Nicotine Drops Under the Tongue: What Exists and What to Know

There is no FDA-approved nicotine drop for use under the tongue. The "nicotinum" drops we found in the US are homeopathic products, diluted to trace amounts or less, and vape e-liquid isn't made to go in your mouth at all. The nicotine products actually designed for under the tongue are tablets and melts, plus mouth sprays in some countries outside the US.

What people mean by "nicotine drops"

Search for nicotine drops under the tongue and you'll find three different things mixed together.

Homeopathic "nicotinum" drops

DailyMed, the National Library of Medicine's database of drug labels, lists several oral liquids and sprays with Nicotinum (the homeopathic name for nicotine) as an ingredient. The ones we checked are all listed as "unapproved homeopathic." One lists Nicotinum at 6X, taken as drops by mouth. Another lists it at 15X. A third is a pump spray at 10X whose directions say to hold it under the tongue before swallowing.

So how much nicotine is in them? The number in front of the X or C is a dilution, not a dose. Each X step dilutes the starting material 1:10, so 6X is one part per million. Each C step is 1:100, and by 12C (24X) the product is diluted so far that it's unlikely to contain even one molecule of the original substance. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health says many homeopathic products are so diluted that no molecules of the original substance remain, and that no homeopathic products are currently FDA-approved.

One caveat: a homeopathic label doesn't guarantee a tiny amount. The Merck Manual notes that some remedies sold as homeopathic contain ingredients in amounts that can have physiologic effects. Read the potency on the label instead of assuming.

Vape e-liquid

Some people wonder whether they can put a few drops of e-liquid under the tongue. E-liquid is refill liquid for e-cigarettes, and it isn't made to be taken by mouth. FDA's guidance is blunt: never drink e-liquid or let anyone else drink it, because the liquid nicotine can be poisonous. Our post on nicotine liquid covers e-liquid itself.

Under-the-tongue products that aren't liquids

Some people searching for drops want any nicotine product that goes under the tongue. Those mostly come as tablets and melts. In the UK, NHS guidance lists "microtabs," small nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) tablets that dissolve under the tongue. The patient information for one of them, Nicorette Microtab 2mg, published by Sweden's Medical Products Agency, says to place it under the tongue, let it dissolve, and not chew or swallow it.

In the US, nicotine tablets and melts sold outside of NRT fall under FDA's authority over tobacco products, whether the nicotine comes from tobacco or is made synthetically. Our guide to nicotine tablets goes deeper on that format, and nicotine strips are another non-liquid format you may come across.

Liquid nicotine is a poisoning risk

The facts here come from US poison centers and federal agencies.

• It's concentrated. America's Poison Centers says the concentration of nicotine in liquid products is higher than in most other tobacco products. People can be exposed by drinking it, spilling it on the skin, or breathing in too much vapor.

• Most cases involve young children. Between 2011 and 2025, poison centers managed 59,297 exposure cases involving e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine, most of them accidental exposures in children under 6. FDA reports 7,043 e-cigarette or e-liquid exposure cases from April 2022 to March 2023, about 88% of them in children under 5.

• Effects range from mild to severe. Poison centers list nausea, vomiting and dizziness, and in serious cases seizures, decreased heart rate and decreased blood pressure. FDA says young children who drink e-liquid can have seizures, fall into a coma, stop breathing or die. A 2014 CDC report on poison center calls recorded exposures by swallowing, inhaling, and contact with the eyes and skin.

• The law requires child-resistant packaging. The Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015, signed into law in January 2016, requires nicotine in any liquid nicotine container, at any concentration, to be sold in special packaging that meets federal child-resistance standards. The Consumer Product Safety Commission enforces that rule and says the packaging must also restrict the flow of liquid.

Store any nicotine product up, away and out of sight of kids. If someone swallows liquid nicotine, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

How under-the-tongue absorption works

The area under the tongue is lined with a thin, non-keratinized membrane, about 100 to 200 micrometers thick, according to an overview in Pharmaceutical Technology. The tissue is also highly vascularized. Drug absorbed through those blood vessels enters general circulation directly, without first passing through the liver (what pharmacologists call first-pass metabolism).

Nicotine adds its own chemistry. It is a weak base, and in acidic conditions it is mostly ionized and doesn't cross membranes readily. That's why smokeless tobacco and nicotine replacement products are buffered to an alkaline pH to support absorption through the lining of the mouth, according to a pharmacology review by Benowitz and colleagues.

Why keeping it in place matters. The space under the tongue is constantly washed by saliva and moved by the tongue, so part of a dose can be swallowed instead of absorbed through the lining, the Pharmaceutical Technology overview notes. The Frontiers in Pharmacology review makes the same point. That's why sublingual tablet directions say not to chew or swallow them, and nicotine lozenge directions say not to chew or swallow the lozenge or eat while it's in your mouth.

Why swallowing changes things. Nicotine that's swallowed takes a different path. It goes through the digestive system, and the swallowed portion is subject to first-pass metabolism in the liver, per the Benowitz review.

For more detail, read how sublingual delivery works, the science of nicotine absorption, and our science page.

Drops vs. tablets and melts vs. sprays vs. lozenges

This table compares how each format is used and sold. It doesn't rank them. For a longer side-by-side, see nicotine tablets vs. gum, lozenges and pouches, and our post on nicotine spray.

FAQ

Can you put nicotine under your tongue?

Yes, if the product is made for it. Sublingual tablets and melts are designed to dissolve under the tongue, and mouth sprays sold in some countries are aimed under the tongue or inside the cheek. Products made for other uses, like vape e-liquid, don't belong there. Follow the directions on whatever product you use.

Are nicotine drops legal?

It depends on the product. Homeopathic nicotinum drops are sold over the counter as unapproved homeopathic drugs, and none is FDA-approved. More broadly, FDA regulates tobacco products containing nicotine from any source, including synthetic nicotine, and federal law sets the minimum sale age at 21 for all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Liquid nicotine containers must be child-resistant. None of the FDA-approved NRT forms is a drop, and state and local rules vary.

Can you put vape juice under your tongue?

No. Vape e-liquid is made for e-cigarettes, not for your mouth. FDA says never to drink it because liquid nicotine can be poisonous, and it lists contact in the mouth as one of the ways exposure happens. If someone swallows e-liquid, call Poison Help at 1-800-222-1222.

Do homeopathic nicotine drops actually contain nicotine?

The ones we checked contain trace amounts at most: 6X is one part per million, and at 12C or higher it's unlikely a single molecule remains. Some products sold as homeopathic do contain measurable amounts, so read the label.

Is there a sublingual nicotine tablet?

Yes. The UK and Sweden sell sublingual tablets as NRT. In the US, nicotine tablets and melts that aren't NRT are sold to adults 21 and over. BRST, covered below, is one.

Sources

• DailyMed search: Nicotinum — https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=nicotinum

• DailyMed label: Nicotinum 6X oral drops — https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=80713051-d18d-419f-93ed-b4297185b207

• DailyMed label: Nicotinum 15X — https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=9d38fd5a-1657-11e5-e053-2a95a90a47ee

• DailyMed label: Nicotinum 10X pump spray — https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=f4fc1591-b501-468f-bc36-254a7a3e0fdd

• FPnotebook, Homeopathic Products — https://fpnotebook.com/Pharm/Alternative/HmpthcPrdct.htm

• NCCIH, Homeopathy — https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/homeopathy

• Merck Manual Professional, Homeopathy — https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/special-subjects/integrative-complementary-and-alternative-medicine/homeopathy

• FDA, How to Properly Store E-Liquids and Prevent Accidental Exposure in Children — https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/how-properly-store-e-liquids-and-prevent-accidental-exposure-e-liquids-children

• NHS, Nicotine replacement therapies — https://www.nhs.uk/better-health/quit-smoking/ready-to-quit-smoking/quit-with-nicotine-replacement-therapies-nrt/

• Swedish Medical Products Agency, Nicorette Microtab 2 mg patient information — https://docetp.mpa.se/LMF/Nicorette%20Microtab%202%20mg%20sublingual%20tablet%20ENG%20PL_09001bee807a51a9.pdf

• FDA, Regulation and Enforcement of Non-Tobacco Nicotine (NTN) Products — https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/tobacco-products-ingredients-components/regulation-and-enforcement-non-tobacco-nicotine-ntn-products

• America's Poison Centers, Tobacco and Liquid Nicotine — https://poisoncenters.org/prevention/tobacco-liquid-nicotine

• America's Poison Centers, E-Cigarettes and Liquid Nicotine data — https://poisoncenters.org/track/ecigarettes-liquid-nicotine

• CDC MMWR, Calls to Poison Centers for Exposures to Electronic Cigarettes (2014) — https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6313a4.htm

• Child Nicotine Poisoning Prevention Act of 2015 (CPSC) — https://cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/Child-Nicotine-Poisoning-Prevention-Act-of-2015.pdf

• CSP Daily News, Obama signs e-liquid packaging bill — https://cspdailynews.com/tobacco/obama-signs-e-liquid-packaging-bill

• 15 U.S.C. 1472a (Cornell LII) — https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1472a

• CPSC, Safety Regulator Warns Vape Shops and Other Retailers (2020) — https://cpsc.gov/Newsroom/News-Releases/2020/Safety-Regulator-Warns-Vape-Shops-and-Other-Retailers-Selling-Liquid-Nicotine-without-Proper-Packaging-is-Against-Federal-Law

• Pharmaceutical Technology, Considerations in Developing Sublingual Tablets — https://www.pharmtech.com/view/considerations-developing-sublingual-tablets-overview

• Frontiers in Pharmacology (2019), sublingual drug delivery review — https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.01328/full

• Benowitz NL et al., Nicotine chemistry, metabolism, kinetics and biomarkers — https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2953858/

• MedlinePlus, Nicotine lozenge — https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a606019.html

• MedlinePlus, Nicotine replacement therapy — https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007438.htm

• Healthify NZ, Nicotine mouth spray — https://healthify.nz/medicines-a-z/n/nicotine-mouth-spray

• FDA, Tobacco 21 — https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/retail-sales-tobacco-products/tobacco-21

A note on BRST

BRST is a 2mg peppermint melt that dissolves under the tongue. It is a tablet, not a liquid drop, and it is not FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy. Adults 21+. Nicotine is addictive.

When you searched for nicotine drops, were you looking for a liquid, or for anything that goes under the tongue?