'Free the Zyn': Why nicotine pouches are all the buzz on Canada's right
OTTAWA — A hockey-puck-shaped canister of nicotine product Zyn, not approved for sale in Canada, was the accessory of choice as Conservative MP Jamil Jivani’s “Restore the North” campus tour rolled through the West Coast last week.
University-aged attendees posed for photos with Jivani while proudly displaying their (sort of) contraband after a Friday event at the Vancouver campus of the University of British Columbia. At least a few had Jivani sign their Zyn canisters with a Sharpie.
“Free the Zyn,” read a one-sentence dispatch from the event posted to Jivani’s Facebook page .
Jivani is far from the only po l itician on Canada’s right who’s been buzzing about nicotine pouches like Zyn, currently available only behind the counter in pharmacies. (Zyn itself isn’t sold in Canada but competitor Zonnic is .)
Harman Bhangu, a B.C. Conservative MLA currently running to be the party’s next leader, posted a photo of himself and Jivani holding matching Zyn cannisters to his X account over the weekend.
Bhangu told National Post he started using Zyn just over a year ago to reduce his dependency on cigarettes and vaping. He said that getting elected in late 2024 made him aware of how much time he wasted on smoke breaks.
“When I came to the legislature I realized, hey, there’s work to do. You can’t just sneak out to the parking lot every few hours,” said Bhangu.
“A friend gave me a Zyn and I was mind-blown by how much of the craving it takes away,” he added.
Bhangu says he’ll use the Health Canada approved Zonnic “in a pinch” but finds it less comfortable than Zyn.
“I found myself, when I was doing the Zonnics, I would still tend to vape and just get away from it,” said Bhangu, who added that he strongly believed that consumers should be able to choose from a range of nicotine pouches.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Red Tape Reduction Minister Dale Nally penned a joint letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney last week, encouraging him loosen federal restrictions on the sale of nicotine pouches.
“Restricting access to nicotine pouches creates barriers for adults who are actively trying to reduce or quit their nicotine consumption,” wrote Smith and Nally. “These restrictions appear to have also coincided with growth in an illicit and unregulated market.”
Here’s what you should know about the newfangled nicotine products that are on everyone’s lips — or, if we’re being technical, on their upper gums.
What are nicotine pouches?
Nicotine pouches are small, perforated bags containing nicotine and flavourings. They’re placed under the user’s top lip and deliver nicotine into the bloodstream via the gums.
The pouches typically generate an immediate tingling sensation at the point of contact, known to some users as the “Zyn burn.” They also produce a short-term “buzz” by stimulating the production of dopamine and adrenaline. Some users report a temporary boost in focus and cognition.
Why are they so popular?
Nicotine pouches have been heavily marketed by tobacco companies as smoke and spit-free alternatives to cigarettes and other tobacco products. Philip Morris International, the multibillion-dollar tobacco giant that owns Zyn, spent US$13 million on digital ads for the product in 2023, a more than 300 per cent increase from one year earlier.
The marketing has clearly targeted spaces and platforms that disproportionately attract young men. A group of so-called “Zynfluencers” has sprung up in the male-focused podcast ecosystem, professing their love of the product to listeners.
Zyn’s connection to the manosphere slammed into focus last week when a shipment of 378,000 tins of ALP Drifter , a brand of nicotine pouches co-owned by podcaster Tucker Carlson, was stolen from a logistics facility in southern California.
Are they safer than other nicotine products?
Free of tobacco and without carcinogenic smoke, nicotine pouches are widely considered to be much safer than cigarettes, vapes and chewing tobacco. This does not mean they’re totally harmless, as nicotine is both highly addictive and a risk factor for cardiovascular ailments like high blood pressure and heart disease. Children and teenagers, whose brains are still developing, are especially susceptible to nicotine addiction.
With nicotine pouches only hitting the market in the last few years, there’s limited longitudinal research on whether they increase the likelihood of oral cancers.
The jury is also out on whether nicotine pouches are more effective at helping people quit smoking than other smoking cessation products already on the market.
What are the current rules for nicotine pouches?
Health Canada approved the sale of Zonnic as a natural health product in July 2023 but placed additional restrictions on its access in an August 2024 ministerial order . Under the current federal rules, adults aged 18 and older may only purchase Zonnic behind the counter at pharmacies.
Consumers who want flavours other than mint are out of luck under the current rules. As are those who want a bigger (or smaller) hit than the government-mandated four milligrams.
How did nicotine pouches become a partisan issue?
To many on the right, Ottawa’s regulatory stance toward nicotine pouches is peak “nanny state.” The federal Conservatives, for one, have pointed out the Liberal government’s hypocrisy in locking Zonnic behind pharmacy counters while, at the same time, increasing access to far more dangerous illicit opioids via safer supply programs.
Other critics have said it doesn’t make sense for nicotine pouches to be harder to buy than cigarettes, vapes and other tobacco products.
Are looser federal rules coming?
The short answer is probably not.
Health Canada spokesperson Karine LeBlanc defended the 2024 ministerial order in an email to National Post.
“Nicotine is a toxic and powerfully addictive substance. Children and teenagers are especially susceptible to the addictive properties of nicotine as brain development continues throughout adolescence and into early adulthood,” wrote LeBlanc. “To address these concerns, (we) introduced measures to reduce the appeal of, access to, and use of these products by youth and people who do not smoke, while providing continued access for adults who use (nicotine replacement therapies) to quit smoking.”
National Post
rmohamed@postmedia.com
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