‘Snus is a big, big problem in football’ - Johnson

scientific proof. Each pouch contains in the region of three times as much nicotine as a standard cigarette.

“My first day at the training ground, there’s 11 pouches of chewing tobacco on the floor on the training pitch,” Barton said.

“I have had to say to some of the lads, ‘what is going on here?’

“Credit to some of them, some have changed and turned, but the damage is done if in February I’m having to tell you to stop sticking 43g of nicotine under your top lip. Not just one player, by the way, double figures. It’s not good enough. It shouldn’t be happening in professional football.

The Western Daily’s siter website Bristol Live understands that Rovers were not an isolated case and many players throughout the EFL use it to help them prepare for the mental challenges of playing. A number of the Gas players who were using it at the time have since left the club.

The concern is not only around the health warnings, as it has been linked to to pancreatic and oesophageal cancer, and affects sleeping patterns but also how it affects the dynamic of the squad given its addictiveness, while there are also fears from coaches that it can lead to injury.

An unnamed League One boss told The Sun in August : “It’s the devil of football. It’s pretty much part of the footballer’s starter pack - three haircuts a week, a washbag and a pack of snus.

“Last year muscle injuries were up and generally that was put down to

Covid and the games being on average every 3.2 days.

“But I believe probably half were down to snus.

“I don’t think it’s just your muscles, I think it’s your ligaments, your tendons. It’s just putting poison into your body.”

That same report also referenced therapist Andy MacArthur who has claimed to have helped 15 footballers end their addiction to the substance, including one who was waking in the night to take a pouch of the substance.