Beyond traditional beverages like coffee, soda, and energy drinks, a new source of caffeine is becoming popular among young consumers. Medical professionals, educators, and parents are turning their focus to a product sold in pouches rather than cans or cups.

Designed to sit between the lip and gum, these small packets are promoted as a convenient, subtle option to increase alertness and concentration. Data from the American Academy of Pediatrics indicates that certain brands pack up to 200 milligrams of caffeine—equivalent to roughly two cups of coffee. Medical specialists caution that excessive intake poses health hazards, such as an elevated heart rate, particularly for adolescents and children.

Because their appearance mimics that of nicotine pouches, school administrators face challenges telling the items apart, heightening worries over student well-being. Although no national age restrictions govern the sale of caffeine pouches, several K-12 school districts in the United States have implemented outright bans on the items.

Here’s what to know about the pouches, their potential risks and how schools are responding.

Caffeine pouches have a variety of nicknames

Caffeine is a stimulant that increases alertness, energy and brain activity. It can be safe for most healthy people in moderate amounts. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said amounts up to about 400 milligrams per day, roughly two to three 12-ounce (about 354.8 milliliters) cups of coffee, are not generally associated with health problems.

Caffeine pouches are small packets designed to release caffeine through the tissues in the mouth. The amount in each pouch depends on the brand.

The main concern is consumption by children. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, caffeine from the pouches is absorbed into the bloodstream and the effects are felt in minutes.

The pouches do not require spitting and are sold in multiple flavors, such as coffee, mint, fruit and seasonal options like pumpkin spice. Some health officials worry they can be mistaken by young consumers for candy or gum.

Unlike with caffeinated beverages, children and teens may use caffeine pouches more discreetly. The pouches are sometimes referred to on social media as lip pillows, lip cushies and upper or lower deckies, depending on where they are placed in the mouth.

Consumer trade groups and caffeine pouch makers, including ALP Pouch, declined to speak to The Associated Press about the products.

Caffeine has a range of possible side effects

Health organizations, including Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, say too much caffeine can cause significant side effects, including tremors, anxiety, difficulty sleeping, seizures and other complications. Caffeine can remain in the body for more than eight hours depending on the person’s metabolism, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Committee on Nutrition. When the effects of caffeine wear off, people can experience headaches, irritability and tiredness. The academy says avoiding caffeine is the best choice for children.

Caffeine pouches may worsen anxiety and sleep problems among teenagers already facing academic and social pressures, potentially affecting their mental health, academic performance and development, said Rob van Dam, a professor of exercise and nutrition sciences at George Washington University in Washington.

“You can get into a vicious cycle where kids just don’t get enough sleep for their normal development and mental health,” he said.

Health experts also worry that teenagers may lose track of their total caffeine consumption, particularly when combining pouches with energy drinks and other caffeinated foods and beverages.

Parents concerned about excessive caffeine consumption can contact the Poison Control Center Hotline at 1-800-222-1222. Seizures, difficulty breathing, collapse or severe heart-related symptoms warrant emergency medical attention, experts say.

Some schools are banning use of caffeine pouches by students

Nearly two-thirds of young people ages 12 to 19 consumed caffeine on a given day, according to a July report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their average daily intake was about 31 milligrams, far less than the amount found in some caffeine pouches.

Some K-12 schools have taken precautionary measures to restrict use, such as banning caffeine pouches altogether, over concerns about student health, classroom distractions and the difficulty of distinguishing them from nicotine products. It remains unclear whether usage is increasing among American students, although some schools have reported seeing more of the products on campus.

School districts in New York, Kansas, Pennsylvania and Missouri have included caffeine pouches in student conduct policies or prohibited their use on campus. Other schools, including Onsted Middle School in Michigan and North Middle School in Wisconsin, have warned families to leave the products at home.

Holton High School in Kansas says staff cannot reliably determine what substances are inside the pouches, so they prohibit the products under its rules against tobacco and simulated tobacco products. Violations could result in disciplinary action or citations from law enforcement.

In New York, Peru Central School District officials also raised concerns about the nearly identical appearance of caffeine and nicotine pouches during a May 2025 school board meeting. The district’s code of conduct now prohibits caffeine pills and pouches on school grounds.

“The real issue for us as a school, in the middle and high schools in particular, is that when students are using pouches it’s impossible for us to know what the pouch is,” Joha Battin, associate director of student services for the school district, said during the meeting.

Federal nutrition standards generally prohibit schools from selling caffeinated beverages to elementary and middle school students during the day, but those rules do not restrict what students bring from home, leaving districts to decide whether caffeine pouches belong in classrooms and how to enforce restrictions on products that closely resemble nicotine pouches.