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Talk about a parenting headache.
When Kellie Whitehead’s teen son showed interest in nicotine pouches because he had seen them on TikTok and in the mouths of his favorite Premier League players, Whitehead decided to pop one with him.
A smoker for about 30 years, the UK-based PR consultant was floored by the side effects. She felt nauseous and dizzy as the blood rushed to her head, her temperature soared and her heart raced.
“I’m 5-foot-8, and I’m a plus-size woman,” Whitehead, 47, told The Post. “What’s it going to do to a 13-year-old girl or a small-built 15-year-old boy? It was horrible.”
So the tin went into the bin — or so Whitehead thought. She caught James, then 17, experimenting with it again two weeks later. He got sicker than before and appeared to learn his lesson.
Whitehead is among the parents badmouthing nicotine pouches as Gen Z becomes Gen Zyn.
Pouch use nearly doubled among US high school students between 2023 and 2024, according to new research from the University of Southern California, as some teens see it as a “safer” alternative to smoking or vaping because it’s tobacco-free.
The “lip pillows,” placed between the lip or cheek and the gums, deliver highly addictive nicotine through the lining of the mouth.
It’s too early to know the long-term health effects, but the pouches have been found to irritate the mouth, damage gums and increase the risk of heart disease and hypertension because nicotine raises heart rate and blood pressure.
The USC researchers noted that nicotine exposure during adolescence can harm brain development, leading to difficulties with learning, memory and attention.
Furthermore, alarming research has identified hazardous substances and potential carcinogens in some nicotine pouches.
“This growing public health issue needs more attention,” said Dae-Hee Han, a USC postdoctoral scholar who authored the new study. “Like flavored e-cigarettes when they first emerged, use of this new oral nicotine product is becoming more widespread, particularly among adolescents.”
The study revealed that 5.4% of teens used nicotine pouches in 2024 compared to 3% in 2023.
Young male conservatives, in particular, seem drawn to the buzz. “Mascuzynity” has been used to describe the curated image of hardcore hustle and rugged cool projected by so-called Zyn-influencers.
Bert Kreischer, Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan are among the celebs who have discussed using Zyn. (Carlson has since launched pouch brand ALP.)
The market is expected to explode in the next five years. Though pouches are only supposed to be sold to adults 21 and older in the US, their prevalence among teens has prompted organizations such as the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids to call for stronger regulations.
Long Island mom Laurie Ann Davis, who has volunteered with Parents Against Vaping E-cigarettes, noted that the pouches could easily be mistaken for Chiclet gum.
“This is just another gateway to hurt our children,” said Davis, whose adult son has used them after years of smoking and vaping on and off. “What are they going to make up next?”
Whitehead hopes the popularity of these products sparks important discussions between parents and teens.
“We have to keep ourselves up to date and aware of everything that’s out there, and then look at it realistically,” she said. “We have to know it exists, we have to know what it looks like, and we have to know what it can do in certain strengths.”
English (US)