The new office ritual? Zyn nicotine pouches

• Nicotine pouches are finding an audience with people who view them as a healthier alternative to other products.

• Five men with prior nicotine or tobacco use habits told BI they use Zyn to help them focus.

• "If I need to work on something that's a little bit more important than other things — like it's just a part of the routine," one said.

At a prior job, Clay Coomer would sometimes see a colleague in the hallway and have a quick exchange.

"He would be like, 'Hey, you need one?'" Coomer told Business Insider.

The item in question was a Zyn, a brand of nicotine pouch that users often place under their lips to get a boost. Coomer and his former coworker would each share their stash when the other's was running low.

For Coomer, who's 36 and works in marketing, popping in a Zyn is just sometimes how he gets hard work done.

"If I need to have a challenging conversation with somebody or if I need to work on something that's a little bit more important than other things — like it's just a part of the routine," he said.

Coomer isn't alone. BI spoke with a handful of men in various fields who are relying on the lift they get from the nicotine as a way to get through the day — especially the hardest things that can be difficult to tackle — without the mess and health risks of chewing tobacco or cigarettes.

All had used nicotine or tobacco products previously and described turning to Zyn because they viewed it as a healthier or cleaner alternative to the likes of dip, vaping, or cigarettes.

The rise of Zyn

Zyn has been available for sale in the US since 2014 but has seen wider popularity recently.

Shipments of the nicotine pouches in the US in 2023 were up 62% year-over-year. And while product shipments can outpace consumer sales, Tobacco giant Philip Morris International, which owns Zyn's manufacturer, Swedish Match, forecasts even greater shipping volume this year. Zyn pouches have found favor with everyone from high-powered Wall Street traders to Tucker Carlson and GOP lawmakers.

There are even "Zynfluencers," who post videos on social media of themselves slipping pouches under their lips.

One 28-year-old corporate performance management consultant who previously used dip says he views Zyn as "the lesser of all the evils" among nicotine and tobacco products in terms of health risks.

Some sources asked not to be named because they didn't want to jeopardize future job prospects, but their identities are known to BI.

Raymond Niaura, chair of the Department of Epidemiology at New York University and an expert on tobacco dependence, told BI that there is risk of addiction with any product containing nicotine. (The FDA has issued a similar warning.) Niaura added that pouches tend to deliver less nicotine than cigarettes, which he said are more addictive. Instead, the pouches are more akin to nicotine replacement therapy.

Niaura said, in general, a nicotine pouch is a "pretty clean product" yet still could carry risks: Nicotine, for example, can increase heart rate and blood pressure, so someone at risk for cardiovascular disease might want to be particularly careful using it.

"It's early days. It's hard to say for sure where these products fit in," he said, referring to how addictive products like Zyn might be.

The 'hand of God'

As for using a pouch at work, nicotine pouches tend to be so small they're nearly invisible to others, which is another part of the appeal for some users. Not that it's such a big deal anyway, several users told BI, because the pouches don't contain tobacco. So there's not the same stigma there might be with tobacco products.