In a world where nicotine consumption is growing more and more popular beyond cigarettes and vapes, Zyns are taking nicotine consumers by storm, showing up in convenience stores all over as they are marketed towards an audience of primarily teenage students.
Zyns are small nicotine pouches used by putting above your teeth in your gums. Nicotine pouches provide a quick, short-term buzz without any smoking. Ever since they were introduced to the U.S. in 2014, their demand and popularity has since skyrocketed among thousands of Americans, and a majority of its users are students and young adults. According to The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 1.8% of America’s youth, which translates to around 480,000 kids, are reported to currently use these nicotine pouches, and the brand Zyn is by far the most commonly used brand, as about 68.7% of nicotine pouch users purchase from them.
Nicotine has a lot of negative impacts on the brain. According to the American Dental Association, regular use of nicotine packets like Zyns can lead to addiction, eventually impair brain development in teenagers, and increase your blood pressure and heart rate, leading to cardiovascular issues in the long term.
“Nicotine is highly addictive,” Staples school nurse Patty Falvey said. “If kids start using the pouches, the chances of them getting addicted are pretty high.”
According to Yale Medicine, “Health experts say that nicotine has negative effects on everyone, but it is particularly dangerous for young people because it can cause physical changes in their still-developing brains. It is also a highly addictive stimulant.”
Not falling victim to peer pressure is a great way to prevent becoming addicted to Zyns and protecting your brain health. A big part of it is awareness. Understanding the negative effects of Zyns, and other nicotine products, can help. This doesn’t only apply to Zyns. Vapes and other e-cigarette products are just as much of a risk, as they all contain the very addictive alkaloid nicotine.
With this said, many students feel that peer pressure plays little-to-no role in nicotine use at Staples.
“Peer pressure regarding nicotine is generally nonexistent from what I have experienced at Staples,” Cassie Siegner ’27 said. “I’ve never encountered anyone who encourages or enforces the use of it.”
Any use of Zyn nicotine pouches on school grounds remains a mystery.
“I don’t see a lot of use of Zyns,” Falvey said. “Not to say that they are not being used.”
Because of the inconspicuous nature of Zyns, being that they are tiny pouches that can be hidden in the mouths of its users, it is difficult to find accounts of them being used at Staples.
“I can’t say whether or not it’s an issue at Staples because it’s so hard to detect,” Falvey said.
Very little presence of Zyn use within school grounds has been found; however, the use of nicotine through vaping is a different story.
“I saw one in a toilet. That was it,” Assistant Principal James Farnen said. “Vaping, vape pens are something that we are constantly dealing with, unfortunately.”
If you are addicted to nicotine and are having a hard time quitting, Staples has licensed alcohol and drug counselor Amy Grant, who can assist students struggling with nicotine addictions. She can be found in the nurse’s office.
