The CNCT warns of 6-methyl-nicotine: a new addictive threat in vaping products and oral pouches

On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day 2025, the National Committee Against Tobacco (CNCT) is unveiling an awareness campaign focused on 6-methyl-nicotine, a synthetic substance identified in products available in France. A derivative of nicotine, this molecule is causing serious concern due to its particularly high addictive potential. Widely promoted on social media and presented as a "nicotine-free" alternative, it constitutes the tobacco industry's latest marketing strategy to circumvent the law and attract a young audience. Faced with this trend, the CNCT is calling for vigilance and the withdrawal of this molecule, particularly to protect minors.[1].

A synthetic substance with high addictive potential

6-Methyl-nicotine, also known as metatine, is a synthetic molecule recently identified by the CNCT in vaping devices and oral pouches marketed in France. It is a chemical analogue of nicotine, modified by the addition of a methyl group, which gives it a similar structure while potentially amplifying certain pharmacological effects.

Like conventional nicotine, 6-methyl-nicotine acts on the brain's nicotinic receptors, causing central nervous system stimulation, a feeling of pleasure, and activation of the reward circuit, key elements in the development of addiction. According to initial toxicological analyses, this substance could have a higher addictive power than nicotine, in particular due to its formulation, its bioavailability, or its ability to bind more permanently to brain receptors.

This danger is all the more worrying because 6-methyl-nicotine is often hidden in products labeled "nicotine-free," which distorts the perception of risk among consumers, especially younger consumers. Reassuring claims such as "clean formula," "tobacco-free," or "0 nicotine" fuel the confusion intended by manufacturers. These products thus escape regulatory scrutiny while exposing users to a real risk of addiction, sometimes from the first use.

Finally, the lack of independent scientific evaluation of the long-term effects of this molecule reinforces the concerns of health professionals. Its unregulated use, outside of any marketing authorization, represents a regulatory gray area from which the tobacco industry is clearly attempting to profit, to the detriment of public health.

The industry's latest maneuver to circumvent the law and recruit new consumers

Faced with increasingly strict regulatory oversight of nicotine products in France and around the world, the tobacco and nicotine industries are deploying new, more insidious tactics to attract young people. 6-methyl-nicotine is part of this strategy: it's a new lever to continue attracting a young audience while evading existing regulatory mechanisms.

Some products are sold online on sites like Nonic.com without any clear indication of the composition or risks. They are accompanied by suggestive advertising speeches, attractive visuals and promotional offers. These practices constitute a clear violation of the Public Health Code.

But it's mainly on digital platforms that this strategy is being deployed on a large scale: TikTok videos from influencers promoting the sachets as "concentration boosters" or alternatives to coffee, playful stagings on Instagram, or even disguised content promoting the products' "clean formula." This content deliberately targets teenagers and young adults, adopting their cultural codes and integrating it into their daily lives, whether sports, studies, or leisure activities.

This tactic is part of a broader logic of trivializing addiction, by transforming addictive substances into trendy, modern objects, presented as compatible with a healthy or high-performance lifestyle. It demonstrates the industry's constant adaptability in the face of public health policies, with an unchanged objective: maintaining and renewing its consumer base, particularly among young people, at a time when conventional cigarettes are losing ground.

Through this exploitation of regulatory loopholes, the tobacco industry continues to endanger present and future generations, while cultivating a falsely innovative, responsible and technological image, warns the CNCT.

CNCT recommendations: alert and clarify the regulatory framework to better anticipate and protect

Faced with this new offensive by the tobacco industry and the emergence of addictive synthetic substances such as 6-methyl-nicotine, the CNCT calls for a strong, coordinated and anticipatory regulatory response.

• Extend the ban on online sales to vaping products, and limit their distribution to strictly regulated physical points of sale;
• Enforce the effective ban on unauthorized nicotine products, such as nicotine pouches and pearls, and any advertising relating to them;
• Strengthen controls to ensure the application of existing measures;
• Increase penalties so that they have a real deterrent effect against repeated circumventions.

Regarding nicotine analogues, and in particular 6-methyl-nicotine, recently identified in vaping products and oral pouches, the CNCT recommends that the regulations apply to any substance exerting a pharmacological effect on nicotinic receptors, whether or not it contains nicotine in the strict sense.

Finally, through the "The Taste of Lies" campaign, broadcast on social networks from May 26, 2025, the CNCT intends to alert public opinion, decision-makers and health professionals to these abuses. By revealing the marketing mechanisms behind 6-methyl-nicotine, this campaign aims to lift the mask on the lies of the tobacco industry, and to reaffirm the need for collective vigilance in the face of “business practices that are as cynical as they are dangerous.”

©Generation Without Tobacco

AE