This week, dozens of individuals on TikTok reported receiving Venmo payments from “Juul Labs, Inc. Settlement Administrator” as a result of claims filed in a class action lawsuit that asserted that Juul marketed its products toward minors and charged high prices, despite the lack of accurate information about safety and addictiveness. Despite refusing to admit to the claims in the suit, Juul agreed to pay the $300 million settlement.
These payouts bring the dangers of vaping and nicotine into the limelight and are meant to hold the company accountable so that users or potential future users know the risks, but even though Juul might be challenged now, nicotine usage isn’t going anywhere.
Over the past five years, nicotine usage has taken on new forms that are more appealing to all generations. Products like Zyn, snus and vapes seem to offer a “cleaner” and more modern approach to nicotine usage than traditional cigarettes. Because of this, they’ve been more prevalent in the media and in American culture than ever before.
Since its national debut in 2019, Zyn has taken off in the tobacco market, boasting a 62 percent year over year increase in shipments from 2022 to 2023. This year, shipments are expected to grow another 35 percent. The demand for Zyns in 2024 was so strong that despite a cessation in online sales due to legal troubles, Zyn demand remained steady and there was a nationwide shortage of the nicotine pouches.
Zyn has also taken on a cultural aspect. As its popularity has exploded, so has the popularity of “Zynfluencers”, typically men marketing the product to college students and other young people. Notable Zynfluencers include right-wing political commentator Tucker Carlson, podcast hosts Joe Rogan and Logan Paul and business owner Max VanderAarde, also known as Cheddy on Instagram.
Not only do these Zynfluencers promote the product as a safer way of consuming nicotine, but they also claim that it has other beneficial effects on one’s life. Carlson claims that nicotine increases mental acuity and raises testosterone levels while others push the desired narrative of the masculinity, power and fitness that comes with the small, white pouches. Many psychologists and researchers have noted that this narrative fits well within the campaign strategy of conservatives. Conservative lawmakers have even expressed their support for the products during investigations. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene declared the need for a “Zynsurrection” and Rep. Richard Hudson tested Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer with a post supporting Zyns with a caption that reads, “Come and take it.”
Zyn isn’t the only nicotine product that has been glamorized in the media. Despite falling from grace in 1964 when it was discovered that cigarettes were incredibly harmful, cigarette usage has surprisingly become less stigmatized. According to a report by Truth Initiative, an anti-nicotine organization, 64% of the top binge-watched shows among 15 to 24-year-olds included depictions of nicotine usage and only one of them was markedly anti-smoking while half were pro-smoking. The pro-smoking scenes often included messages of “wealth, power, success, fun, harmlessness, rebellion or glamor.”
To top it all off, there has been a revival of the “heroin chic” obsession with thinness in the past few years. With it, comes the glamorization of drugs like the aforementioned heroin, cocaine, Ozempic and nicotine, which is proven to be associated with weight loss, despite how unhealthy it may be. Models who fit the standard of thinness like Countess Lara Cosima Henckel von Donnersmarck, model and former intern at Dior, can be seen flaunting their look while lighting up a cigarette.
Just like clothing trends are recycled every few decades, nicotine has made its way back into popular culture. It has permeated every aspect of what young people experience, from figures they look up to their choice of political candidate. So even though Juul might be reaching the end of its glory era, Big Tobacco will keep coming up with ways to stay relevant and nicotine will remain a part of American life in the years to come.