Senator Schumer Criticizes Nicotine Pouches; Zyn Enthusiasts Respond in Defense

This week, Zyn-brand nicotine pouches—and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's plea for government intervention to stop a Juul-style teen use "epidemic"—went viral. New York Democrat Charles Schumer has long opposed tobacco and nicotine.

During a press conference on Sunday, Schumer stated, "It comes in a whole lot of flavors." "Citrus, cinnamon, spearmint, smooth, and chilled." It's risky. Schumer requested that the FDA and Federal Trade Commission look into Zyn and other nicotine pouches.

"It's a pouch full of problems—high nicotine levels," Sch umer stated at last Sunday's press conference. "I am warning parents today about these nicotine pouches because they seem to be targeting young children, teenagers, and even younger audiences, and then using social media to hook 'em."

However, hardly many youngsters use nicotine pouches. In the past 30 days, only 1.5% of middle and high school kids reported using a nicotine pouch, according to data from the 2023 National Youth Tobacco Survey. Much fewer pouches were routinely used—and those figures apply to the whole product category, not just Zyn.

Zyn: The Most Popular Nicotine Pouch

Oral nicotine products for consumers are called nicotine pouches. They are made up of porous fiber bags that are packed with flavorings, different concentrations of nicotine, and cellulose or other food-grade fillers. They don't contain tobacco, but they were designed after Swedish part snus.

The only nicotine concentrations offered by Zyn pouches are 3 and 6 milligrams, which are comparable to the amounts found in nicotine gum and lozenges that are available over-the-counter for use as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).

Zyn, which is produced by the industry leader in Swedish snus, Swedish Match, was introduced nationwide in the US in 2019 following several years of regional test-marketing. Due to Zyn's dominance in the "modern oral product" portion of the US tobacco and nicotine industry, Swedish Match was acquired by tobacco giant Philip Morris International in 2022. On!, Velo, and Rogue are some of Zyn's rivals in this market.

Coming soon To A Social Media App Near You: The Zynsurrection

A fierce social media backlash ensued following Schumer's diatribe against Zyn, particularly from Republican and conservative lawmakers and commentators. US Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina said on X/Twitter, "Big Brother Schumer doesn't want us to chew or smoke." He now opposes a solution that has assisted countless people in quitting. Come grab it! The National Republican Congressional Committee is chaired by Hudson.

Political reporter Dave Weigel reports that many in conservative circles have embraced oral nicotine medications, and Zyn in particular, as a cognitive enhancer. (Nicotine has been shown to improve concentration and memory.) Weigel claims that Tucker Carlson, a prominent right-winger and former Fox News personality, is well-known for his Zyn boosterism. 

Democrats may not have realized how well-liked ZYN has grown in that area since they often steer clear of conservative media personalities, according to Weigel. There, it's viewed as a productivity booster rather than a vice—addictive but well worth the trade-off. It belongs to a larger category of dubious nutritional trends, brain-boosters, and supplements that have recently come to be closely linked with right-wing and wellness podcasts.

Over the past ten years, proponents of vaping have found important support from a few conservative organizations. For instance, Americans for Tax Reform did a fantastic job persuading the Trump administration to rescind a restriction on flavored vape pens after the policy had already been declared and approved by the president.

However, not every supporter of Zyn was a Republican. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania and a longstanding supporter of marijuana legalization, told reporters that he would not back a Zyn prohibition, regardless of if Democratic Senate Leader Charles Schumer supported it.

Fetterman declared, "I'm going to err on the side of more freedom and personal choices and those kinds of things when I am going to make a decision." And when I sought to legalize marijuana, I used the same justification.

Schumer's request for an FDA probe is superfluous because the agency is already reviewing premarket tobacco applications (PMTAs) from Swedish Match and other nicotine pouch producers. Zyn is currently illegal in two states, and additional bans may follow. However, it's possible that the Senate Leader's remarks were meant to tilt the scales against FDA approval of Zyn. Several lawmakers, most notably Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, have effectively demanded FDA action against Juul Labs and other vaping firms using their legislative pulpits.

Zyn and other nicotine pouches have recently come under attack from tobacco control groups, who are now determined to eradicate nicotine from the planet. Despite the fact that pouches don't have any ingredients that aren't also present in comparable amounts in nicotine gum that has FDA approval, opponents of nicotine feel free to demand taxes, limitations, and prohibitions.

A December 2023 Truth Initiative tract states, "Truth Initiative strongly urges the FDA to remove all unauthorized oral nicotine products from the market, and to accelerate their work to eliminate all flavors from tobacco products." "Restrictions that limit exposure to the marketing of these products should also be implemented in order to help prevent young people from beginning to use them."

Those same pressure groups are pushing state and local laws that outlaw flavored nicotine products such as vapes and pouches, regardless of whether the FDA will bow to its friends in tobacco control and refuse to approve nicotine pouches in any flavors that consumers desire—as it has done with vaping products.

Sales of consumer oral nicotine products in tastes other than tobacco are already forbidden in Massachusetts and California, and similar measures are also being considered by a number of additional states.

Chuck Schumer Might Have Discovered A New Moral Indignation as You Read This

Early on in the Juul moral panic, Chuck Schumer called for harsh FDA sanctions on the company in 2017 and kept hammering home tobacco control talking points in the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' years-long assault on vaping. Schumer, though, hasn't limited his phony moral outrage to nicotine-containing goods.

In addition to many other issues, Schumer has called for action on home-made bombs, video games, energy drinks, bitcoin, laundry detergent, laser pointers, energy mat chemicals, high-frequency stock trading, drones, and cadmium in children's jewelry.

No topic is too little or unimportant for Schumer to comment on, he told Reason editor Nick Gillespie in 2015, "inevitably calling for a ban or regulation that serves no other possible purpose than to shine a light on the glory and grandeur of Chuck Schumer."