Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Study: One in five football players using nicotine pouches

Study: One in five football players using nicotine pouches

ONE in five professional players who took part in a study commissioned by the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) said they were using nicotine pouches, tobacco sachets (snus) or both, research showed on Tuesday (28).

The study, conducted by Loughborough University, surveyed 628 male players in the Premier League and EFL, as well as 51 players from the Women's Super League.


Researchers also interviewed 16 club performance and medical staff currently working in men's and academy football.

"Over half of current users in the men's game indicated they want to quit over the next 12 months," the study said.

"Most players used legal tobacco-free nicotine pouches rather than tobacco-based snus, however, players often used the term snus to refer to nicotine pouches."

The study found that two out of five players had tried the pouches at least once.

Of the players surveyed who had used the substance, many reported elements of nicotine dependence, 53 per cent in the men's game and 73 per cent in the women's game, it added.

"The study's findings will be used to inform the PFA's own welfare and safeguarding programmes and to facilitate knowledge exchange with clubs and medical teams around snus use in football."

The study added that the estimates of usage are "likely higher than reported" due to players' unwillingness to disclose whether they are using the pouches.

"This research will help us ensure that the PFA's own support services, and those of club medical teams, are grounded in football-specific evidence and tailored to the needs of players," the PFA's director of player welfare Michael Bennett said.

(Reuters)

More For You

Amanda Anisimova

The last American woman remaining in the draw

Getty Images

Amanda Anisimova stuns Aryna Sabalenka to reach maiden Wimbledon final

Highlights

  • Amanda Anisimova defeats world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in three sets
  • The American advances to her first Grand Slam final
  • Sabalenka’s run of Grand Slam finals ends
  • Anisimova will face either Swiatek or Bencic on Saturday
  • With the win, Anisimova is projected to reach world No. 7

American tennis star Amanda Anisimova produced the biggest win of her career by defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in the semi-finals of Wimbledon on Thursday. The result sends the 23-year-old into her first Grand Slam final, where she will face either Iga Swiatek or Belinda Bencic on Saturday.

The contest on Centre Court lasted two hours and 37 minutes and was interrupted twice during the first set due to spectators feeling unwell in the heat. Despite the stoppages, both players maintained their focus in a match marked by intense rallies and shifting momentum.

Keep ReadingShow less
HYBE Cine Fest 2025
HYBE Cine Fest 2025: How HYBE Cine Fest 2025 is India’s K-pop soft launch
Instagram/pvrpictures

HYBE Cine Fest 2025: BTS, TXT, and SEVENTEEN light up screens; here’s what it really means

You step into your local PVR today. The smell of popcorn hits you, but instead of previews for the latest Bollywood hit, the lobby is a sea of ARMY Bombs and CARAT Bong light sticks. Fans in TXT tees are swapping photocards. Someone’s already belting out a LE SSERAFIM chorus into a mic at the pop-up Noraebang station. Inside Screen 3? It isn’t a film, but a full-blown K-pop concert. Thousands of voices scream every word of BTS’s Dynamite, and tears well up during Jungkook’s solo. But this isn’t Seoul. It’s Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru, all this weekend. And HYBE? They’re taking notes, big ones!

What is Hybe Cine fest?

HYBE Cine Fest 2025 is a three-day cinema event (from 10 to 12 July) that brings some of the biggest K-pop concert experiences to the big screen across India. Organised by South Korean entertainment giant HYBE in partnership with PVR INOX and Trafalgar Releasing, the fest features full-length concert films from BTS, SEVENTEEN, TXT, ENHYPEN, ILLIT, and Katseye. Expect stadium-level production with cinematic visuals, surround sound, and collective fan chants, everything fans love about a K-pop concert, recreated inside a cinema.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk

The launch of Grok 4 comes amid criticism of the previous version

Getty Images

Elon Musk claims new Grok 4 AI is ‘smarter than PhD graduates’

Highlights

  • Elon Musk unveils Grok 4, calling it “the smartest AI in the world”
  • Grok 4 reportedly trained 100 times more than Grok 2
  • Musk says it performs at PhD-level across nearly all subjects
  • The launch follows controversy around Grok 3’s offensive responses

Musk launches Grok 4 AI model with bold claims of intelligence

Elon Musk has launched Grok 4, the latest artificial intelligence model developed by his xAI company, claiming it surpasses PhD-level intelligence across all academic fields.

Speaking at the launch, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO said Grok 4 had been trained using 100 times more data than Grok 2, which was replaced by Grok 3 in February this year. Musk described the new model as “the smartest AI in the world” and said it could achieve near-perfect results in graduate-level exams in almost every subject.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pakistan rejects claim of China’s role in border clash

Asim Munir

Pakistan rejects claim of China’s role in border clash

PAKISTAN’S army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Monday (7) rejected Delhi’s allegation that his military received active support from longtime ally China in its conflict with India in May.

The Indian Army’s deputy chief, Lieutenant General Rahul Singh, said last week that China gave Islamabad “live inputs” on key Indian positions.

Keep ReadingShow less