FDA OKs marketing nicotine pouches as better than cigarettes

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it allowed ZYN nicotine pouches to be marketed as less harmful to human health than cigarettes. The FDA authorized 20 ZYN products to be advertised as carrying less risk than cigarettes of causing mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. Philip Morris International, the parent company of ZYN manufacturer Swedish Match, said the decision ensured adults had access to accurate information about the effects of their product. The FDA aimed to allow adults to make informed choices about the relative harms of tobacco products, said Bret Koplow, acting director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.

The FDA added that there are no safe tobacco products. It generally recommends against using any of them, including ZYN. But quitting cigarettes for FDA-authorized nicotine pouches may reduce one’s exposure to harmful chemicals, it said.

What are ZYN pouches exactly? The approved pouches deliver nicotine orally in both 3-milligram and 6-milligram strengths. For comparison, Nicorette gum, which the FDA approved in 1984 as a product to help people quit smoking, contains 2 to 4 milligrams of nicotine. The FDA’s Tuesday decision applied to select ZYN flavors, such as mint, citrus, coffee, and cinnamon.

Under 2% of middle and high school students reported using nicotine pouches in 2025, according to the FDA’s annual National Youth Tobacco Survey released last week. Youth reported ZYN as the most popular nicotine pouch brand. If the FDA sees an increase in kids using ZYN products, it could reverse course on the new punch marketing, the agency said Tuesday.

Dig deeper: Listen to Emma Eicher’s report for The World and Everything in It on the U.K.’s tobacco sales ban for children.