Are nicotine pouches like Zyn healthier than cigarettes? Here's what you need to know.
As nicotine pouches establish themselves as the 'next big thing' of the tobacco industry, here's what you need to know:
What are nicotine pouches?
Nicotine pouches are small, breath mint-sized microfiber pockets filled with nicotine powder, either from a tobacco plant or made in a lab, that are tucked between the user's cheek and gums.
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Zyn is a brand of nicotine pouches, the most popular for the product based on
Across brands, the pouches are sold in small cans with around 15-20 pouches in each for roughly $6 a can. The pouches are also made in multiple flavors, but those products'
sale is limited in many communities, including in Massachusetts by a 2020 ban on
Mountains are reflected in the windows of the international headquarters of Zyn parent company Philip Morris International, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Laurent Gillieron/Associated Press
Who's using them?
The pouches have quickly gained traction — the cans are seen anywhere from the desks of
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In the first quarter of 2025, Zyn shipments increased by 53 percent from2024, according to Philip Morris.
'There used to be a couple brands, and now it seems like there's a lot of new competitors jumping in,' said Peter Brennan, executive director of the New England Convenience Store & Energy Marketers Association.
The rise in use among young people is worrying doctors and public health officials — nicotine pouches were the second most commonly-used tobacco product among middle and high school students in 2024, lagging behind only e-cigarettes, according to the
Much of the draw for young people to nicotine pouches, said Elise Stevens, an assistant professor at UMass Chan Medical School and director of the school's Center for Tobacco Treatment Research and Training, is built-in to the product — the pouches are easy to use and very discreet, packed in a small, colorful tin. Once they're placed in someone's cheek, they're barely noticeable.
'This can be something that is really appealing to young people because it can be hidden from teachers or from others in places where you're not supposed to smoke or vape,' said Stevens.
Containers of Zyn, a smokeless nicotine pouch, are displayed for sale among other nicotine and tobacco products at a newsstand on Feb. 23, 2024, in New York.
Bebeto Matthews/Associated Press
Are nicotine pouches bad for you?
The short answer from doctors and public health officials: a resounding 'yes.' The experts are worried what health effects will arise a few years down the line from the products, namely dramatic increases in gum disease cases.
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However, the pouches can offer a form of harm reduction for a select group of people, said Sharon Levy, chief of the Division of Addiction Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital. For older adults who are already addicted to nicotine from cigarettes, the pouches can provide an alternative to move away from smoking. The switch is not a treatment for substance use disorders, she said, but rather just switching the use to a potentially less harmful form.
The US Food and Drug Administration in January authorized the marketing of 20 Zyn products nationwide — two nicotine concentration amounts for 10 different flavors — on the basis of lower health risks than other tobacco products.
What are the health risks of using nicotine pouches?
The broad use of nicotine pouches is relatively new, so the long-term health impacts will have to wait.
While nicotine does not introduce the body to the same chemicals as cigarette smoke, researchers have found numerous
The risk of addition is one of the most immediate concerns voiced by doctors. Nicotine in any form is highly addictive, said Levy, but the most addictive products are ones that get nicotine to the brain the fastest at the highest concentrations, making nicotine pouches a 'very addictive form,' she said, especially for children and young adults, whose brains are more susceptible to addiction and are first being introduced to nicotine through the pouches.
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Maren Halpin can be reached at
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