People agree that smoking is bad for you, but nicotine has far from gone up in smoke. Levels of American adults smoking cigarettes hit a record low in 2024, but nicotine products like vapes, patches and gum are alive and well.
Of the wide array of nicotine products, none have been picking up speed the way pouches like Zyn and On! have. These products are usually the size of a piece of gum and are held in the mouth between the gums and teeth, which slowly releases nicotine into the body. While mainly touted as a method to quit smoking, the pouches have made their way into the wellness spaces and are also being used as a tool to improve concentration.
How are nicotine pouches gaining popularity?
For those looking to quit smoking, nicotine pouches are considered to be the “least harmful nicotine option” because they are not known to “cause cancer, lung disease or other ailments,” by themselves, said The Wall Street Journal. But nicotine pouch usage is not exclusive to those trying to quit smoking.
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The addictive chemical has a new lease on life, with many touting its benefits. Some studies have found that nicotine can improve cognitive performance, including attention, memory and learning. Nicotine has also been “linked to weight loss and reduced appetite,” as it “appears to influence the parts of the brain that control hunger and makes the body burn more energy,” Dipa Kamdar, a senior lecturer in Pharmacy Practice at Kingston University, said in an article for The Conversation. The pouches have similar effects to GLP-1s, which have been used for weight loss.
Nicotine pouches have since been touted as a powerful wellness compound, especially in the right-wing and biohacking spaces. It is a “life-enhancing, God-given chemical,” right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson said on Instagram. He claims that nicotine can treat erectile dysfunction and released his own brand of pouches called ALP, in collaboration with the tobacco giant Turning Point Brands. Over time, many media personalities have “advocated for nicotine use, not just as a way to get a buzz but as a cure for ailments ranging from whooping cough to atrial fibrillation,” said Salon.
The nicotine pouch hype has also skipped into the workplace. Rather than strictly drinks and snacks, the tech company Palantir began stocking nicotine pouches as a job perk, hoping to increase workers’ focus and productivity. Nicotine startups Lucy and Sesh have “installed branded vending machines in Palantir’s Washington, D.C., office,” said Fortune. This is “just one of the ways biohacking has taken the Silicon Valley tech space by storm.”
Is there merit to the benefits?
Any health benefits associated with nicotine are “frequently overblown or misinterpreted” and “outweighed by the problem of addiction,” said Stat. These effects are particularly dangerous as young people and those who have never smoked are picking up the habit. The chemical’s addictive nature can “become a gateway for someone to start using more harmful forms of nicotine, including cigarettes,” said the Journal. Most nicotine pouches on the market are also not FDA-authorized. Only certain Zyn and On! products have received authorization. Still, authorization differs from approval, as “all tobacco products are harmful and potentially addictive,” said the FDA.
Regarding cognitive enhancements, “people who already have cognitive difficulties have more room to improve, while those with healthy brain function are already performing close to their best,” said Kamdar. Nicotine is ”unlikely to offer any real benefit to people who don’t have cognitive impairments.”
What most experts agree on is that nicotine pouches are one of the better ways to quit smoking because most of the danger from cigarettes comes from the combustion of tobacco and not the nicotine itself. Evn though nicotine can cause other issues like nausea, vomiting, harm to blood vessels and an increased risk for heart attack and stroke. “Wellness trends come and go,” said Kamdar, “but addiction is far harder to shake.”
