Your Glovebox Is Cooking Your Pouches

Heat is the dumbest way to ruin a $9.99 can of pouches, because it's completely preventable. In July, with temperatures pushing triple digits, the main thing is to keep your cans out of a parked car.

What a hot car actually does

A car parked in the summer sun gets much hotter than the air outside, and that includes the glovebox and the cupholder. A pouch is a mix of plant fiber, water, flavoring and nicotine, and an afternoon at those temperatures throws that mix off. The moisture moves around and the flavor oils go flat, so a crisp mint ends up tasting stale. It still works, but it won't taste like much.

Where to keep cans in summer

• Best: a drawer or cupboard indoors, out of the sun.
• Fine: your pocket. A few hours at body temperature won't hurt the can you're using.
• Not great: a bag in the shade, or a lunchbox on a jobsite.
• No: the dashboard, cupholder, glovebox or truck bed. If you wouldn't leave chocolate there, don't leave a can there.

People ask about the fridge every summer. If you've stocked up, keeping unopened cans in the fridge is a reasonable way to keep them fresh longer (our post on whether pouches expire covers shelf life in detail). For the can you're using, it's overkill. A cool, dark spot gets you most of the benefit, and your mint won't end up tasting like the fridge.

The car rules

Carry the day's can in your pocket, not the console. If a can does spend a hot afternoon in the car, it isn't ruined. Open it, expect duller flavor, and finish it sooner rather than later.

One more thing that matters in a family car: to a kid, a pouch can looks exactly like a candy tin. Keep the lid clicked shut and the can out of the cupholder and out of reach, every time. These are for adults, so store them where only adults can get to them.

Buying for the season

Summer is also a good reason not to stock up too far ahead. Buy at the rate you actually use (our post on how long a can lasts has the math), and keep your extra cans indoors. If you order 25s, keep one can out and the rest somewhere cool, so your hot-weather picks taste the way they should. If you're flying somewhere cooler to get away from the heat, our guide to flying with pouches covers packing.

WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.