Making An Impact is a column authored by members of the Community Impact Team (CIT). The Transcript publishes these articles periodically to inform our readers about the resources and free programming available to people of all ages in our community through the CIT’s efforts.
NORTH READING — Following in the steps of e-cigarettes and vaping, a new nicotine delivery system, the most popular brand of which is Zyn, is growing in popularity among young people in Massachusetts. Zyn gives users a quick jolt of nicotine through a small porous bag – not unlike a teabag – placed between the lip and gum.
These pouches are filled with nicotine salts, processed by manufacturers to increase nicotine concentration and dissolve easily. This allows nicotine to enter the bloodstream through the mouth’s membrane lining rather than through the lungs, so the nicotine quickly secretes to the brain. Unlike chewing tobacco, there is no brown residue or need to spit.
“It’s more discreet than vaping,” Melrose’s Tobacco Inspection Coordinator Maureen Buzby recently told the North Reading Youth Substance Use Prevention Coalition. “It’s also taking the place of chewing tobacco.”
Zyn is attractive to users, a growing number of whom are teens, because of both discretion and the affordability of the product compared to cigarettes and vapes. A 15-pouch tin of 6 milligram Zyn, which looks similar to some breath mint packaging, contains as much nicotine as two and one-half packs of cigarettes, according to Buzby. But the tin costs $3.50 to $5 versus $34 for cigarettes containing the same amount of nicotine, Buzby said. The lower price is, at least in part, because excise tax regulations have not kept up with new nicotine products, including nicotine pouches.
The jolt received from concentrated nicotine is also appealing to weight lifters, who use one or two pouches for a burst of energy at the gym, Buzby added, often taken as a pre-workout supplement substitute.
In response to a question from Coalition Member George Luongo about health impacts involving Zyn, Buzby said that although the pouches do not contain the tobacco that leads to mouth cancers associated with chew, it will be years before damage from Zyn and similar products is fully understood. However, a 2022 study on Swedish non-tobacco-based nicotine pouches found that mouth lesions can occur where the pouches are placed in the mouth.
“Nicotine is poison,” said Buzby.
“ZYNFLUENCERS” USED TO SPREAD THE WORD
Further, Zyn has been promoted heavily on social media platforms, such as TikTok, with a group of young people, known as “Zynfluencers,” showing how to use the product.
North Reading Police Detective Paul Lucci, who is also the town’s School Resource Office, said social media promotion of nicotine pouches is a real concern.
“With young adults consuming large amount of digital content each day, it is more than likely that they will see a Zynfluencer,” Lucci said. “They may not understand that the goal of Zynlfuencers is to increase views and, in many cases, make money from their sponsorship with Zyn. The young adult may only see Zyn as being attractive and cool, which increases the potential for them to be the next victim of nicotine addiction.”
North Reading Drug-Free Communities Grant Director Amy Luckiewicz echoes Lucci’s concerns.
“The Coalition is concerned about these tobacco pouches,” Luckiewicz said. “Not only are adults unlikely going to see the pouch in a young person’s mouth, but the attraction to these products is boosted online through influencers and social media mentions. The direct and indirect ads make them look really attractive.”
Luckiewicz highlights an ad for Zyn that shows two young girls riding a rollercoaster. Another shows a couple on a plane and highlights that nicotine pouches can be used anywhere, even places where cigarettes or vapes are banned.
Zyn, manufactured by Philip Morris International, and similar products, can only be sold legally to those age 21 and older, but Buzby showed the Coalition drawers full of the product at several convenience stores in the Greater Boston area. Because it is not a vape or cigarette, some retailers may not be as vigilant as required when checking IDs. Zyn flavors, like cool mint, coffee, cinnamon, and others, appeal to young users. While these flavors are banned in Massachusetts, Buzby says there have been recent reports of flavored Zyns sold in the New Bedford area.
From third quarter 2022 to third quarter 2023, Zyn nicotine pouch shipment in the U.S. grew 65.7% to 105.4 million cans versus 63.6 million cans a year earlier shipped by Swedish Match, which was acquired by Philip Morris in early 2023 to expand the company’s line of oral nicotine products.
“We know that the nicotine and tobacco industry has billions of dollars, lobbyists, and staff to stay a step ahead of any policy that we can put into place to protect young people from nicotine,” Luckiewicz noted. “But not every town has an organized Coalition that strives to reduce youth access to addictive substances.”
The North Reading Coalition has been working on this exact subject, among others, for 10 years. Among its successes, the North Reading Coalition advocated for the town to institute a purchase age of 21 for all tobacco products and to ban flavored tobacco before the state put a similar ban in place.
“Our Coalition regularly meets to discuss what we can do to protect kids from nicotine, the most addictive substance legally sold,” Luckiewicz said.
Despite the high nicotine levels in Zyn and other products, quitting nicotine is possible. If you or a loved one would like help connecting to nicotine treatment, contact North Reading Mental Health and Substance Abuse Clinician Laura Miranda at 978-357-5038 or email lmiranda@nrpd.org.
“Treatment remains an option for those looking to reduce use or to quit the use of nicotine products,” Miranda said. “There are various routes people can take to address the desire to quit, including behavioral therapy.”
