Snus is a smokeless tobacco product used under the lip that delivers nicotine without smoke. It is illegal to sell, market, or import in the UK due to a ban dating back to 1992 but is popular among footballers in the Premier League.
During his time with England, where he won seven caps, Cole revealed that his teammates offered the pouch, claiming it was a calming agent.
"Some of the lads back then had this thing called snus," Cole explained to 10bet. "They said, 'No, trust me, it's good for you.' I didn't even know it was tobacco. I just smelled it, it was minty. So I thought, I’ll have a go.
"They said, 'Coley, it can help settle you down.' I was like, 'Oh, is it? I'll have a go'," he recalled.
"This is what I'm like, I try things I shouldn't be doing just because everyone else is doing it."
However, the joke did not pay off as Cole started to feel the effects physically and mentally as he explained:
"After five minutes I started to feel a little bit… I'm not going to say who gave it to me," he said. "Then I started to feel a bit light-headed. I was thinking, oh, this is all right. Then I started to feel my stomach go.
“I remember sliding off into the bathroom and going into gripping pain. My stomach was hurting. I was on the tiled floor in a foetal position. All from a snus. The lads were laughing their heads off!
"I’ve never touched snus since!"
Sale of snus is banned in most of the EU minus Sweden where it originates from. Cole certainly won’t be touching it again after such an incident where it clearly did not agree with him.
The product remains popular among footballers, however, and is often used to calm player’s nerves which can be a major factor at the highest level in the game.