Night Light | Zynfluencers

The Internet is Addicted to Zyn

A few years ago, everyone was vaping; now, everyone is using Zyn. I say 'Zyn' and not another brand of nicotine pouch because it is by far the most popular one on the market today. It’s not 'Hey, do you have a Velo/On/Rogue?' It’s 'Hey, do you have a Zyn?' Today, we’re going to talk about how social media and internet culture have shaped the nicotine market as we know it. And while I don’t use it myself, I’ve seen my share of Zynning around the office.

Zyn by the numbers

In Q1 of 2024 ZYN (owned by Philip Morris) shipped 132 million cans in the US, up 80% from a year ago. It’s so popular that last week people were even complaining of a ZYN shortage. It dominates the market share at 74% of the nicotine pouch market.

I think a lot of its growth also stems from cans being much cheaper than a pack of cigarettes ($4.19 for pouches compared to $8.00 for cigarettes), the perception that pouches are a safer alternative to smoking, and the energy/focus you get when using it.

Why Zyn?

Creators are doing all of the marketing…

Here are a few of the examples that I found:

H3H3 Podcast

NELK + Tucker Carlson

2 Bears, 1 Cave

Joseph Nemeth

Ninye

TikTok has played such a huge role in making Zyn a household name. Zynfluencers are creators on TikTok who make Zyn a part of their online personalities. There’s an entire culture built around it; memes are shared, hashtags are used, and creators are documenting their first time using the product. A few years ago, we saw similar videos with JUUL.

How safe is it?

It’s hard not to talk about safety. As much as people joke online, nicotine is an addictive chemical, and there are definitely underage kids using the product. Last year, 2% of high school and middle schoolers reported using pouches, still below the 10% using vapes. I trust the Harvard School of Public Health, and their take is: 'Zyn presents significantly lower health risks than smoking because it does not contain cancer-causing chemicals and other toxic substances found in cigarette smoke.'

The reality is, it’s a safer alternative to smoking, but it’s still nicotine. We have to consider the effects that zynfluencers have on kids.

The Big Takeaway:

Zyn makes up 75% of the nicotine pouch category, shipping over 132 million cans to the US in Q1 alone. Tucker Carlson, Tom Segura, and Zynfluencers have normalized Zyn usage, even making it the popular name in nicotine pouches (like Band-Aid or Kleenex).

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