Tobacco industry may see biggest success since cigarettes | CNN Business

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Governments around the world have been trying to shut down the tobacco industry. Zyn, a brand of flavored nicotine pouches sold in small, round containers that resemble mints, is its latest strategy.

Although it is owned by tobacco giant Philip Morris International, Zyn is a tobacco-free product. White, gum-sized pouches deliver more nicotine into the bloodstream than a cigarette. Unlike traditional chewing tobacco, you don’t have to chew the pouches or spit out accumulated tobacco juice.

Several trends have contributed to Zyn’s relatively high popularity, from what users see as its convenience and subtlety to a flood of online ads promoting Zyn as a healthier, smoke-free alternative to cigarettes. The brand’s success reflects how tobacco companies have diversified their business models from cigarettes to non-tobacco products like e-cigarettes, snus, nicotine gum and inhalers. Researchers have called this phenomenon the “pharmaceutization” of the tobacco industry.

Zyn’s advertising is similar to that of many other health and wellness products. The ads, in simple blue and white, emphasize Zyn’s convenience, variety of flavors and its use in many different situations. “Simple. Discreet. Satisfying,” says one online ad showing the cans next to a person typing on a laptop. “You’re free to enjoy them wherever your curiosity takes you.”

Zyn was test marketed in 2014 and went national in 2019. Since then, it has become the leading nicotine pouch on the market. And growth exploded.

In 2023, Zyn pouch shipments in the U.S. reached 385 million cans, a 62% increase from the previous year, according to Phillip Morris International, Zyn’s parent company. Zyn shipments are expected to increase another 35% this year.

After a surge in demand for Zyn led to shortages of the sachets — fans called it the “Zynpocalypse” — Phillip Morris International announced last week a $600 million investment in a new manufacturing plant in Aurora, Colorado, to increase production.

Zyn users like Danny Whalen, 26, switched to nicotine pouches last year after 10 years of chewing tobacco.

Whalen says Zyn is cleaner than chewing tobacco, doesn’t hurt his gums as much, and he can put it in more places than spitting tobacco, like at work. He also thinks it would be better for his health to stop chewing tobacco. Many health experts say nicotine pouches are a safer option than smoking or chewing tobacco because they don’t contain cancer-causing chemicals, but there are risks to using nicotine pouches, and the long-term health effects are unknown.

“I prefer it to chewing tobacco,” Whalen said. “The idea of ​​chewing tobacco disgusts me.”

He now wants to stop taking Zyn because the nicotine is causing him anxiety. But it is a highly addictive drug and he has a hard time stopping.

In 2023, Zyn spent $28 million on digital advertising, a 1,300% increase from the previous year, according to a study by researchers at the Rutgers Institute for Nicotine and Tobacco Studies, citing data from ad tracker Vivvix.

Influencers, known as “Zynfluencers,” who promote the packets and marketing strategies like loyalty rewards programs have also promoted Zyn. Zyn has become a subculture, particularly among young men on TikTok, the Rutgers researchers found. In a TikTok video that has racked up more than 9 million views, the Nelk Boys — social media personalities — offer right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson a 10-foot-tall can of Zyn. Joe Rogan and Logan Paul, who host the #1 and #47 most popular podcasts on Spotify, respectively, have also promoted Zyn.

In a statement to CNN, Philip Morris International, which bought Zyn maker Swedish Match in 2022, said the company does not use social media influencers and rejects all partnership requests.

“ZYN advertises online with strict parameters to ensure that content is targeted to an audience of legal nicotine consumers,” the company said. Its Instagram and Facebook accounts and website are also age-restricted.

Zyn’s rapid rise reflects its aggressive marketing strategy, the Rutgers researchers found in their study.

Zyn has advertised on mobile apps like ESPN and sponsored events like the Beale Street Music Festival, the Pickleball Nationals and IndyCar’s Music City Grand Prix. During April’s solar eclipse, Zyn compared its 60-minute packets to the eclipse’s 4-minute, 28-second duration. (Philip Morris International told CNN it only advertises at events with an adult audience of more than 85 percent.)

“Zyn has capitalized on its clean appearance … and this idea that it’s not tobacco, it’s just nicotine, which leads many people to think it’s different and safer,” said Pamela Ling, director of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at the University of California, San Francisco. “But nicotine addiction is not a benign, harmless thing. It’s extremely distressing and very difficult for people to quit.”

Many public health experts believe that tobacco companies’ harm-reduction initiatives are a way to keep tobacco and nicotine products profitable. Although nicotine pouches contain fewer toxic substances than cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products, doctors, researchers and policymakers warn that Zyn’s marketing, which features the brand in smoke-free environments such as workplaces and on public transportation, could perpetuate nicotine addiction among existing users or introduce nicotine to younger people.

Nicotine addiction causes cravings and withdrawal symptoms such as irritability, headaches, dizziness and fatigue. Researchers have found that long-term use may be linked to heart disease, vascular disease, reproductive harm and more, according to the National Cancer Institute. Nicotine does not cause cancer or lung disease, according to the FDA.

Philip Morris International, which spun off from Phillip Morris USA, no longer sells cigarettes in the United States. According to the company, Zyn is not intended to be sold as a smoking cessation product.

A better strategy from a public health perspective, Ling said, would be to tailor the availability of nicotine pouches to prescriptions, smoking cessation clinics, quitlines and other programs to help users with tobacco and nicotine addiction.

“Mass marketing, especially on social and digital media, is not the right way to promote health,” Ling said. “It increases popularity and creates a large number of nicotine addicts.”