Zyn nicotine pouches are gaining in popularity. But are they actually a healthier alternative to cigarettes?

Zyn is a form of smokeless nicotine that’s getting a lot of attention on social media. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Zyn is gaining popularity and has even spawned “Zynfluencers” on social media who talk up the smokeless nicotine product while doing things like fishing, golfing and riding motorcycles. But while Zyn is huge with some demographics and is exploding on TikTok, it’s not necessarily well known in the mainstream.

🚬 So what exactly is Zyn?

It’s a form of smokeless nicotine. “Zyn is an oral nicotine pouch that is similar to oral smokeless tobacco products but does not contain tobacco leaf,” Dr. Michael Ong, professor in residence of Medicine and Health Policy and Management at UCLA, tells Yahoo Life. “Snuff differs from Zyn in that it contains tobacco leaf.”

Zyn isn’t the only nicotine pouch product available — On! and Rogue are also popular. However, it currently makes up more than 67% of the market.

🛎️ Why it matters

Zyn is viewed as a healthier alternative to cigarettes, but experts say this is far from a health product. “Nicotine pouches contain lower concentrations of carcinogens and other toxicants than cigarettes, and we therefore expect that they will carry much lower health risks than cigarette smoking,” Brittney Keller-Hamilton, a scientist and assistant professor with the Center for Tobacco Research at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, tells Yahoo Life. But Keller-Hamilton points out that nicotine is a “highly addictive substance.” Regular users of nicotine can experience withdrawal symptoms, including irritability, cravings, anxiety, depression, sleep problems and increased appetite, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“Although nicotine itself is not a carcinogen, we do not know if people who start by using oral nicotine pouches will continue to find them satisfying, or if they will eventually start using more harmful products, like snuff or cigarettes,” Keller-Hamilton says. “Youth and young adults should avoid oral nicotine pouches because nicotine can adversely affect brain development.”

🔬 How safe are they long term?

Nicotine pouches are new, so there isn’t any long-term health data on how safe they are over time, Dr. Michael B. Steinberg, medical director of the Rutgers Tobacco Dependence Program, tells Yahoo Life. “Since they do not contain tobacco, it is certainly likely that these products are significantly less harmful than combusted tobacco products, such as cigarettes,” he says. “However, being less harmful than cigarettes does not equate to being safe.”

Among other things, nicotine is “one of the most addictive substances in our society,” Steinberg says, adding, “Any nicotine-containing product has some potential for dependence.”

🖥️ The big picture

Doctors recommend steering clear of tobacco-free nicotine pouches. “Just because there is not a lot of information right now does not mean these products are safe,” Ong says. “Although these products do not contain tobacco, nicotine has health harms and the safety profile for newer products like this has not been well evaluated.”

Steinberg agrees. “Anyone who does not currently use a tobacco product should not start using Zyn, especially young people,” he says. “However, for an adult who currently smokes cigarettes, if they were to switch completely to a tobacco-free nicotine pouch — and not continue to smoke — they are likely reducing their individual harm significantly.”