The Journal. - Zyn pouches, ‘Zynfluencers’ and ‘the Zyndemic’

Episode Date: June 21, 2024

For about a decade, Zyn, a brand of nicotine pouch, was a niche product used by former smokers. But now it’s exploded in popularity and is hard to find on store shelves. WSJ’s Jennifer Maloney explains how Zyn achieved social media virality and has found itself in the middle of a culture war. Further Reading: - Zyn Nicotine Pouches Take Off—and Land in the Culture Wars  - Why America Is Running Low on Zyn Nicotine Pouches  Further Listening: - The Juul Paradox  - The ‘Existential Threat’ Facing Big Tobacco  - How Puff Bar Became the Most Popular Vape for Kids  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we set our colleague Jennifer Maloney on a mission. I'm in Midtown Manhattan, and I'm looking for some Zin. Zin. It's a nicotine pouch made by Philip Morris International. I'm standing in front of a smoke shop called Style Smoke and Vape, and the windows are full of hookahs and other cannabis-smoking paraphernalia. So I'm going to go inside and check it out. Hi, I'm looking for Zin. Do you have any?

I don't have Zin. Zin's are not—we are not getting supply for Zins. Jennifer hits smoke shops, bodegas, convenience stores, from Manhattan to Queens. Hi, I'm looking for Zin. Do you have any Zin? No Zin. I have that Zin. But no dice. Okay, I'm still on the hunt for Zin. Do you have any idea when you're going to get Zin in stock?

Zins are not supplying it. Not supplying at all? Not supplying at all. Like no... It's been stopped. The company has been stopped now. So what's going on with Zinn? Zinn's popularity has gotten to the point where its factory can't turn it out fast enough. It has gone viral on social media,

but also at the same time has landed at the center of the culture wars in America in a really kind of surprising way. As its sales have skyrocketed, it's got more and more attention from critics, from lawmakers, from regulators, and from fans. Welcome to The Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Friday, June 21st. It's Friday, June 21st. Coming up on the show,

Zen Pouches, Zenfluencers, and the Zendemic. Attention all soccer fans. From Orlando to Los Angeles, We'll see you next time. You'll love it so much you'll want to extend your stay beyond the matches. Get the ball rolling on your soccer getaway. Head to visittheusa.com. What is Zin? Zin is an alternative to cigarettes. It looks like a tiny tea bag. It's white. It's a little pouch.

It's cellulose, which is like wood pulp and some flavorings and some sweetener and nicotine. It does not have tobacco leaf in it. So you take this little tiny pouch and tuck it in your cheek. It's very discreet. I've had interviews with people and talked for like half an hour or an hour and not even known that they had one until they took it out. What flavors does it come in? So zin comes in a number of flavors, including cinnamon, menthol, mint, coffee, and citrus. The story of Zin begins in Sweden. Zin was developed by a Swedish smokeless tobacco company. In Sweden, the government helped encourage cigarette smokers to switch onto a smokeless tobacco product called snus. And this did have actual tobacco leaf in it, but it had fewer of the toxic chemicals,

the carcinogens in it than traditional smokeless tobacco would have in it. And the Swedish government was able to, you know, working with the tobacco industry, was able to get most male cigarette smokers to switch onto this other product that was far less harmful. And so the rate of smoking-related disease and death plummeted in Sweden. Then, a decade ago, one snooze maker, a company called Swedish Match, introduced a new product, a sort of next-generation snooze. It was called Zyn. And unlike snooze, Zyn had no tobacco leaf in it. It's just nicotine.

Nicotine is still addictive, but on its own, it doesn't cause cancer the way cigarettes can. Health experts say nicotine patches like Zyn have about the same risk level as a nicotine gum or patch. Zin launched in the U.S. market in 2014, and its intended customers are adults over 21 who already use other tobacco products. At first, Zin sat on the shelves of your local bodega or corner store without much fanfare. Then in 2022, Philip Morris bought Swedish Match.

And shortly after, for reasons that are unclear, Zin gained a lot of traction on social media. The good thing about Zin though is when you pack a couple of these in there, they really do hit you. If you're vaping way too much, try these. Zin tobacco-free nicotine pouches. It helped me quit no more cough. This flavor is pretty fun. It's no citrus, but I like the Zinn a bit. It's got a little spice, makes me feel like a little spicy boy. Zinn has kind of captured the cultural zeitgeist in a way that I didn't see coming. And Zinn's fans, you know, they talk about the flavors. They talk about the flavors. They talk about how easy it is to use.

They have all these like catchphrases. They kind of turn every word into Zin. Like they call themselves Zinfluencers. I love Zin. Where do I begin? Please look to get me for I have Zin. I love Zin. The Zin. If you ain't Zinning, you ain't winning.

Exotic upper deckies and achinos. You've never seen these before, boys. By the way, Philip Morris says that it doesn't work with social media influencers and, you know, that its products are intended for adults and it's like not interested in these partnerships. But nevertheless, you have this like whole army of Zin influencers who are promoting it on social media. Beyond the fact that Zin is safer than smoking, a big part of its appeal is its convenience. If I wanted to vape, let's say, like I can't do that in the office, right? If I wanted to smoke, like there might be some designated spot outside, but I probably couldn't even stand, like I couldn't even stand close to the entrance of my office building. Some products like involves spitting, which is inconvenient, or like there might be like a bulge in your cheek. And you could do it anywhere. You could do it in the middle of a work meeting.

You could do it in all the places where smoking and vaping isn't allowed. And so it has attracted quite a following among people who are looking for an alternative. But it's not just that, right? I mean, another thing is like people are making some weird health claims. I've seen people on social media saying, you know, it gives them energy, it helps them focus. I've heard it called gas station ozempic for weight loss. I've heard it called gas station ozempic for weight loss. What's that about? You know, nicotine in general has often been touted as something that helps lose weight. Like if you've ever heard people talk about trying to quit smoking, they often gain weight

because smoking cigarettes can suppress your appetite. So the Zin boosters tout many, many attributes. Again, I think Philip Morris would not want anyone to be making any kind of claims about helping you lose weight or helping you concentrate. Yeah, they're really squeamish about any kind of claims. Right. They're literally like, it is nicotine. That is all. It is nicotine. It is for adults who already consume nicotine in some other form. We don't want kids using it. Please stop making outlandish claims about our product. Thank you. One of the biggest Zinfluencers, if you will, is none other than former Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

My ad campaign, which I've already written and produced in my head, is Zin is not a sin. Zin is a life-saving medical product that enhances male vitality and mental acuity. He's got various programs that he hosts, and then he goes as a guest on various programs. Then you feel the power rising from your central nervous system, and then sort of going outward through all the nerve endings down to the tips of your fingers. And then up here, it just starts crackling the synapses.

He's a huge personality with a very large following. And he has sort of made himself into the unofficial Zen spokesman. What is he saying? He has made all kinds of wild claims. spokesman. What is he saying? He has made all kinds of wild claims. He claimed that Zen helps

treat erectile dysfunction. The truth is, Zen is a powerful work enhancer. And also a male enhancer. If you know what I mean. Really? Yeah. Talking erection, huh? Is it that he is getting money to say this? Or is it just something that he's

organically started sharing? Like, why is he out here, like, promoting Zyn? His production team has reached out to Philip Morris to ask if they'd be interested in, you know, a partnership and, or, you know, a sponsorship of some kind. And Philip Morris has said no. And in fact, Philip Morris has asked him to cease and desist with the claims, particularly about like treating erectile dysfunction, which the company says are totally unfounded. So I can't explain to you why Tucker Carlson is promoting it, except that he appears to just be like a really fervent fan and user. I've never had one of my dogs eat a Zin pouch, though I'm not against it, because I think they would like it. Listener, please don't give nicotine pouches to your animals. Carlson didn't respond to requests for comment.

But Tucker Carlson as unofficial spokesperson aside, Zin is a bona fide hit. side, Zin is a bona fide hit. The company shipped 132 million cans in the first quarter of this year, an 80% increase from the same period in 2023. The users have skyrocketed. Use of Zin has skyrocketed over the past year and a half. And at the same time, it's brought not just positive attention, but negative attention. And so now there's this sort of intense debate swirling around ZIN. But really, the core of the debate is, is ZIN a boon for public health? Or is it, you know, a scourge that is putting our nation's youth at risk? The debate over ZIN may have started on social media. But recently, it's made its way to the halls of Congress.

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Bear! Run! Collect more moments with more ways to earn. Air Mile. These nicotine pouches seem to lock their sights on young kids, teenagers and even lower, and then use the social media to hook them. That's Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer at a press conference back in January. So Schumer has called for federal regulators to investigate nicotine pouches. He held up like a Zin container at his press conference and a picture of like all the different flavors that Zin comes in. So there's a concern that with these nicotine pouches available in sweet and

fruity flavors that they could be appealing to kids. Our schools have been had been inundated with e-cigs and we took action seeking federal results. Zin is the next battle. Schumer and others are concerned that Zin could be the next Juul. That was the e-cigarette or vape brand that became super popular back in 2018, especially among kids and teens. The high rate of teen use led to a lot of backlash, and the federal government rolled out restrictions on flavored e-cigarettes. In Zinn's case, it's not clear that minors are using it all that much.

So far, we have not seen any evidence that kids are using nicotine pouches like kids were using e-cigarettes back in 2018. So in the most recent federal survey conducted last year, 7.7% of middle and high school students said they had used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days. And 1.5% said they had used nicotine pouches. Philip Morris has said that its products are not meant for people under the age of 21. And they don't market Zin to minors. The company's CEO also says that Zin is very selective in its flavors and that it avoids those that could appeal to children.

While Democrats are concerned about how Zin is marketed, many Republicans are coming to its defense. So Tom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, responded on X with a photo of a mint-flavored Zin container on his desk. And he said, come and take it, Chuck. And their response basically is, you know, this is government overreach. This product is actually a great thing for public health. It's something that's helping cigarette smokers switch to something less harmful. We should be encouraging people to switch to it. And this is just like the Democrats are being alarmist and overreaching.

Other Republicans have also come out and supported Zinn. For example, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted, quote, this calls for a Zinn-surrection. The lines have been drawn between Democrats and Republicans. So on the left, you have a number of lawmakers and advocates who are concerned about Zin's potential risk to young people, that young people could get hooked. Maybe they've never even had an e-cigarette or a cigarette before, but the idea is that young kids could be attracted to these nicotine pouches and start using them and then become addicted to nicotine. And to be clear, nicotine does have some health risks. It can raise a person's blood pressure and heart rate. On the other side, you have Republican lawmakers and personalities like Tucker Carlson who are saying, hey, like, let people make their

own choices. And this is something that's much less harmful than cigarettes. You know, you should be encouraging them, not discouraging them. Like, leave Zinn alone. Zinn is good for America. But even with the support of many Republicans in Washington and Zinnfluencers on TikTok, Zinn has felt the pressure recently. On Monday, Philip Morris disclosed that he received a subpoena from the attorney general of the District of Columbia. Morris disclosed that it received a subpoena from the Attorney General of the District of Columbia. The AG's office had learned that Zin was being sold in D.C., where it's illegal to sell flavored nicotine products. In response, the company suspended sales of Zin on its website. And separately, at the federal level, the FDA is currently reviewing all next-generation cigarette alternatives to see if they're a benefit to public health. After that review, the agency will decide if any nicotine pouches can

remain on the U.S. market. A spokesman for Philip Morris said that Zinn applied for FDA authorization in 2020 and is still waiting for an answer. So all of this attention, this explosion in sales, the like virality on social media, the Tucker Carlson and the Schumer press conferences, all of this is happening while the FDA is actually in the process of reviewing these applications and making like a really consequential decision about the fate of Zin. Like, can it stay on the U.S. market or not? Like, that fate is really hanging in the balance right now. And so what is the big takeaway here? One of the takeaways, I think, is that consumers are becoming more aware of alternatives to traditional cigarettes and taking that information and

using it to make better choices for their health. And that's a good thing from a public health standpoint. On the other hand, when you have a product that is exploding, that is taking off, that can be a real struggle. it's not all roses right like here you have a company with this like success story of a product that's just like selling and growing by leaps and bounds but the more they sell the more negative attention and criticism they have received and now they have they have regulators keeping a very close watch on them. So having a product that just takes off like a rocket, you would think is a great thing for a business.

Like unequivocally, right? Right. It's only a good thing. But in this case, it has created a lot of complications for its owner. Like so many people are demanding your product and clamoring for it that across the country you've got stores where you can't find it and consumers who are really upset about it. That's all for today, Friday, June 21st. The Journal is a co-production of Spotify and The Wall Street Journal.

The show is made by Catherine Brewer, Maria Byrne, Victoria Dominguez, Pia Gadkari, Rachel Humphries, Matt Kwong, Kate Leinbaugh, Ryan Knudsen, Annie Minoff, Laura Morris, Enrique Perez de la Rosa, Sarah Platt, Alan Rodriguez-Espinosa, Heather Rogers, Piers Singhi, Leying Tang, Jeevika Verma, Lisa Wang, Catherine Whalen, Tatiana Zamise, and me, Jessica Mendoza. Our engineers are Griffin Tanner, Nathan Singapak, and Peter Leonard. Our theme music is by So Wiley. Additional music this week from Griffin Tanner, Bobby Lord, Blue Dot Sessions, Peter Leonard, Catherine Anderson, and Nathan Singapak. Fact-checking by Mary Mathis,

Kate Gallagher, and Sophie Hurwitz. Thanks for listening. See you on Monday.