Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) took to the podium on Jan. 24 to make a major announcement that affected all of America’s youth.
Anticipation was building as to what he would say that could help millions of our younger citizens. Would Schumer tell us about how inflation was killing families’ ability to afford college; was it about the Fentanyl crisis killing teenagers by the thousands across the nation; or was it simply to remind us all that our kids were spending too much time on TikTok and that he was concerned about Communist China building profiles of our most impressionable demographic? Nope. Senator Schumer had an even bigger announcement: That white nicotine pouches, namely ZYN, was marketing to youth and addicting a whole new generation of addicts that were bound to smoke cigarettes one day.
White pouches, as the industry refers to them as, are simple products that contain nicotine, flavoring, sweeteners and a solid bead-like carrier contained in a porous pouch, similar to cheesecloth. The user places the pouch in their mouth, normally between their cheek and gum, and the nicotine is absorbed into their system. There’s no spitting, there’s no tobacco staining the user’s teeth, no smoke, no vape, no use of the lungs whatsoever.
The majority of users come from three distinct buckets: Smokers who have quit, moist snuff tobacco users who find the product much more discreet since there’s no spitting and those who are using these products to cut down on what they view are more risky products like cigarettes, snuff or cigars.
The typical user of ZYN is college educated, has a much higher income than traditional tobacco users and is more health conscious than other product users in the tobacco category.
So Chuck, how many students are using these awful products? 1.5%. That’s right, 1.5%.
If Senator Schumer and others that claim to care about reducing the health effects of tobacco really cared about America’s youth and the health of the nation in general, they would be up at the podium talking about how great these products are in reducing the harmful effects of smoking and dipping moist snuff. Setting aside the Fentanyl crisis and the astronomical rise in youth marijuana use, Schumer should be calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow white nicotine pouch companies to offer free samples to interested smokers and dippers.
Politicians should be insisting the FDA allow ZYN and all other white pouch brands to be advertised as reduced risk/harm products to show consumers that these are SAFER alternatives to combustible products and moist snuff, which has been linked for decades to oral cancer. It would be wonderful to hear the Senator say the federal government should subsidize white nicotine pouches the same way they subsidize electric vehicles and wind turbines, especially since they would be better for the public health.
Anti-Tobacco Playbook in Full Swing
Instead, the anti-tobacco playbook has been pulled out and the demonization of these products has begun. It’s the same old story. First, the government needs to protect our kids.
Next, it’s big tobacco using their special secret superpowers to get kids hooked so they can sell them cigarettes one day. Finally, they need to tax the heck out of the product and regulate it beyond any rational and logical structure.
Schumer lit the fuse, and he knows full well that the states and municipalities will soon follow with flavor bans, impractical regulations and advertising restrictions. Of course, the lawsuits will follow; that’s part of the playbook to be sure. Schumer and his fellow “antis” know when they open up this false narrative, that millions of dollars will find their way into their campaign war chests and that they need to get their fair share now that they know white pouches are here to stay.
Politicians don’t care about the health of America’s youth. If they did, the Southern border wouldn’t be wide open, which allows fentanyl and other dangerous drugs to flow freely into this country.
A quick Google search produced no results when I checked to see if the drug cartels were smuggling ZYN, Rogue, ON! Or Velo into the country, but maybe Chuck is ahead of us all and sees what’s coming in the future.
It would be refreshing to see that politicians like Senator Schumer actually cared about what’s best for the health of this country instead of taking the opportunity to grandstand and ultimately line their own pockets.
Steve Sandman has been a part of the nicotine industry for over 40 years. He continues to provide consulting services for manufacturers, wholesale distributors and retailers across the industry.
