It’s Hard to Quit Zyn. The Reddit Bros Can Help.

Style|The Brotherhood of Quitting Zyn

Dylan Sjolie said he had been too much of a “goody-two shoes” to participate in his high school’s vape craze.

When he tried Zyn at 19, during his first semester of college, it seemed like everyone he saw carried a hockey-puck-sized container of the chalky nicotine pouches: athletes, comedians, his roommate. Underclassmen traded tips on where to purchase the pouches, which you must be 21 to buy legally, without needing ID.

“I walk around my campus and I just see the little Zyn pouches all over, spit on the sidewalk and grass,” said Mr. Sjolie, now 21, who is from Maryland. “I’d be talking to people, and they would smile and I’d see it in their upper lip.”

By the beginning of his sophomore year, he kept a Zyn tucked into his mouth every waking moment except when he was showering, eating or brushing his teeth. Soon, the pleasant buzz faded to dependence. His heart raced, and he had anxiety and trouble sleeping that he said hadn’t been the case before his nicotine habit.

A panicked Google search on Super Bowl Sunday led him to Reddit forum called QuittingZyn, an online watering hole for people who are trying to give up Zyn and other nicotine pouches. Its members coach one another through the process of weaning off an addictive substance. But they’re also helping each other give up something more than that.

In an age of looksmaxxing and beefier-than-ever influencers, throwing in a lip pillow can seem like a low-effort way to fit in with the guys. Leaving that club can be lonely, according to conversations with a half-dozen men in various stages of quitting Zyn. So, many of them turned to a similar club. It’s also pretty bro-y — but the point is to quit.