Many people believe that stopping nicotine products will quickly improve heart health.
While quitting is still considered one of the best choices for long-term health, a new study suggests the body may react in unexpected ways during the first few months.
Researchers found that blood pressure actually increased in many people after they stopped using snus.
Snus is a smokeless nicotine product that is widely used in Sweden and is becoming more popular in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States.
White snus contains nicotine but no tobacco, while traditional snus contains tobacco. Unlike cigarettes, snus is placed under the upper lip, allowing nicotine to be absorbed without smoking.
A team led by Professor Fredrik Nyström from Linköping University wanted to understand what happens when regular snus users quit.
Their findings were published in the Harm Reduction Journal. The study is one of the first to closely follow physical changes after people stopped using snus instead of simply comparing users with non-users.
The research included 37 adults between 18 and 70 years of age. Most participants used traditional tobacco snus, while about one-third used nicotine-only white snus.
Before quitting, everyone had blood tests and health checks, including measurements of blood pressure, body weight, blood sugar, and blood fats. The same tests were repeated after four weeks and again after 12 weeks, and participants also measured their blood pressure at home every day.
The researchers expected blood pressure to fall after people quit because nicotine is known to temporarily raise blood pressure and heart rate. Instead, they found the opposite. On average, systolic blood pressure increased by 3.7 millimeters of mercury during the study, and the higher readings appeared within the first few weeks before remaining elevated for the rest of the 12-week period.
The participants gained an average of 1.8 kilograms after quitting. However, the researchers believe this amount of weight gain was too small to fully explain the rise in blood pressure. At this stage, they do not know why the increase happened.
The team had also hoped to compare participants who successfully quit with those who returned to using snus. Based on previous research, they expected many people to relapse. Instead, 33 of the 37 participants remained snus-free throughout the study, leaving the researchers without enough people to examine what happens if snus use starts again.
Professor Nyström said the findings suggest that people with high blood pressure may benefit from extra monitoring after quitting snus. Some individuals may even need their blood pressure medicine reviewed if their readings increase. More studies are needed to understand why this happens and whether the change is temporary or lasts longer.
The researchers stress that these results should not be seen as a reason to continue using nicotine products.
Quitting snus is still expected to provide important long-term health benefits. However, the study shows that the body can respond in unexpected ways during the quitting process, highlighting the importance of regular medical follow-up, especially for people who already have high blood pressure.
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