Oral nicotine pouches like Zyn pouches are popular and may help adults overcome or quit smoking, but also prompt teenagers to use tobacco or cigarettes. Users just have to tuck the nicotine pouches into their upper lips and help reduce their exposure to toxic chemicals from actual smoking. The pouches look like little pillows and contain nicotine salt which is absorbed through tissues in the mouth.
However, researchers say such pouches look cool and appealing to youngsters because it’s smokeless, and likely to increase cardiovascular diseases. Zyn nicotine pouches are commonly used by smokers in the US and the United Kingdom. It may look cool and smokeless, but may cause nicotine addiction. Though regarded as a lower-risk product, nicotine pouches are a health risk.
According to a study ‘Nicotine pouches: a review for the dental team’ published in Nature, nicotine releases dopamine, glutamine and gamma aminobutyric acid, making the user feel delighted – leading to addiction.
Health Effects of Nicotine Pouches
Does zyn cause mouth cancer? Minal Patel, a senior principal scientist at the American Cancer Society, asserted that zyn nicotine pouches, and other similar pouches are quite new in the market. As such, their long-term health effects are not clear. A professor of public health sciences and psychiatry at the Penn State University College of Medicine, Jonathan Foulds, explained that the risks depend on who’s using the nicotine pouches and how often. He said it may lower heath risks for a smoker who is switching to a pouch.
But experts warn that such pouches may prove to be health risk for those who have never used tobacco. Dr Panagis Galiatsatos, a pulmonary and critical care medicine at John Hopkins Medicine, told NY Times that zyn nicotine pouches could push toward nicotine addiction and enjoyment. He likened it to electronic cigarettes.
The pouches are more likely to cause nicotine addiction.
