Doctors sound alarm over surge in teens hooked on ‘Gen Z’s favorite weight loss fix’
A record number of American teenagers are hooked on Zyn nicotine pouches, new data shows.
In 2023, just three percent admitted to using the pouches, which are loved by young people for their appetite-suppressing effects.
But by 2024, within just one year, this number had rocketed to 5.4 percent — an 80 percent leap.
‘This growing public health issue needs more attention,’ said Dr Dae-Hee Han, a public health scientist from California who led the research.
‘Parents, teachers and pediatricians should be aware that teen nicotine pouch use is increasing across the nation,’ Dr Adam Leventhal, also a public health scientist involved in the study, added.
Users credit Zyns with a myriad of health benefits, from more confidence to better sexual performance and even weight loss, with some dubbing it ‘O-Zyn-pic’.
But the pouches also have a number of negative health effects, including nicotine addiction, sores emerging in the mouth and gums. They have previously been linked to heart trouble in teenagers.
Some researchers have also linked their use during adolescence to harm to brain development and problems with learning, memory and attention.
The Zyn pouches look like tiny tea bags filled with nicotine. Placed discretely between your lip and gum, the nicotine is absorbed directly into the bloodstream (stock image)
Nicotine pouches are small, white pouches inserted between the lips and the gums, where they release nicotine into the bloodstream over the course of about an hour.
Nicotine suppresses appetite by activating specific receptors in the brain that tell the body it is not hungry, even when it may not be.
This mechanism is thought to be related to the ‘fight or flight’ response, where the body prioritizes energy conservation during stressful situations.
The trend was revealed in a study published in JAMA Network Open, and based on data from the Monitoring the Future survey — an annual survey launched in 1975 that asks students about their substance use.
The study analyzed data from 10,000 survey participants in the 12th grade — aged 18 years — and 10th grade — aged 15 to 16 years.
The team also found that more teenagers reported using nicotine pouches in the past 30 days and past 12 months, as well as using both pouches and e-cigarettes, compared to 2023.
A total of 2.6 percent of teens said they now use them every day, compared to 1.3 percent in the previous year.
And 4.6 percent admitted to using them at least once in the past 12 months, compared to 2.4 percent saying this in 2023.
The use of vapes declined among teens over the same period, the survey showed.
In 2023, 20 percent of teenagers admitted in the survey that they vaped, but by 2024 this had dropped to 17.6 percent — down by 13 percent.
The number reporting using both e-cigarettes and pouches increased from 2.1 percent to 3.6 percent over the same period.
Overall, teenagers who were male, white and living in a rural area were found to be more likely to be using nicotine pouches than their counterparts.
Dr Leventhal urged: ‘To reverse this trend, we need to heighten public awareness about pouches and educate youth about them.
‘Policymakers might also consider ramping up regulation of the booming pouch market — including cinnamon, fruit and other attractive flavors — to protect youth.’
Tucker Carlson slips a Zyn into his mouth at the Republican National Convention last July
The scientists were from the Keck School of Medicine, at the University of Southern California, primarily located in Los Angeles.
Nicotine pouches are often sold in a variety of flavors to appeal to youth, just like electronic vapes have been to also get teenagers hooked.
Zyn and other nicotine pouches are typically sold at gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops around the country – in most places one could find tobacco products.
A pack of 15 pouches sells for $5-$10 and are sold in two different strengths of nicotine: 3 milligrams and 6mg.
Nicotine pouches have been available in the US for at least a decade, and are sometimes marketed as being less dangerous than other nicotine products.
FDA officials say they contain fewer harmful ingredients than cigarettes and other types of chewing tobacco including snuff — dry powder inhaled through the nose — which are linked to cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
Regulators have also found that a ‘substantial portion’ of adults who previously smoked switched completely to nicotine pouches.
Several celebrities have been pictured using nicotine pouches like Zyn, likely boosting their popularity.
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson said in October 2022 that he enjoyed Zyn and the product could work as a ‘male enhancer,’ though there is no evidence of this. Carlson has since said this comment was a joke.
He has now started his own brand of nicotine pouches called Alp.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield was reprimanded by the NFL for putting a Zyn in his mouth while on the sidelines of a game.
Actor Josh Brolin has shared he’s so addicted to an unspecified brand of nicotine pouches he sleeps with them in his mouth.
