How to use a caffeine pouch
A caffeine pouch is not complicated, but the first one raises questions the tin does not answer: how long to leave it in, what to do with the spit, how many in a day and when. Here is how we use ours, and the numbers behind the limits.
PAX is caffeine. There is no nicotine in it and there never will be. One pouch is one serving, no more than four a day, and it is for adults 18 and over.
How do you use a caffeine pouch?
Take one pouch, park it between your top lip and gum, leave it there, and get on with your day. Do not chew it and do not swallow it.
Open the tin. Take out one pouch. That is one serving.
Park it up top. Between your top lip and gum, off to one side. Do not chew it and do not swallow it. It sits there on its own; you do not need to hold it in place.
Get on with it. A mild tingle when you first put one in is normal. That is the cooling agent in the flavour, and it passes. It is not glass and it is not a cut.
Bin it when done. We keep ours in for 20 to 30 minutes and take them out when the flavour goes. Then straight in the bin.
Move it around. Do not park every pouch in the same spot, and if the place where it sits starts to feel sore or look different, take it out. If it keeps happening, see a dentist.
How long do you keep a caffeine pouch in?
There is no timer on it. We keep ours in for 20 to 30 minutes and take them out when the flavour goes. If you are still enjoying it, leave it in longer.
The caffeine is released for absorption in your mouth while the pouch sits there. Nobody has measured how long that takes for any brand, so anyone who quotes you an exact number of minutes is guessing, and we are not going to.
How long does a caffeine pouch last?
Hours, not minutes, and much longer than the pouch is in your mouth. Those are two different questions and they get mixed up constantly.
The pouch is out of your mouth in half an hour. The caffeine is not out of you for hours. Caffeine's half life sits somewhere between roughly three and ten hours, a wide range because people clear it at very different rates. Research has found that 400mg of caffeine taken six hours before bed still disrupts sleep. If you are sensitive, work it backwards from when you want to be asleep.
And a pouch is not faster than a coffee. We looked, and the answer is on our caffeine pouches: myths and facts page.
Can you swallow the spit?
Yes. Your own saliva is yours to swallow, and you do not need to spit. The "do not swallow" on the tin is about the pouch.
A caffeine pouch is not dip. Caffeine that goes down with your saliva is still absorbed, the same way a coffee's caffeine is, so none of it is wasted. Nobody has studied this in caffeine pouches specifically, so we are telling you how it works, not making you a promise. If a pouch does not agree with you, take it out.
How many caffeine pouches a day?
No more than four PAX pouches, and only if you are not getting caffeine from anywhere else. Four pouches is 400mg, and FSANZ describes 400mg a day as a safe habitual intake for healthy adults. The catch is the word "total".
One pouch per serving, never two at once. Count everything: a pouch is 100mg, an instant coffee about 80mg, a 250ml energy drink up to 80mg, a 500ml can up to 160mg, a cafe coffee anywhere from 95mg to 200mg. Four pouches plus your morning flat white puts you over, and that is the mistake that is easy to make with a product you can keep in your pocket.
The tin gives no gap between pouches and neither will we, because nobody has measured one. What the research does give is the day's total, so count that.
PAX contains caffeine, and too much caffeine can cause an accelerated heart rate, nervousness, irritability and trouble sleeping.
When should you use a caffeine pouch, and when not?
When you would otherwise reach for a coffee or a can and there is nowhere to drink one. Not late in the day, and not before you know how you go on one.
On a drive, on the tools, on a night shift, at a desk, mid-afternoon: anywhere a cup is a nuisance and a can is 500ml of liquid you did not ask for. That is what the format is for.
Try your first one somewhere ordinary, at home or at your desk, not at the start of a long drive. You want to know how 100mg takes you and how the pouch feels in your mouth first.
Not late. The caffeine outlasts the pouch by hours, and 400mg six hours before bed has been shown to disrupt sleep. Count backwards from bedtime and stop earlier than feels necessary.
And never to push past the ceiling. A pouch does not make a fifth serve of caffeine a good idea just because it is small.
Who should not use a caffeine pouch?
Anyone under 18. Anyone pregnant or breastfeeding. Anyone sensitive to caffeine. And anyone with a medical condition who has not asked their doctor first.
If a strong coffee already makes you wired, this is not for you. The reasons behind each exclusion, and what is and is not known about the format, are on our are caffeine pouches safe? page.
What do you do with a used pouch?
Bin it. The bag is 80 percent viscose and 20 percent polyester, so it goes in the rubbish, not the compost and not down the toilet.
Questions?
Email hello@paxenergy.co.nz or call 027 777 2899. If something on this page is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
