WASHINGTON D.C., DC — Step aside e-cigs: there’s another nicotine product possibly on the chopping block. Federal agencies may soon take a closer look at Zyn nicotine pouches after a top U.S. lawmaker called them the next “trend in addiction for teens."
Zyns are tobacco-less, oral nicotine pouches that give users the effects of nicotine, without spitting or smoking.
On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer delivered a stark warning to parents about the product, and urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission to look into Zyn’s marketing practices to teens and investigate possible health effects from the nicotine pouches.
“It's a pouch packed with problems — high levels of nicotine. So today, I'm delivering a warning to parents because these nicotine pouches seem to lock their sights on young kids — teenagers, and even lower — and then use the social media to hook 'em,” Schumer said in a press conference.
It’s a request that quickly prompted backlash on social media from avid Zyn users and several Republican lawmakers, who voiced support for the product and decried Schumer's request as an overreach. It's a group that included Indiana Sen. Mike Braun.
“While there’s a health care consideration, everybody has to look at that,” Braun told Politico. “I don’t like the government banning stuff, either.”
Republican Rep. Ronny Jackson, of Texas, also shared an iteration of the "Don’t Tread on Me" flag, with a snake holding a Zyn case in its mouth.
Florida Rep. Mike Waltz wrote: “I know for a fact our service members and emergency responders use Zyn as an alternative to tobacco to help stay alert. This is a massive overreach.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, posted a photo of himself dressed head-to-toe in hunting gear, supporting the product on X.
“Big Brother Schumer doesn’t want us to chew or smoke. Now he’s against an alternative that’s helped many quit. Come and take it!” Hudson wrote.
Although nicotine pouches are a relatively new product that hit the market about a decade ago, they’ve proven popular. Parent company Phillip Morris International reported in a third quarter 2023 earning announcement that shipment volumes of Zyn cans in the U.S. had grown by 65.7% compared to the third quarter of 2022.
For their part, Phillip Morris International maintains their products meet and exceed federal regulations.
“Philip Morris International and its affiliates—including Swedish Match, the manufacturer of ZYN—fully meet and exceed the regulations governing the industry,” the company said to 13News in a statement.
They continued: “Our marketing practices—which prohibit the use of social media influencers—are focused on preventing underage access and set the benchmark for the industry. Real-world evidence shows this approach is working: the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FDA show oral nicotine pouch use by those under the legal age remains exceptionally low.”
Here’s what else to know about Zyns.
What are Zyns?
These nicotine pouches are available in a variety of flavors and levels of nicotine, marketed as a safer way to consume nicotine. The Zyn website cautions up front that their products contain nicotine, and makes users go through rounds of age identification and other questions before they can proceed.
The health study from the University of Nebraska found side effects from the product can include irritation of the gums, sore mouth, hiccups or nausea. Researchers there also claimed "there is no data to show nicotine pouches as a safe or effective way to quit."
Zyns can be put in between someone’s gum and lip, and left there for between 5 and 10 minutes, or up to 30 minutes, according to the company’s website.
Consumers like them because they're more subtle than dip, but researchers largely caution the long-term effects of taking Zyns aren't fully well known.
What’s in a Zyn?
According to the Zyn website, the pouches contain microcrystalline cellulose, maltitol and ingredients used to “add bulk to each pouch."
They come in 10 different flavors: cool mint, wintergreen, cinnamon, peppermint, spearmint, citrus, coffee, menthol, chill and smooth.
Zyns contain two levels of nicotine per can, with the company offering 3 mg or 6 mg cans.
Can teens buy Zyns?
No. Zyn has an age restriction, and the pouches can only be purchased by people who are 21 or older. A report released by the FDA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in November 2023 showed youth tobacco use declined among U.S. high school students overall during 2022-2023, at rates of 16.5% to 12.6%. This decline was primarily driven by e-cigarettes, according to the report, which translates to 580,000 fewer high school students who currently used e-cigarettes in 2023. Ten percent of students, or 2.80 million students, reported current use of any tobacco product.
The most commonly used devices, according to the study, were:
- E-cigarettes (7.7%)
- Cigars (1.6%)
- Cigarettes (1.6%)
- Nicotine pouches (1.5%)
- Smokeless (chewing tobacco, snuff, dip or snus) (1.2%)
- Other oral nicotine products (lozenges, discs, tablets, gums, dissolvable tobacco products and other products) (1.2%)
- Hookahs (1.1%)
- Heated tobacco products (1.0%)
- Pipe tobacco (0.5%)
No current federal regulations exist that prevent or restrict the sale of oral nicotine pouches.