From flavored e-cigarettes to “tobacco-free” nicotine, the tobacco industry is constantly reinventing tobacco and finding new ways to entice young people to use its products.  

The latest so-called innovation? Nicotine pouches like Zyn, the stylish successor to smokeless tobacco products like snuff and snus. 

Zyn is the top-selling brand of nicotine pouches that contain small bundles of nicotine and other ingredients that were introduced to the American market in 2019. Pouches are placed between a user’s lip and gum, slowly releasing nicotine into the bloodstream. Like e-cigarettes, Zyn comes in flavors including cinnamon, citrus, coffee, and “cool mint.”  

Nicotine pouches do not emit any smell, smoke, or vapor, making it difficult for parents and caregivers to know if a child is using them. Plus, unlike some other smokeless tobacco products, pouches don’t require spitting out loose tobacco, making them easier to hide from adults. Educators have noticed a rise in students using nicotine pouches at school, and teens have attested to the product’s popularity among their peers. Sales figures tell a similar story, with Zyn’s sales up 51% in 2024 compared to the previous year.  

Zyn is not the only brand offering nicotine pouches, but it is currently the best-selling – it’s cultivated a powerful following on social media. It’s especially popular on TikTok, where young users – a quarter of TikTok users are under age 20 – are bombarded with videos from “Zynfluencers” painting the product as cool, attractive, and no big deal. 

Offline, nicotine pouches are also gaining popularity with professional athletes. Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen recently professed his love of Zyn, and many baseball players are also fans of pouches. With these endorsements, nicotine pouches are gaining an undeserved reputation for not only being harmless but actually improving health and athletic performance.  

The brand’s pop-culture presence, appealing flavors, and discreet usage have led to a worrying explosion in popularity among kids and teenagers.  The New York Times shared reports from students that nicotine pouches have grown exponentially among their friends, with one high school senior conducting an informal poll and finding that more than a fifth of his peers were using these products in class.  

“Tobacco-free” nicotine and nicotine pouches are relatively new, compared to tobacco products, and have not yet been researched extensively. However, the negative effects of nicotine on the developing brain are well-known.  

Research suggests that nicotine use in childhood and adolescence can alter brain development, increase stress, and amplify feelings of depression and anxiety. Plus, the younger a person is when they first try nicotine, the more likely they are to become addicted. This means smokeless and tobacco-free nicotine products like Zyn are not harmless to young users. From e-cigarettes to flavor cards to nicotine pouches, there are endless tobacco nicotine products that threaten the health of kids and teens. Child-serving professionals hoping to prevent youth from using these products face a difficult challenge.