Sign up here to get it in your inbox. The social equivalent of hitting shuffle. Over the past year, I learned Zyn users no longer look only like the frat guys in the memes on my newsfeedโthey look like anyone with a pulse. As the reign of the Swedish nicotine pouches expands in Americaโunit sales increased percent between and , and reported sales of the Zyn brand alone were projected to increase 51 percent between and โI am not alone in waking up to the idea that Zyn just might be forโฆeveryone.
People use it while playing sports Baker Mayfield, the Bucs quarterback, stirred some controversy while appearing to pack a lip on the sideline of an NFL game this season , while gambling in casinos, while cranking out decks in the office, while painting houses, and while, yes, writing magazine stories. Which sounds, yes, a whole lot like cigarettes. Except that, in the absence of cigarette smoke or the cartoon cloud produced by vaping, or the telltale bulge of a dipper , you might never know that Zyn users are all around you.
The house of Zyn is big and diverse, but it is discreet. Its members do not need to duck out for their nicotine fix, they just tuck a pouch the size of a Sour Patch Kid above their canines and get on with it, while privately enjoying a cycle of elation followed by calmโfollowed by the urge to Zyn again.
And so a generation that grew up knowing for sure that smoking was deadly discovered why people loved it anyway. Nicotine use might be their biggest shared secret.
For decades now, Big Tobacco has sought new revenue streams as cigarette-smoking rates have continued to drop off, andโamidst an ongoing flirtation with vape cloudsโit may have found its champion in nicotine pouches like Zyn.
