Dani Darlene wasn’t a fan of her husband’s ZYN habit. Then she discovered she could make an iPad out of it.
For years, finding ZYN pouches and containers around the house was “the most irritating thing,” said Darlene, a 24-year-old personal trainer. Fortune. But after learning about the brand’s rewards program through TikTok in February, the irritation took a different form.
“I’m going to enjoy it,” Darlene said Fortune.
ZYN Tobacco-Free Oral Nicotine Pouches come in packs of 15, in circular plastic containers resembling a can of Ice Breakers mints. Each container comes with a unique code that can be redeemed on the company’s website for 15 points, but they can only scan 60 cans per month. Users can then redeem their points for a range of prizes, from handbags to air fryers.
“I feel like a kid in an arcade who gets all his tickets and is going to win a prize,” Darlene said. “That’s what it feels like.”
After months of accumulating ZYN containers and painstakingly scanning each unique code, Darlene was able to earn $50. Amazon gift card. Today, she’s trying to rack up 7,560 points (504 cans) for a ninth-generation iPad, or even 15,000 points (1,000 cans) for a Dyson AirWrap hairdresser.
Most nicotine pouch users take two days to consume a single can, according to to online retailer NicoKick. Darlene therefore called on her husband’s colleagues for support.
“They have one Home deposit bucket in the back of the truck and they just throw their cans in there,” Darlene said. Fortune. “And then when I’m ready to pick them up, I take them.”
TikTok videos show other Gen Z and millennial users posing with dozens of ZYN cans, ready to cash them. ZYN’s rewards program is reminiscent of century-old cigarette rewards programs, where smokers could exchange cigarette pack coupons for t-shirts, hats, bags or other merchandise. But the company itself does not make this comparison.
“The ZYN Rewards program draws inspiration from loyalty programs for consumer products and services offered across various industries to reward a loyal consumer base of strictly age-restricted and legal-age nicotine users,” parent company from ZYN. Philip Morris International said in a statement to Fortune. “The elements included in the program are based on customer feedback. »
The new cigarette coupon?
Current FDA guidelines regulating tobacco products do not apply to ZYN, said Dr. Zongshan Duan, an assistant professor at Georgia State University. School of Public Health.
“They have a lot more freedom to market their products in many different forms than combustible tobacco,” Dr. Duan said. Fortune. This includes advertising on radio, television, print and online, he said.
ZYN’s tobacco-free status has allowed it to circumvent federal and state tobacco marketing regulations, including bans on coupons, branded merchandise, event sponsorship and giveaways.
As for reward programs, they are still federally legal for tobacco products, as long as the reward is not tobacco, according to 2023 FDA. guidelines. Marlboro has an active rewards program in the United States with Apple AirTags, $80 Visa gift cards and Solo Stove Mesa tabletop fire pits among its prizes.
However, the FDA regulations ban “cigarette and smokeless tobacco” companies from selling branded products – think Marlboro caps, Parliament suitcases or Winston jackets.
Social media users reported receiving ZYN-branded towels, neon signs and water bottles through its rewards program, although a Philip Morris International spokesperson said the company’s website current rewards “does not include any of these products”. A “discontinued” ZYN beach towel is currently being sold on eBay for $89.99.
“I think the ultimate goal is the same (as cigarette coupons): it’s just about increasing user behavior for these products,” Dr. Duan said. “But with a slightly different approach.”
What’s behind the rise of Zyn?
ZYN pouches have taken the US by storm: they can be spotted under the lips of office workers seeking to discreetly get their nicotine fix, or on the front lines of the culture war, after Sen. Chuck Schumer’s push for a federal crackdown on the “issue-filled pouch” led Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green to call for a ” Zynsurrection.”
Philip Morris International said it shipped 131.6 million cans of ZYN to the United States in the first quarter of 2024, an increase of nearly 80% from the same period last year. The company’s U.S. business grew 62% between 2022 and 2023, according to a PMI report. report.
ZYN is marketed as an alternative to smoking or vaping, not necessarily as a way to quit nicotine altogether. But the company insists this product is not intended for new nicotine users. “If you are not currently using nicotine, ZYN is not for you,” its website reads.
“A lot of people ended up with accidental nicotine addiction” after vaping became popular, Darlene said Fortune. She said she has seen ZYN use increase among her friends as they try to wean themselves off smoking or vaping.
Darlene estimates her husband has used nearly 10,000 ZYN containers in his lifetime, although she says he promised to stop before they became parents. Another reason to quit is “Zynflation,” she said. A 15-pack can of ZYN now costs up to $8 in Colorado, where she lives, up from $4 about five years ago.
Ultimately, Darlene said she would take care of her husband’s health via an iPad. But for now?
“If you’re already spending money, you might as well do it,” she said.
