When my father was 15, his dad handed him his first cigarette. It was the mid-1970s and it felt like a step toward adulthood, something you were finally old enough to try rather than something to stay away from. He never did the same for me, and looking back, the gap between his teenage years and mine is the whole story of what happened to smoking. In 1965, more than four in ten American adults smoked. Today the figure is a fraction of that, and among teenagers cigarettes have nearly vanished. Nicotine has not. It changed shape, and the numbers for the new shape are moving in the opposite direction. On June 30, the FDA did something it had never done for a nicotine pouch: it allowed ZYN to tell consumers that switching from cigarettes lowers the risk of six named diseases. The approval comes with a time limit, a condition under which it can be revoked, and a flavour list that reads like a dessert menu. Dr. Saira Bano, a general practitioner and co-founder of SwiftDoctor, who treats nicotine dependence told Bored Panda what a reduced-risk label can and cannot promise, why a patch and a pouch are not the same category, and what the sales figures since 2019 say about who is actually buying. It starts with the difference between quitting smoking and quitting nicotine, which the label does not mention. Pavel Lozovikov / Unsplash (not the actual photot) During the mid-1970s, when my dad went through a rite of passage he thankfully never put me through, smoking was much more common than it is now. In 1965, 41.9% of adults in the United States smoked. For many families, cigarettes were just a normal part of daily life and didn’t need any special explanation. In the decades that followed, smoking rates dropped quite a lot. The percentage of American adults who smoked went from 41.9% in 1965 to 14.2% in 2019, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. People became more aware of the health risks, and public attitudes changed, which shifted how cigarettes fit into daily life. This change also reached younger people. For American teens aged 12 to 17, the number who smoked dropped from 9% in 2009 to 2.3% in 2019. Cigarettes became much less common among teenagers, showing a big shift in youth smoking habits in just ten years. But the drop in cigarette smoking isn’t the whole story when it comes to nicotine use. The same CDC report shows that vaping among high school seniors went up from 11% in 2017 to 25.5% in 2019. As cigarettes faded, other ways of using nicotine became more popular, leading to today’s discussions about products like ZYN. kuliation / Unsplash (not the actual photo) Cigarettes, vapes, and nicotine pouches all provide nicotine, but each comes with its own health risks. Cigarettes burn tobacco and release harmful chemicals, making them the most dangerous tobacco product. Vapes and nicotine pouches do not burn tobacco, so their risks are generally lower than cigarettes, but they are not completely safe. This difference is important because nicotine is just one of all the concerns. Cigarette smoke has toxic and cancer-causing chemicals. E-cigarettes can also expose users to harmful substances in their vapor. Nicotine pouches contain addictive nicotine and may have other harmful chemicals. The Food and Drug Administration warns that lower risk does not mean safe. Dr. Saira Bano, a GP and co-founder of SwiftDoctor, points out that nicotine products vary in how safe they are. “Nicotine replacement therapy such as patches has been used for decades and is much safer than smoking,” she says. Vaping and nicotine pouches also avoid burning tobacco, but they come with their own risks. Researchers still need more long-term studies to fully understand the effects of using nicotine pouches regularly. Nicotine patches are different. Instead of being another way to use nicotine for pleasure, FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapies help adults quit smoking by easing cravings and withdrawal. The FDA suggests using these treatments with counseling as the best way to quit. Using both medicine and counseling can make quitting even more successful. These differences matter most when people think about switching products. Adults who smoke might lower their exposure to harmful chemicals if they switch fully to a lower-risk option. However, using cigarettes and another nicotine product at the same time can reduce that benefit. The FDA says quitting all tobacco products is best for your health, and nicotine replacement therapies are a proven way to help you quit. fabrikasimf / Magnific (not the actual photo) On June 30, 2026, the FDA approved 20 ZYN nicotine pouch products to carry a reduced-risk claim. This means the company can now tell consumers that using these pouches instead of cigarettes lowers the risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. The approval covers 10 varieties, each in 3 mg and 6 mg strengths, with flavors including cinnamon, citrus, coffee, cool mint, peppermint, and wintergreen. Before allowing the claim, the FDA looked at health risks, how well consumers understand the information, youth use, and the possible effects on public health. This decision only applies to these specific products, not all nicotine pouches. Said approval has some conditions. Swedish Match USA must keep track of how people use the products and how well they understand the reduced-risk claim. The approval lasts for five years unless the company gets an extension. The FDA can also take back the approval if it no longer helps public health, such as if youth use rises a lot. The agency will keep reviewing the products even after granting the claim. Still, the FDA makes it clear that reducing risk is not the same as removing it. The agency says no tobacco product is safe, and people who do not use tobacco should not start. Adults who smoke get the most benefit from quitting all tobacco products, but switching fully from cigarettes to approved nicotine pouches may lower exposure to many harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke. stefamerpik / Magnific (not the actual photo) To understand the concerns surrounding nicotine products, we first need to look at how nicotine affects the brain, why it can be so difficult to quit, and what makes young people particularly vulnerable to addiction. Nicotine affects the brain’s reward system by raising dopamine levels, which play a role in motivation and reinforcement. Over time, the brain gets used to nicotine, so people are more likely to want it again. This helps explain why people keep using nicotine even if they want to quit and know about the health risks. When someone stops using nicotine, they might have cravings, feel irritable or anxious, have trouble focusing, or find it hard to sleep. These symptoms can make quitting tough, even for people who really want to stop smoking. Nicotine dependence is more than just a habit; it creates both physical and mental challenges that make people keep coming back. Dr. Bano says that treating nicotine dependence means looking beyond just the physical effects. “Nicotine dependence is partly chemical, but it's also tied very strongly to routines, triggers and situations,” she explains. By recognizing these patterns, people can get ready for cravings. Support with behavior changes and the right medication can also make quitting easier. If someone slips up, Dr. Bano encourages them to adjust their plan instead of seeing it as a failure. Young people are especially at risk because their brains keep developing until their mid-twenties. Using nicotine as a teenager can affect parts of the brain that control attention, learning, mood, and self-control. Early use also raises the risk that young people will become addicted, so products that attract them are a serious public health concern. This difference is important as nicotine products change. Switching from cigarettes to something with fewer harmful chemicals might lower some health risks, but it does not get rid of nicotine addiction. A person can quit smoking but still use nicotine through pouches or vaping. Cutting down on cigarette smoke and beating addiction are two different challenges. magnific / Magnific (not the actual photo) Nicotine pouches are available in flavors like mint, cinnamon, citrus, and coffee, so people have more choices than just the usual tobacco taste. Companies also offer different nicotine strengths, and some use lab-made nicotine instead of nicotine from tobacco plants. Even if a pouch is labeled “tobacco-free,” it still contains nicotine and is not risk-free. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that many big tobacco companies produce nicotine pouch brands. These products are marketed in ways similar to other tobacco items, and studies show that this kind of marketing attracts young people. Because of this, flavors and branding do more than just offer choices. They can influence how people think about and use nicotine. Dr. Bano points out that how manufacturers market nicotine products can shape how young people see them. “All the flavours and colours lower that psychological barrier while the high-strength products can still create dependence very quickly,” she told us. She believes regulations should cover marketing, nicotine strength, age limits, and online sales. Even if a product is less harmful than cigarettes, it may still not be right for a teenager who has never used nicotine. Sales of nicotine pouches in the United States jumped from 126 million in August 2019 to 808 million in March 2022. The CDC also found that 1.8% of middle and high school students used these pouches in 2024. These numbers explain why public health officials keep studying who uses these products and how their use is spreading. We still do not know all the long-term health effects of nicotine pouches, and the FDA has not approved them to help people quit smoking. This is important because when companies market pouches as an alternative to cigarettes, people might think they are safe just because they look different or are called lower risk. The CDC recommends that people who do not already use tobacco products should not start. The nicotine industry is changing, with new products that might lower some risks but do not remove addiction. Regulators face a challenge: telling the difference between real harm reduction and messages that make nicotine look safe. Or maybe the simpler answer is to stop putting products nobody needs into people’s hands in the first place.
