PSA: Zyn is *not* Nicotine Replacement Therapy

First off, a disclaimer: I would never try to tell anyone how to quit, and I absolutely do not intend to violate rule #2 with this. If using Zyn to quit works for you, do it! No judgment whatsoever on my end. Just wanted to address something I've seen around the sub.

I wanted to make this post because I occasionally see posts/comments where folks talk about Zyn comparably to nicotine gum and lozenges. I believe this to be a dangerous comparison because:

  • Zyn is designed to get you addicted, and to keep you addicted. Zyn is a company that wants you to buy its product and get hooked. Zyn is owned by cartoonishly evil big tobacco company Philip Morris. It gets its nicotine from nicotine salt, the fast-acting, high-dose form of nicotine that you find in JUULs and most disposables;
  • Nicotine Replacement Therapies offer a much slower release of nicotine. Gum and lozenges intentionally take longer to absorb into your bloodstream, leading to a lower "peak" buzz effect. A 4mg gum provides a slower, less dramatic nicotine high than a 4mg Zyn pouch (though Zyn only comes in 3 & 6mg).
  • This slow release is important for curbing withdrawal. When your body gets a lot of nicotine in a sharp spike, it sends signals to the brain to create more receptors in order to accommodate this influx of nicotine. When you begin to lower the amount of nicotine you consume and spread it out over a consistent, slow release, your brain starts to "clean out" these receptors and lower its "threshold"/baseline dependence on nicotine (this is vastly oversimplified, but google "nicotine receptor upregulation" to read more about this effect).

If Zyn helped you quit, more power to you! But I would hate for anyone in this sub to get the wrong idea that Zyn pouches are intended to be used for vaping/smoking cessation. If you are using these to quit, I'd recommend you be mindful of it and ensure you're not just swapping one form of buzz delivery for another, or worse, increasing your tolerance for nicotine.

Would love to hear other's thoughts on this, and their experience using Zyn to quit. For me, it just prolonged the addiction, and actually increased my tolerance (while giving me a ton of canker sores and some mild gum recession).

TLDR: Zyn is meant to give you a buzz that keeps you coming back for more, whereas NRT seeks to reduce that buzz while curbing withdrawal.

EDIT: Added citation and info about zyn parent co