Teens these days don’t vape, they Zyn

Teens aren’t into e-cigarettes anymore. Nicotine pouches like Zyn are quickly becoming their new nicotine replacement.

A new study published in the JAMA Network on Wednesday explored the nicotine habits of over 10,000 teens in 10th and 12th grade.

The researchers found that their nicotine pouch use nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024. Many teens reported using both pouches and vapes. The only metric that decreased was using vapes alone.

Adam M. Leventhal, the executive director of the USC Institute for Addiction Science and one of the authors of the study, told Business Insider he had a feeling that pouch use would increase among teens, as demand for Zyn soared and caused continual shortages.

However, he said he was surprised to see such a huge rise, so quickly.

It’s harder to ban pouches

If you look up “Zyn” on TikTok, your feed will be littered with young people using it, commenting on the flavor options and demonstrating how to insert “upper deckies.”

Leventhal said that teens’ general draw toward nicotine hasn’t changed over the years despite efforts to spread awareness about the health risks.

Based on his team’s previous research, teens like that nicotine can stimulate mood, increase metabolism, and suppress appetite.

Pouches are especially alluring to teens because they’re more discreet, Leventhal said. “They can use them in school without teachers seeing them or even in front of their parents,” he said.

Pouches can be a supplement in places they can’t bring their vapes, like in movie theaters or on planes.

It’s also what makes pouches risky. Because of their inconspicuousness, they’re easy to use continuously throughout the day.

A surprising gender divide

The study showed that teen girls vape more than teen boys — another unexpected finding, Leventhal said.

“Historically, any kind of substance, you typically see that males have higher-use levels than females,” he said. “But vaping, it’s appeared to kind of switch over recent years.”

One theory is that pouches have more masculine branding. Zyn, a Swedish brand, was originally marketed to women who wanted to quit cigarettes. Now, everyone from Wall Street bros to Josh Brolin uses Zyn. Tucker Carlson, a former Zyn user, now plans to start his own brand, as he feels Zyn is not manly enough.

It all points to marketing that could make pouches “particularly attractive to boys,” Leventhal said.

The health risks of Zyn and vapes for teens

Leventhal’s main concern with the pouch trend among teens is that they’re likely “exposing themselves to higher levels of nicotine” than using e-cigarettes alone.

Zyn can harm gum tissue, change your brain chemistry, and increase your heart rate. Vaping, meanwhile, is considered as harmful as smoking traditional cigarettes. Both are highly addictive.

While some TikTokers say they use Zyn to try to quit vaping, Leventhal said it’s not a viable solution to e-cigarette addiction, especially since many just start using both.

“We don’t want children to use any nicotine products,” he said. “So all nicotine products should be avoided.”

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