed branded vending machines stocked with flavoured nicotine pouches at the Washington, D.C., offices of data analytics firm Palantir Technologies. The machines are available to employees and guests over the age of 21.
“The pouches are free for employees and guests over the age of 21,” a Palantir spokeswoman said. Palantir pays to stock the nicotine products.
Nicotine pouches are small, tobacco-free products placed between the gum and lip, delivering nicotine without smoke or vapour. Their rise has coincided with broader growth in the U.S. nicotine pouch market, particularly among younger adult users.
Once marketed largely as a way to help smokers quit, the products are now showing up in Silicon Valley and startup offices as an unofficial perk.
Focus, stamina and long work hours
The products have gained traction among a subset of mostly male tech workers who say nicotine helps them stay focused during extended coding sessions and high-pressure work cycles in an increasingly competitive, AI-fuelled environment.
But the trend extends beyond large firms. At Austin, Texas-based Hello Patient, founder Alex Cohen said he first noticed nicotine pouches after seeing tins of Zyn on engineers’ desks.
“They were very productive, so I thought maybe there’s something here,” he told The Wall Street Journal.
Hello Patient develops AI-powered healthcare communication software, and Cohen said his engineers soon asked him to buy nicotine pouches for the office.
From office joke to daily use
Cohen said he initially purchased the pouches as a joke for social media, posting a photo of a drawer filled with different brands with the caption, “We’re hiring.” “Then, I accidentally got addicted,” Cohen said.
He said he now uses around two to three pouches a day, favouring mango or mint flavours. Cohen has said he has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and that the pouches provide what he described as a quick productivity boost.
“It helps with reining in my focus because it is a stimulant,” he said.
Hello Patient now keeps a nicotine pouch fridge in its office kitchen.
The FDA
The Food and Drug Administration has said that although nicotine pouches are allowed to be marketed, that does not mean they are safe. Unlike combustible cigarettes, however, the products do not involve burning tobacco.
The products continue to gain visibility in tech workplaces as competition intensifies and workers experiment with stimulants and so-called “bio-hacking” strategies in an effort to stay sharp.
The trend fits into Silicon Valley’s long-running interest in performance optimisation, where supplements, wearables and stimulants are often used in pursuit of marginal productivity gains.
