Luuk Wouters warns snus can make players’ legs tremble

In the locker room of FC Den Bosch, small round boxes of snus appear as players ready for a match, and club doctors are sounding the alarm. Luuk Wouters, the club’s physician, says the habit remains widespread despite health warnings. The observation was recorded on 9 October 2026, with the Laatste update logged at 18:30.

Snus still popular in dressing rooms

Snus continues to be popular among professional footballers, according to a recent investigation by the site. Club doctors describe the practice as “concerning and unprofessional”. Fabian van der Poll, a football reporter, recounted a vivid scene: “When I went to the bathroom at half‑time, I saw a spit‑out sachet floating in the toilet.”

The nicotine‑filled pads are placed under the upper lip, where the substance is absorbed through the mucous membrane. Players report differing effects – some feel calmer, others become more alert and energetic. Wouters explains, “The effects you usually see immediately: pupils shrink, faces tighten, and in some you see the legs tremble.”

Wouters, as a medical professional, finds snus addictive and unsuitable for elite athletes. He has helped some players quit, but many persist. “If you use snus for the first time in the doses some players use, you would get heart palpitations,” he warned, noting that regular users need increasing amounts to feel the same rush.

Medical concerns voiced by club doctors

Joost van der Hoek, club doctor at Feyenoord and chair of the College of Club Doctors and Consultants, confirms the issue is longstanding. He adds that the problem also appears among youth players and even in secondary schools. The RIVM’s 2021 report warned that nicotine sachets can cause addiction, throat irritation, stomach problems, nausea, dizziness, and at high doses, damage to the nervous system and heart‑rhythm disorders.

The report also highlighted the risk to the developing brain and warned that the popularity of snus in dressing rooms gives a misleading image to young people. “Many youth and young adults look up to top athletes and may think nicotine sachets are harmless or even beneficial,” the RIVM wrote.

Former first‑division coach Willem Weijs recognises the pattern, recalling that several of his former clubs also saw the substance used. He echoed Kramer’s earlier claim that “everyone in our dressing room took it, and they still do.” Former player Michiel Kramer sparked the investigation after stating that many footballers use snus. He later clarified he is not a user himself but wanted to expose what he called a hypocritical stance by clubs that monitor body‑fat percentages while tolerating nicotine pouches.

Despite RIVM warnings and stricter regulations, the practice persists across multiple clubs, not only at FC Den Bosch. An anonymous young professional summed up the dilemma: “We are allowed so little…”. Snus, originally invented in 18th‑century Sweden as a smokeless tobacco, now poses a modern health challenge for the sport.