Dark graphic of a plain outlined can with its lid beside the article title, in the Snus Freak house style

How to open a pouch can without spilling it

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Break the perforated seal on the side label first, then twist the lid until the arrows line up, then lift it off level — over a flat surface. Most spills happen because people pull before breaking the seal, or because the released lid comes away at an angle and tips the can with it. Not every can works this way, and only one manufacturer anywhere publishes how to empty the compartment in the top.

This sounds like a non-problem until the first time twenty pouches go across a car footwell. The can is not a simple tub — it is a certified child-resistant closure, and the motion that releases it is almost exactly the motion that spills it. What follows is built from manufacturers’ own instructions, the patents describing these closures, and FDA’s review documents; where nobody publishes anything, and there is more of that than you would expect, I say so rather than guess.

The steps

1. Put the can down on something flat

Do this first and it removes most of the risk in the rest of the list: everything that follows involves force, and force applied to a can held in mid-air is force applied to a can that can tilt. No manufacturer says this — it is my advice, and the reason comes out of the patent in step 3.

2. Break the perforated seal on the side label

Almost every can of this type has a perforated paper or film band round the join between lid and base. Until it is broken the lid will not turn, and pulling harder will not help. ZYN’s own instruction, verbatim: “To open, break the perforation of the side label, twist the lid to align the top and bottom arrows on the can, and lift off the lid.” ZYN UK gives the same first move on its own: “Start by breaking the perforation seal on the side of the can to open it.” Pablo’s is shorter still — “Break the seal to open the can”.

The seal is doing double duty. FDA’s technical review of ZYN notes that the can has “a perforated side label that is broken when the product is opened”, with printed instructions to “break perforation on side label”, and concludes that “the perforated side label and the instructions demonstrate tamper resistance sufficiently from an engineering perspective”. So it is both a tamper-evidence feature and a mechanical interlock. Breaking it is not optional and it is not vandalism.

Run a thumbnail round it rather than attacking one spot. A seal that tears in one place and holds everywhere else is what makes people apply the jerk that empties the can.

3. Twist until the arrows line up

This is the child-resistant mechanism, and the patent describing it explains why half-measures fail. Swedish Match’s own patent for a child-resistant snuff container (US 2018/0319556 A1, granted as US 10,618,707 B2, inventor Simon Straughan) describes a base and a closure in which “A portion of the base side wall (107) is formed by a resiliently flexible tongue (133)”. The container “is opened by rotating the closure part 103 and the base part 102 in relation to each other” — and the release is “triggered only when applying pressure to the upper part of the resiliently flexible tongue”. Pressing lower down does nothing. That is the child-deterrent: a small hand squeezing the middle of the can will not release it.

The alignment marks are part of the design, not decoration. The patent describes “a triangular cut-out 145 on the closure part 103 and a corresponding triangular cut-out 146 on the base part 102”, noting that “The alignment means signal that a release position has been reached” and that “other alignment means may be used such as arrows, lines, dots, etc.” ZYN’s arrows are that feature in production.

So: grip the upper part of the can, turn until the two marks meet, and stop. If it is not turning, go back to the seal.

4. Lift the lid level, not at an angle

Here is the sentence that explains the spill. The patent describes the opening motion as “removing the closure part by tilting it upward, away from the disengaged locking members”. A tilt, not a straight lift. ZYN’s consumer copy simplifies this to “lift off the lid”.

Tilting a lid off a full can is exactly the motion that pitches loose pouches out of it — the documented release geometry and the accident are the same movement. That is my reading of the mechanism rather than a claim any manufacturer makes, but it matches what actually happens. Lift as level as you can manage, with the can standing on something.

5. Check what is in the lid before you turn it over

Not all lids are the same, and this is where people get caught out moving between products. ZYN is the clearest example. Its own FAQ says “The ZYN Ultra can is different than the classic can. It is built with a convenient disposal compartment in the top for discarding pouches.” The classic can — 15 pouches — has no such compartment. ZYN Ultra — 20 pouches — does. Two cans from one brand, two different objects.

VELO’s US FAQ describes VELO PLUS and VELO MAX as being “in a large, child-resistant circular can with a disposal lid”, and conspicuously does not describe the standard VELO can as either child-resistant or as having a disposal lid.

If you flip a lid that has a loaded compartment in it, you empty the compartment. Look first.

6. Emptying the compartment

One manufacturer in the world publishes an instruction for this, and it is VELO Ireland: “simply lift the small section of the lid to reveal the storage space”, then “dispose of all stored pouches into the general household waste”. The same page tells you how long it is reasonable to leave them in there — “You can keep used VELO pouches in the waste compartment for a few days”, though “it’s a good idea to empty the compartment regularly to keep everything clean and fresh” — and, when you are finishing a can, “Make sure the pouches are removed from the main compartment and the waste compartment in the lid.”

Nobody else gives a mechanical instruction. ZYN names the compartment and never tells you how to empty it. Nordic Spirit calls it “the top of the can” and says only to “dispose of it in the general waste or store in the top of the can until you can do so”. Pablo refers to “the compartment on the lid” and stops. Rogue publishes nothing about the can at all — its FAQ has a heading reading “Safe Storage and Keep Out of Reach of Children” with no answer text under it.

Incidentally, “catch lid” — the phrase everyone uses — is not a manufacturer’s word. Across seven makers I found “disposal lid” and “utility lid” (Swedish Match), “disposal compartment in the top” (ZYN US), “the convenient space inside the lid” (ZYN UK), “disposal lid” (VELO US), “waste compartment located in the lid” (VELO Ireland), “the compartment on the lid” (Pablo) and “the top of the can” (Nordic Spirit). Not one of them says catch lid.

7. Close it properly

Press the lid back down until it seats. The only published closing instruction from anyone, maker or regulator, is FDA’s: “engage any child-resistant features of the packaging each time it is closed”. ZYN UK adds “Keep the can tightly closed when not in use.”

That closing step matters for a second reason. A British American Tobacco patent for a compartmented snus container identifies the problem it was solving as a seal that “may become worn or damaged after repeated removal and replacement of the lid”. A can gets worse at sealing the more it is opened — which is the honest mechanism behind pouches going dry and sticky near the bottom of a tin.

Common mistakes

Pulling before the seal is broken. The most common one, and the one that causes the dramatic spills, because the force that finally overcomes the seal is still being applied when the lid comes free.

Squeezing the wrong part of the can. If the can uses the flexible-tongue mechanism, pressure has to be on the upper part of the tongue. The patent is explicit that pressure on the lower end does not release it. Gripping a can around its middle and twisting is gripping it in the one place designed not to work.

Opening it in mid-air, over a lap or a car seat. See step 4. The lid is designed to come away with a tilt.

Flipping the lid over without looking. If there is a used-pouch compartment and it has anything in it, turning the lid upside down is a decision, not an accident.

Assuming the next can works like the last one. ZYN classic and ZYN Ultra differ. Standard VELO and VELO PLUS differ. FDA’s review of on! PLUS describes “a can with a flat lid assembly (14 pouches per can)” opened “by breaking the perforated label and twisting the lid to align the top and bottom arrows” — the same closure as ZYN, but a flat lid with no compartment at all.

Decanting into a tin or a pillbox. This one is not about spilling. FDA is direct: “Nicotine pouches should be stored in their original packaging, since transferring products to other containers that may not be child resistant could increase the risk of accidental exposure.” A nicer container is a worse container.

Troubleshooting

Problem Most likely cause What to do
The lid will not turn at all The perforated side seal is intact or only partly torn Run a nail all the way round the perforation before trying again
It turns but will not come off The alignment marks are not actually lined up, or pressure is on the wrong part of the can Line the marks up exactly; grip the upper part of the can rather than the middle
It came off suddenly and pouches went everywhere The lid released mid-tilt while the can was unsupported Open over a flat surface; lift level once the marks meet
Pouches fell out of the lid Used-pouch compartment was loaded and the lid was inverted Check the lid before turning it; empty the compartment regularly
Pouches feel dry or stuck together Repeated opening degrades the seal; heat and humidity do the rest Close it firmly every time and store at normal room temperature
A child may have got into the can — Call Poison Control on 1-800-222-1222 immediately. FDA reports toxic effects in young children “with nicotine doses as low as 1 to 4 milligrams”
Symptoms and causes, built from manufacturers’ published instructions, container patents and FDA review documents.

Is the child-resistant can actually required?

Worth knowing, because it explains why the cans are not consistent. The answer is no — it is reviewed, not mandated. The US regulation that lists substances needing special packaging, 16 CFR § 1700.14, runs to 33 numbered items ending at imidazolines. Mouthwash containing ethanol is on that list. Nicotine, in any form, is not. The statute that does cover nicotine, the Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015 at 15 U.S.C. § 1472a, is drafted entirely around a “liquid nicotine container” — a package “from which nicotine in a solution or other form is accessible” and “that is used to hold soluble nicotine in any concentration”. It never mentions pouches or oral nicotine. A fleece pouch of dry powder in a plastic can does not fit that definition, which is my reading of the text rather than an agency determination.

FDA’s position reflects the gap. In September 2025 it issued a press announcement that “calls on nicotine pouch manufacturers to use child-resistant packaging”, reporting that “Approximately 72% of nicotine pouch exposure cases occurred in children under 5 years of age”. It urges. It sets no rule and no deadline.

Child resistance reaches these cans by a different route: the premarket application. FDA’s review of on! PLUS records that the applicant supplied “CRP test reports including testing protocols, raw data, and a summary of test results according to 16 CFR § 1700.20” and “CRP certification from an accredited laboratory”. That is the child-resistance test protocol being applied voluntarily, as evidence inside an application, rather than as compliance with a packaging rule.

Britain has a power to go further and has not used it. Section 94 of the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 lets the Secretary of State make regulations about the retail packaging of nicotine products, expressly including “the means by which packaging is opened” and “the number of individual products contained in an individual packet”. The section came into force at Royal Assent. No regulations have been made under it.

So the practical summary is: the can in your hand is child-resistant because its maker chose to make it so and told FDA, not because the law required it. Which is also why how you store a can matters more than it would if the packaging were standardised.

If you are new to all this, the step-by-step first pouch guide picks up where this leaves off, and the common first-time mistakes covers the rest.

Sources

Last verified: 9 October 2026.

Nicotine is addictive. No tobacco or nicotine product is safe, and completely stopping is the lowest-risk option. This site is for adults who already use nicotine — 21+ in the United States, 18+ or your local legal age elsewhere. Nothing here is medical advice.