It comes in flavors like "Cool Mint," "Smooth," and "Chill." It's on the Ferrari F1 race car.And it's addictive.A paperclip-sized pouch filled with bleach-white fibers and nicotine crystals placed between the lip and gum, leeches nicotine and other chemicals into the user's bloodstream — allowing anyone to use nicotine discreetly.One of the most popular brands of nicotine pouches, Zyn, got a boost from the Food and Drug Administration recently.
The FDA authorized the company to advertise: "Using Zyn instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis."Bret Koplow, acting director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, said in a press release that the decision "is intended to ensure that adult users have clear, science-based information about the relative harms of tobacco products, so they can make informed choices."For the latest stories on the science of healthy living, subscribe to NPR's Health newsletter.Some public health researchers say that Zyn is a safer alternative to cigarettes and it can help curb the 480,000 or more U.S.deaths attributable to tobacco each year.
But others also say it can be a gateway to riskier nicotine habits like smoking and hook people in adolescence.Nicotine is a drug extracted from the tobacco plant, though some companies use lab-made nicotine in their products.Advocates of nicotine pouches emphasize their safety compared to cigarettes and other tobacco products that users burn.Mitch Zeller, a professor at Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine and former director at the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, says the pouches are "demonstrably less harmful than burning tobacco leaves and inhaling the 7,000 chemicals that are in tobacco smoke."He says when it comes to heavy smokers who want to quit, it's a "no brainer" to switch to nicotine pouches.Zyn underscored that idea in an interview with NPR.
Brian Erkkila, director of external affairs and head o...