The science of nicotine: Understanding what it is

Tobacco, the plant nicotine occurs in naturally, is believed to have been brought to Europe by Christopher Columbus in the late 15th century. You can read the fuller story of how that led to nicotine pouches today in our history of nicotine pouches. Nicotine itself actually wasn't isolated as a chemical compound until 1828, by German chemists Wilhelm Posselt and Karl Reimann.

Nicotine constitutes around 5% of the plant by weight and is extracted for various purposes. In its purest form, nicotine is odourless and colourless with an oily, liquid consistency.

Nicotine can also be found in other plants like nightshade, but in much lower levels, and synthetic nicotine can be made in a lab.

Nicotine affects every adult user differently, and the length of time it remains in your body depends on factors such as:

• The strength and how much you’ve consumed

• What else you have consumed

• Your environment – for example, is it very hot?

It is important that only adults use nicotine and within recommended usage limits.

For more information on how ZONE nicotine pouches are made, read: Nicotine pouch ingredients: What's inside a nicotine pouch? and How are nicotine pouches made? The complete guide

And, if you've got more questions, our FAQs page has the answers every month to what people tend to ask most.

Steph Williams is a content marketer with over a decade's worth of writing experience, much of this time with Imperial Brands. She has written for some of the UK's biggest brands, helping them reach millions of people.