Why I built Unpouch

Last updated August 8, 2026

I'm Michael. I built Unpouch, and this is the story of the twenty-plus years of nicotine that led to it.

Cigarettes first

I started smoking in high school and kept at it through college. Shortly after I graduated I quit with Nicorette gum, and it stuck. I was smoke free for five years, and I honestly thought that chapter of my life was closed.

The vape that didn't count

Then a friend showed up with a vape pen. This was back when they were brand new, and I remember the exact thought: it's not a cigarette, so it's harmless. So I tried it. It wasn't a cigarette, but it was nicotine, and the addiction took hold all over again before I noticed it happening.

Seven years of gum and mints

I went back to the gum to quit the vape, and ended up living on gum and 4 mg mints for about seven years. There were real wins in there, including two separate year-long streaks of being completely nicotine free. Both times, nicotine found its way back in. That's not a character flaw. That's just what this molecule does.

Chantix, and five good years

In 2020 I asked my doctor about Chantix. I took it for about six months, and it worked: I quit, and I stayed quit for five years. It's not required and it's not magic, but for me, that round, it genuinely moved the odds. If you're struggling, it's worth a conversation with your doctor.

One cigarette at the end of 2025

At the end of 2025 I tried a cigarette. Just one, I told myself. The relapse was fast. Gum and mints are expensive, so I tried nicotine pouches instead, and I won't lie: at the time, I loved them. I told myself I'd quit in a few weeks. The few weeks never came.

I tried Chantix again, and this round it wasn't enough on its own. That left the one time-tested method I had never actually tried: a slow, gradual taper. And I'll be honest with you, I knew that good intentions and a simple timer would never hold me to a controlled taper. If I was going to do this, something had to run the schedule for me.

So I built the thing I needed

Unpouch is the app I needed and couldn't find. I researched how a nicotine taper actually works and built that into the engine that powers it, optimized for pouches specifically, down to the pharmacokinetics of how they deliver nicotine. I built it with painstaking care, trying to account for the nuance of addiction and every bit of mental gymnastics we play with ourselves, because I've played all of them.

Here's a confession: I'm what I call a hot swapper. I would go pouch to pouch, tucking in a fresh one the moment the old one lost its flavor, without ever really deciding to. So the first thing I designed was the timer that greets you when you open the app. Its whole job is to break that one mindless swap. It worked for me on day one, and that's when I knew I was onto something.

If you're where I was

Maybe you recognize your own story somewhere in mine. Twenty years of quitting taught me this: you are not weak. You're up against a well-designed molecule and a habit loop that runs without asking you first. You don't need to be ready for a quit date. You just need to be willing to stretch one gap a little longer than yesterday. That, I know you can do.

I built Unpouch for me, but I published it for you. I hope it helps you the way it's helping me.

Story last updated August 8, 2026. This is one person's experience, not medical advice; talk to a doctor about prescription options like Chantix. Unpouch is not affiliated with or endorsed by any pouch manufacturer.