Tobacco's Next Big Trick: Nicotine Pouches
The tobacco industry's strategy of targeting kids is paying off. For decades, tobacco companies have made billions by hooking new generations on their addictive products.
For decades, the tobacco industry has used menthol cigarettes — which mask the harshness of tobacco smoke — to hook generations of young people.
Then, they introduced fruit and candy flavored vapes, hooking millions more kids on addictive nicotine. And now they are onto their next trick: nicotine pouches like Zyn.
These new products are poised to be the next money maker, setting up young people for a lifetime of addiction while the tobacco industry profits.
Right now, Oregon has no state law to restrict their sale — even to kids. It's time for Oregon to protect kids and close the loophole that leaves nicotine pouches unregulated.
Cigarettes, E-cigarettes and Vape Products, Cigars, & Chewing Tobacco
Nicotine Pouches
Can only be sold in stores that have obtained a Tobacco Retail License
Can be sold anywhere without a state license
Can only be sold to people over the age of 21
Oregon has no state law to restrict their sale — even to kids
Nicotine pouches are packets of nicotine powder, flavorings, and other chemical substances that are placed inside the mouth between the lip and gum. Nicotine is absorbed through the lining of the mouth. They come in a variety of flavors including berry, mint and citrus, and are sold by all major tobacco companies.
Nicotine pouches are flavored and easy to conceal — two features that drove youth e-cigarette use to epidemic levels.
250.8%
Increase nationally in total monthly nicotine pouch sales between January 2023 and August 2025.
86%
Of youth pouch users use a variety of flavored products.
99.7%
Of nicotine pouches sold in the U.S. come in non-tobacco flavors.
All nicotine pouches contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance. Nicotine pouches can deliver nicotine at levels similar to cigarettes. Nicotine exposure during adolescence can harm the developing brain, which continues to develop until about age 25, and can impact learning, memory, and attention. Use of these products sets kids up for a lifetime of addiction.
Right now, Oregon doesn't have a state law that restricts the sale of these products — even to kids. Nicotine pouches must be properly regulated just like other smokeless tobacco products, cigarettes, e-cigarettes and vapes, and cigars. It's time for Oregon to protect kids and close the loophole that leaves nicotine pouches unregulated.
The tobacco industry uses flavored products to lure kids and hook them as lifetime customers, and these products are fueling the youth nicotine addiction crisis in our state.
For decades, the tobacco industry has used menthol cigarettes — which mask the harshness of tobacco smoke — to hook generations of young people. Then, they introduced fruit and candy flavored vapes, hooking millions more kids on addictive nicotine. And now they are onto their next trick: nicotine pouches like Zyn.
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