ZYN Lawsuit Claims Pouches Are Falsely Advertised as Tobacco-Free, Low-Nicotine

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The makers of ZYN pouches face a proposed class action lawsuit over their youth-focused advertising of the products as “tobacco-free,” and label claims concerning how many grams of nicotine are in each pouch.

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According to the 43-page lawsuit against Swedish Match North America and Philip Morris International, although ZYN products are advertised as tobacco-free, the nicotine in each pouch is, in fact, derived from tobacco, and not made synthetically. Cited in the ZYN class action lawsuit is a study that discovered the presence of formaldehyde, ammonia, nickel and chromium in the thin white pouches, harmful compounds found in tobacco that remain with any nicotine extracted from the leaf.

The lawsuit also claims that several studies have detected carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), specifically NNN (N-Nitrosonornicotine) and NNK (4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone), in ZYN pouches. The filing states that these carcinogenic TSNAs are strongly associated with the formation of tumors in the esophagus, making their supposed presence in ZYN’s oral nicotine pouches particularly dangerous.

The complaint alleges that the presence of these TSNAs and other tobacco-associated compounds suggests that the nicotine in ZYN pouches is derived from tobacco, making the “tobacco-free” claim patently false. The “tobacco-free” claim is additionally misleading to consumers in that buyers may take the claim to mean that the health risks of tobacco are absent from ZYN products and that the pouches are therefore substantially safer than tobacco-derived items, the lawsuit says.

Per the filing, consumers’ perception of the apparent healthiness and safety of tobacco-free products is reinforced by the healthy-lifestyle imaging throughout the defendants’ ZYN advertising, and serves as a primary factor in purchasing decisions.

In a similar vein, the lawsuit contends that the manner in which the nicotine content is disclosed in milligrams on ZYN packages does not help most consumers discern the strength or comparative quantity of the product’s nicotine content. The complaint alleges ZYN is aware of this and purposely provides no point of comparison or further disclosure regarding the strength of its products.

Per the filing, ZYN products generally are sold at strengths of three or six milligrams of nicotine per pouch, which, on the surface, seems like a small amount in comparison to the eight to 20mg found on average in traditional cigarettes—a perception that ZYN allegedly uses to its marketing advantage. However, the complaint states that the human body only absorbs about 10 percent of the nicotine in traditional cigarettes, or one to two milligrams per cigarette, while ZYN nicotine pouches are chemically designed to have a higher nicotine absorption rate. As such, consumers tend to absorb more nicotine from non-smokable pouches than they do from traditional cigarettes, the lawsuit says.

Due to the confusion over dosage strength, which ZYN does nothing to rectify, it is easy for consumers to become dependent on the larger doses of nicotine they receive from ZYNs, the lawsuit argues.

The lawsuit cites several social media posts and comments where ZYN users refer to concerningly frequent or heightened dosages. For example, one Instagram user is cited in the filing as saying they take up to four three-milligram ZYN pouches at once, which would provide the same nicotine dosage as smoking eight cigarettes at the same time. Other users are cited in the suit as discussing taking ZYN pouches—again, sometimes more than one at a time—overnight or immediately after waking up.

ZYN’s legally required disclosure of the addictive nature of nicotine, the filing contends, does not meaningfully aid consumers in understanding the dosage of the pouches or the other health risks associated with nicotine.

Finally, the complaint alleges that ZYN’s marketing—including the allegedly deceptive tactics surrounding its tobacco-free claim and nicotine-dosage disclosures—targets minors and young adults, despite the fact that it is illegal to sell nicotine products to anyone under the age of 21 in the United States.

Per the lawsuit, most of the models in ZYN ads are young adults, which research shows appeals greatly to young people and adolescents, regardless of whether the models themselves are of legal age to be using or consuming the advertised product. The suit, citing various studies, states that marketing with models in their twenties is especially appealing in advertising for age-restricted products such as e-cigarettes and other nicotine items.

Furthermore, a known, effective tactic in marketing nicotine and tobacco products to young adults and adolescents is adding various flavorings to the items the filing reports. The suit says that ZYN sells its products in 10 flavors for the purpose of “tempt[ing] young buyers.”

The lawsuit also claims that, in an attempt to market to young consumers, ZYN’s ads employ images of appealing food and happy social gatherings or outdoor activities that, along with the language of the ads, imply or outright state that ZYN aids in a sense of social or personal freedom and enjoyment.

The filing calls these youth-focused marketing tactics “predatory” and claims that they prey on the fact that people in their teens and early 20s don’t yet have fully developed prefrontal cortexes, the part of the brain that manages a person’s impulse control, decision-making capabilities and understanding of or consideration for long-term consequences. This has already been found to make people in this age range more vulnerable to substance abuse and electronic cigarette advertising, the case mentions.

According to the suit, the FDA issued 119 warning letters and 41 civil money penalty complaints to brick-and-mortar retailers that sold ZYN pouches to consumers under 21 between October 2023 and February 2024.

The ZYN class action lawsuit seeks to represent anyone who purchased ZYN nicotine pouches in the United States during the applicable statute of limitations period, up until the date of class certification.

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