It’s the product students can not get out of their mouths – nicotine pouches.
Anaka Nunnink, a nurse practitioner at The Wellness Center, said she has recently seen students using Zyn, a smoke-free and tobacco-free oral product, that has risen in popularity on social media and among younger populations.
“I always ask when people come in if they use any nicotine products … and when they say yes, I’m like, ‘Oh, do you vape?’ because that’s the first thing, especially in this patient population that I think of, and lately people are like ‘No, no I just use Zyns,’ ” Nunnink explained.
While the products have been marketed as a smoking cessation method, or as a less harmful way of consuming nicotine, health professionals, including those on campus, are skeptical.
Margaret Smith, co-chair of the Health Sciences Department at Keene State, said the addictiveness of nicotine, even without the presence of tobacco, can cause many health risks.
“There can be health consequences such as gum disease, it’s also a stimulant so there could be some cardiovascular effects,” Smith said. Additionally, she noted nicotine is often placed among the top three most addictive drugs, alongside the likes of heroin.
Issues also arise in terms of accessibility.
“One of my concerns is that the legal drugs, such as tobacco and alcohol are some of the most dangerous, if you will, in terms of health and actual sometimes social consequences as well,” Smith said.
For those struggling with nicotine addiction, Smith said there are resources such as the organization QuitNow-NH in Concord, or more locally on campus, The Wellness Center.
While there are certainly health detriments with nicotine pouches, the recentness of the products means there is still a lot more to learn about them, Nunnink said. “Unfortunately, like a lot of these other products as they were introduced, we don’t know the long-term ramifications,” she said.
One concern in particular though lies within the type of nicotine in the pouches.
“Some have a synthetic nicotine in it, so they’re not regulated the same way as a tobacco-containing nicotine product is, so they can be marketed to younger individuals without the legal ramifications,” she explained.
Though marketing from the companies themselves has been present, so has a natural popularity spike on social media.
Some content creators on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram have adopted the label of “Zynfluencer,” with posts primarily revolving around the use of the product.
In addition to this, the creators have adopted terminology of their own, such as “upper deckie,” “top shelf,” or “bottom shelf,” to indicate where in the mouth the pouch is placed.
According to a 2023 earnings report by Phillip Morris International, the company that owns Zyn, the product’s U.S. business grew by 62% from 2022 to 2023.
One of the draws of the pouches for students is the flavoring, with Zyn offering coffee, cinnamon and mint variants for their products, among others.
Back in January 2020, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized an enforcement policy prohibiting all electronic nicotine delivering systems (ENDS) from being sold, except tobacco or menthol flavorings.
The FDA stated in the notice e-cigarette companies had illegally marketed the products by implementing the flavorings, and it had caused youth smoking rates to increase.
Nunnink said it would be beneficial to implement the same regulations on nicotine pouches.
“It needs to be regulated or at least labeled so people know, also that it needs to be behind the counter so there’s some sort of control over who’s purchasing it,” she said.
Nunnink urges students grappling with nicotine addiction to go to the Wellness Center.
“We have not only counselors, but we have health staff who can work in tandem,” Nunnink said.
Additionally, Nunnink said she has seen some students find success with using sobriety-encouraging apps on mobile devices.
“A lot of people will almost have a competitive nature to it, so they’ll go with a friend who is also trying to quit and they’ll be able to monitor how much they use versus them,” Nunnink said.
Nathan Hope can be contacted at
nhope@kscequinox.com
