Zyn Nicotine Pouches Could be Dangerous: What you need to know?

(CTN News) – Despite previous generations’ recommendations to avoid cigarettes and vapes, flavoured nicotine pouches like Zyn Nicotine have become the latest product viewed as a safer alternative, at least by some.

Experts have advised kids to avoid these products, citing misleading public claims about their use and unknown long-term effects.

On the company’s website, Zyn is billed as “a fresh way to enjoy nicotine.” No smoking or spitting is required; just put a pouch between your gum and upper lip for an hour of enjoyment.

Is Zyn Nicotine bad for you?

Health experts at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said there isn’t any evidence to support Zyn Nicotine’s effectiveness, and they don’t recommend any pouches for users looking to quit smoking.

For smokers who have already quit tobacco, the university recommends weaning off nicotine pouches for full nicotine freedom. Instead, it recommended nicotine patches, gum, and lozenges.

In a statement last month, Senate majority leader Charles Schumer called Zyn a “quiet and dangerous alternative” to e-cigarettes. The pouches could be the next tobacco product to cause teen addiction, according to him, so he said he wanted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to stop the company’s marketing practices.

It seems like these nicotine pouches lock their eyes on teens and use social media to hook them, Schumer said, so he’s giving parents a warning. “Nicotine is highly addictive, so we need to do a lot more to communicate the health risks.”

What is Zyn Nicotine?

Zyn comes in brightly coloured containers with mint, cinnamon, and citrus flavours. Influencers use sites like TikTok to promote their posts.

Zyn Nicotine manufacturer Swedish Match’s parent company, Philip Morris International, says it’s done everything possible to market the product properly.

Senior communications specialist Sam Dashiell says the company doesn’t use social media influencers to sell pouches. Facebook and Instagram aren’t for people 21 and older; we follow the marketing rules.

“Whilst we don’t have control or authority over user-generated content on social media platforms, we remain vigilant about monitoring content and reporting concerns where possible to stop underage use, product misuse, and inappropriate content or claims involving our products,” Dashiell said.

On its website, Zyn Nicotine acknowledges the health concerns regarding its product. It’s only for 21-year-olds, and every can warns that it contains nicotine, an addictive chemical.

According to the site, Zyn is an “alternative” to smoking and dipping, and anyone worried about nicotine’s health effects should quit using any related products.

” According to the FDA, different methods of nicotine consumption carry a continuum of risks and there may be less harmful ways to get nicotine,” the site says.

Zyn Nicotine responded by highlighting recent data showing that underage users aren’t a big problem.

According to a survey done by the FDA in 2023, 10% of high school students used tobacco products, but only 1.5% used nicotine pouches. It’s way behind e-cigarettes, the most popular product among teens, at 7.7%, and cigars and cigarettes, which came in at 1.6%.