FDA Clears Zyn: Will Nicotine Pouches Hook a New Generation?

UC San Francisco researchers say federal regulators have handed the tobacco industry a potent new marketing tool — one that could help the largest nicotine pouch maker lure a new generation of users.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared Philip Morris-owned Zyn on June 30 to claim that using Zyn instead of cigarettes could put consumers at “lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.”

Although the percentage of Americans who use nicotine pouches remains small — in the low single digits — their popularity among youth and young adults nearly quadrupled between 2022 and 2025, according to a national study. An FDA analysis released in June found the popularity of pouches remained steady among youth as demand for other tobacco products has declined.

We spoke with Pamela Ling, MD, MPH, director of UCSF’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, an international leader in tobacco control policies and science. She explains what these relatively new products are, what the potential health risks are, and how the FDA decision could open the floodgates for other pouch manufacturers to make similar claims.

What are nicotine pouches?

They’re porous packets that resemble small tea bags. You place them between your lip and gum. They contain nicotine and a filler material, and the nicotine is absorbed through the tissues in your mouth into your bloodstream.

Products like this have existed for a long time. In Sweden, a form of smokeless tobacco called “snus” uses tobacco in pouches placed under the lip, and similar pouch tobacco products have been sold in the U.S. for years.

Nicotine pouches are the next generation: they don’t contain tobacco leaf at all, just nicotine in a cellulose-based filler, often with added flavors. In that sense, they’re to smokeless tobacco what e-cigarettes are to cigarettes. They deliver nicotine, but without the tobacco leaf.

How are nicotine pouches different from smokeless tobacco?

Nicotine pouches appeal to many users because they seem cleaner and more discreet than traditional smokeless tobacco. Products like chewing tobacco are often seen as messy and unappealing. And they require spitting, which a lot of people find disgusting.

By contrast, nicotine pouches are small, white, and don’t require spitting, which makes them look more modern and less off-putting. That cleaner image can make them seem less dangerous, even to people who wouldn’t use smokeless tobacco.

Why are these products appealing, and who’s using them?

They’re widely available in convenience stores, and heavily promoted on social media, including with memes and stunt-like videos of guys trying to pack as many pouches as they can into their gums.

Some people might confuse nicotine pouches with nicotine replacement therapy and could be drawn to them as a way to quit other tobacco products.

Why is this one brand, Zyn, getting all this attention now?

Zyn is getting a lot of attention right now because it’s the first product in this category to receive authorization to be marketed as less harmful than cigarettes, which gives it a major boost in visibility. That draws attention not just to the brand, but the entire category of nicotine pouches.

This sounds like a similar playbook to e-cigarettes, which led to a policy battle over flavored tobacco products. Is this another way to hook new users?

If this feels like déjà vu, it’s because the industry strategy is to keep developing new products and putting them out there. Often the marketing really outpaces the science on the products. And once we start to amass data on one product, the industry is ready with a new one.

Bottom line, if the product drives a whole new generation of nicotine addiction among young people, then, even if it’s safer than smoking, it’s not a good thing.

Cigarettes are full of toxic and cancer-causing chemicals. Is this tobacco-free alternative safer?

People often assume these products are safer, and it’s true they likely expose users to fewer toxic chemicals than cigarettes. But “safer” doesn’t mean safe; nicotine itself is highly addictive, and we still don’t have long-term data on these newer products.

There are really two issues. One is whether the product is less harmful than smoking. The other is who’s using it. If nicotine pouches end up driving a new generation of addiction, especially among young people, then even if they’re less harmful than cigarettes, that’s still a major public health concern.

How will this new rule affect public health and impact the gains we’ve made on cutting tobacco use?

We don't know exactly what the impact is going to be. There may be potential for both benefits and harms, but how these products are marketed will shape how people use them and ultimately effect the overall public health impact of the product.

There's no data suggesting that they are an effective smoking cessation device, and it’s quite possible that the pouches could actually prolong tobacco use. Data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey published in Pediatrics shows that nicotine pouches were the only tobacco product to increase use among middle and high school students.  And if they cause young people to initiate nicotine use, that’s a clear public health issue.

UCSF tobacco experts opposed this marketing application. What advice do you have for parents and others concerned about nicotine pouch use?

Even if the FDA approves this, that doesn’t mean the decision is final. The agency can revisit it, particularly if it becomes clear that there is a significant increase in youth uptake, or if people experience health harms.

What we do next matters. We need to be vigilant. That means parents, communities, and researchers sharing what they’re seeing, raising concerns to the FDA, and helping document how these products are being used. At the same time, there’s a real need for better public education, especially for young people, about how much nicotine these pouches contain and how quickly they can lead to addiction.