Ex-England international reveals he was left in the foetal position after team-mates convinced him to take snus on Three Lions duty

The former West Ham target man has shared a fresh anecdote from his time in the England setup that highlights the brutal nature of dressing room banter. Speaking in a candid interview, the 42-year-old detailed a "minty" misunderstanding that left him incapacitated while his team-mates played video games nearby.

The incident occurred during one of Cole's seven call-ups to the national team between 2009 and 2010. While the striker is no stranger to pranks, having famously told the story of Jermain Defoe and Wayne Rooney tricking him into taking Viagra, this particular episode involved a tobacco product that was just beginning to gain popularity among footballers.

"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." 

The prank unfolded in a hotel room where several England stars had gathered to relax and play computer games. Cole, always eager to be part of the camaraderie, was offered the pouch under the guise of it being a calming agent. "They said, 'Coley, it can help settle you down.' I was like, 'Oh, is it? I'll have a go'," he recalled.

Unfamiliar with the potency of snus, a smokeless tobacco product that is placed between the upper lip and gum, Cole was unprepared for the sensation. When he complained that the pouch was stinging his gum, his mischievous team-mates urged him to persist, claiming the discomfort was merely the product "getting into your system" and promising he would "feel great afterwards."

Admitting his own susceptibility to peer pressure, Cole confessed: "This is what I'm like, I try things I shouldn't be doing just because everyone else is doing it." He followed their instructions, holding the pouch in place, completely unaware of the high nicotine content that was rapidly entering his bloodstream.

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The effects were immediate and overwhelming. Initially, Cole experienced a light-headed sensation that he mistook for the promised relaxation. 

"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!"

This is not the first time Cole has highlighted the boisterous atmosphere within the England camp during that era. His previous revelation involving Wayne Rooney and Jermain Defoe remains one of the most infamous stories of international duty. In that instance, the pair gave him a blue pill they claimed was a vitamin to help his energy levels, only for Cole to discover during training that he had actually been given Viagra.

"I had an erection and I was the quickest person around the pitch!" he joked about that incident. "I had three legs."