Zyn is in: what parents should know about tobacco-free nicotine pouches

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – Experts say a new popular way to consume nicotine has the potential to be more addictive than traditional nicotine delivery methods.

It’s called Zyn, and these tobacco-free nicotine pouches have taken social media, especially TikTok, by storm. Users discuss the pouches using slang terms like ‘upper decky.’

The pouches are tucked into the upper lip, delivering a dose of nicotine directly to the bloodstream.

“If a pouch lasts an hour, that’s probably close to four or five cigarettes that you’re getting. And to me, that’s, that’s very scary,” Brandie Valentine, a counselor with the Brazos Valley Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, said.

Zyn can be bought from places like a local liquor store, costing around $5 for 15 pouches.

Zyn is in: what parents should know about tobacco-free nicotine pouches

The nicotine pouches are cheap, strong and easy to hide. Valentine said this makes them especially appealing to children.

“You don’t have to put anything to your lip to smoke. You just put it in there while you’re walking in the hall. It appears that you’re putting a piece of gum in your mouth,” she said.

Just like regular nicotine products, Zyns can only be purchased by people 21 and older.

In early March, the same law firm that successfully sued Juul filed a federal lawsuit against the brand, accusing them of marketing toward children.

One look on TikTok shows many #zynfluencers using the product.

“When zynfluencers come into play, they are basically making it look cool to use nicotine,” Valentine added.

One local smoke shop doesn’t even sell Zyns but says people come in asking for them around once a week.

“It’s like basically the most addictive form of ingesting tobacco,” Taylor Hodge, an employee, said.

It might not be on their shelves, but he knows why they’re in demand.

“Even when I was a teenager, that was the whole thing. It’s like, you don’t smoke, you just put it in your mouth,” he said.

Valentine encourages parents to check in with their kids and educate themselves about the health risks of products and others like it.

”It’s basically increasing it exponentially. And the only thing that I think we can do is educate, educate, educate. Be more vigilant as parents, as school staff,” she said about rates of nicotine addiction.

The amount of nicotine in a pouch could deliver nicotine poisoning to a child, she said.

BVCASA has resources available for parents and children to learn more about overcoming addiction, and the dangers of using addictive substances.