FDA allows Zyn pouches to be marketed as less harmful than cigarettes

Healthcare FDA allows Zyn pouches to be marketed as less harmful than cigarettes Comments: by Nathaniel Weixel - 06/30/26 2:09 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Nathaniel Weixel - 06/30/26 2:09 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will allow Zyn nicotine pouches to be marketed as less harmful to human health than cigarettes, the agency said Tuesday.

The ‌agency allowed the company to market 10 flavors of Zyn products, which have been authorized for sale in the U.S. since January 2025. These are the first nicotine pouches that are allowed to be marketed with a modified risk claim.

It’s a significant win for tobacco giant Philip Morris International and comes as the Trump administration loosens restrictions on nicotine products. The pouches are produced and marketed by Swedish Match, a Stockholm-based tobacco company owned by PMI.

The FDA will allow the 10 Zyn flavors in two different nicotine strengths to be marketed with the claim that “using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.”

The flavors include Zyn Chill, Cinnamon, Citrus, Coffee, Cool Mint, Menthol, Peppermint, Smooth, Spearmint and Wintergreen, each in 3-milligram and 6-milligram nicotine strengths.

“FDA’s review of modified risk products 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,” Bret Koplow, acting director of the agency’s Center for Tobacco Products, said in a statement.

“Today’s decision allows these products to be marketed with a modified risk claim that informs adults who smoke about the lower risks associated with these products,” Koplow added.

Zyn pouches contain nicotine but not tobacco. They have surged in popularity among conservatives, especially those in the orbit of President Trump’s White House.

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson helped popularize the brand among conservatives before later turning against it and launching his own nicotine pouch brand, Alp

Zyn gained marketing authorization in 2025 when FDA officials said the products can help adult smokers cut back or switch completely. They are not FDA approved, and the agency has said there is no safe tobacco product.

Health groups have said they worry about Zyn’s appeal to young people.

The American Lung Association noted data from the National Youth Tobacco Survey showed that Zyn is the most popular nicotine pouch brand for youth, and that more than 90 percent of youth who use tobacco products use flavored products.

According to the survey, 1.7 percent of respondents said they used pouches.

“[N]icotine pouches are not approved to help people quit smoking and these flavored products are already being taken up by youth at increasing rates,” Mike Seilback, an assistant vice president at the American Lung Association, said in a statement.

“It is appalling that the FDA would authorize flavors like citrus, cool mint and cinnamon as modified risk tobacco products, which attract kids,” he wrote. “The Lung Association calls on the FDA to reverse this action and reject pre-market tobacco applications for flavored tobacco products.”

Seilback added, “We must protect our children from a lifelong addition to nicotine.”