Zynbabwe. Lip Pillow. Zynnachino. Upper Decky.
These are just a few of the nicknames given to Zyns, flavored nicotine pouches that users place between their lips and gum. Zyns have flooded college campuses and achieved popularity similar to that of vaping in the 2010s, thanks to their prominence on TikTok, brand endorsements from professional sports leagues like Major League Baseball, and promotion by conservative celebrities like Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan. They now comprise 24 percent of the smokeless nicotine market despite being a relatively new product. Since Zyns do not contain tobacco, they present a lesser risk of gum cancer and other health risks typically associated with staples like chewing tobacco, making the product more attractive to many users.
The rising popularity of Zyns has attracted regulatory scrutiny. In January, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged the Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate Zyns. He specifically cited the marketing practices of Philip Morris International—the company that sells Zyns—which he claimed target adolescents. While his mission is valiant, Schumer will need to build a larger coalition to battle against Republican lawmakers who have already weaponized his FDA referral. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), for instance, posted an image of himself with a tin of Zyns on X, captioning the post, “Come and take it, Chuck.” Tillis, like many other Republican leaders, is framing Democrats’ attempts to regulate Zyns as part of a broader attack on the freedoms of Americans.
The Republican strategy is potentially very effective. Democrats appear Big Brother-esque, telling individuals what they can and cannot consume and exerting undue influence on the private sphere. Using this strategy, Republicans can target young voters, with whom they face a 21-point deficit in recent polls. Democrats also have to contend with intense lobbying efforts conducted by Philip Morris International. The company, which has historically spent millions of dollars every year to pressure policymakers to loosen restrictions on the nicotine industry, purchased Swedish Match—the original fabricator and owner of the Zyn brand—for $16 billion in 2022. As Zyns have soared in popularity, Philip Morris International has hired more lobbyists to pressure US lawmakers to ensure that federal regulators leave their new product alone. These lobbying efforts may explain some Republicans’ reluctance to regulate Zyns.
How can Democrats fight back? Most obviously, the party could try focusing attention on the health impacts of Zyns on young users rather than allowing itself to be drawn into Republicans’ culture war framing. There is indeed inadequate research on the health outcomes of Zyn users, an issue that the FDA could easily resolve by funding more research on the topic. Nicotine has previously been shown to be particularly harmful for adolescents, who are at greater risk of forming an addiction due to their brain chemistry. Democrats should focus on researching Zyns’ health consequences instead of regulating and taxing the product for all users.
But Republicans may be able to portray even this limited regulation strategy as government overreach, as any potential broadside against Zyns could be refashioned into a rallying cry against regulation of nicotine as a whole. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has even had time to call for a “Zynsurrection,” referencing the January 6 insurrection. Messaging like Greene’s shows how drastically Republicans are spinning this issue to subsume it into the culture war. A potential avenue for Democrats to defuse this line of attack would be to engage groups such as Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes to fight the blowback. By attracting parent groups, Democrats can position themselves as explicitly looking out for child safety rather than policing adult nicotine use.
Regulators will likely crack down on Zyns if dangerous health effects are discovered, just as they did with vaping a few years ago. Until then, however, Democrats should leave Zyns alone rather than rushing to regulate and tax them. Action more aggressive than the already-moot FDA referral will only give Republicans additional ammunition in the culture war. Many people addicted to nicotine will continue to use the substance no matter what the government does to stop them, so policymakers should focus on harm reduction rather than ending nicotine use outright, and Democrats should center their messaging more explicitly on child safety and increased research funding while building a coalition of Zyn-skeptics in the long term. There are various ways to go about keeping Zyns out of adolescents’ hands but rushing to regulate this product is a recipe for political disaster right before the 2024 elections.