Advertising the Leading US Nicotine Pouch Brand: A Content Analysis of ZYN Advertisements from 2019–2023

Abstract

Background:

ZYN is the leading nicotine pouch brand and a predominant driver of nicotine pouch advertising. In November 2022, Philip Morris International (PMI) acquired Swedish Match, the manufacturer of ZYN.

Methods:

We conducted a content analysis of 207 U.S.-based consumer-facing ZYN advertisements (January 2019 to June 2023) to delineate the characteristics of ZYN ads and compare them before and after Swedish Match merged with PMI.

Results:

Most ZYN ads were on digital media, and nearly all included information on nicotine strength and flavor. Peppermint was the most advertised flavor across time. The post-merger ads included significantly fewer “tobacco-free” claims, whereas “spit-free” claims significantly increased compared to pre-merger ads. The most common marketing claims were that multiple choices of products that were available, followed by easy to buy, change, sales success, ability to use anywhere, and improved social interaction before and after the merger. The percentages of ads with easy to buy, change, and sales success claims, reward programs and those linked to websites significantly increased post-merger.

Conclusions:

After merging with PMI, ZYN ads used “tobacco-free” claims less frequently. The most advertised marketing claims remained unchanged but were made more frequently in post-merger ads. Such claims, together with the promotion of reward programs and links to websites for easy purchase, may attract young people or those who do not use tobacco to ZYN, indicating need for increased monitoring and potential restrictions.

INTRODUCTION

Oral nicotine products, including nicotine pouches, lozenges, gums, and gummies, are a growing category of novel smokeless tobacco products. Unlike traditional smokeless tobacco, oral nicotine products do not contain tobacco leaf. A scoping review of oral nicotine pouch studies found that the chemical composition of nicotine pouches suggests they contain fewer harmful compounds at lower levels than cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.¹ However, this review highlighted that these findings were primarily based on industry-funded studies, underscoring the critical need for independent research to assess the potential role of nicotine pouches in harm reduction and their long-term public health impact.¹ Despite this uncertainty, nicotine pouches are increasingly popular in the US.^{2 3} The global market share for nicotine pouches was valued at US$1.99 billion in 2022, with projections indicating it will grow to US$22.98 billion by 2030.⁴ Oral nicotine products, including nicotine pouches, have frequently been marketed as “tobacco-free” and are available in non-tobacco flavors, such as mint, citrus, and coffee, which may increase appeal to young people.^{5 6} A recent analysis of a national survey indicated that 2.9% of US adults reported ever nicotine pouch use and 0.4% reported current use.⁷ According to the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey, 1.8% of middle and high school students reported current nicotine pouch use, which was still lower than e-cigarettes (5.9%) but became the second most commonly used tobacco product, exceeding cigarettes (1.4%) and cigars (1.2%).⁸ Moreover, among the youth who currently used nicotine pouches, 29.3% reported frequent use, and 22.4% reported daily use.⁸

Swedish Match introduced ZYN, a nicotine pouch brand, in test markets in 2014 and made it nationally available in the US in 2019. During the first quarter of 2024, 131.6 million cans of ZYN nicotine pouches were shipped in the US. ZYN’s market share in the US nicotine pouch category increased for the fourth straight quarter, surpassing 74%.⁹ The increases in sales have been accompanied by increased advertising spending. Between January 2016 and June 2023, ZYN ranked second in overall spending on advertising for oral nicotine products following Velo, but led in online display and online video advertising expenditures during the same period.¹⁰ In the first half of 2023, as Velo ceased advertising expenditures, ZYN became the leader in advertising spending, accounting for 88.0% of the total ad expenditures for oral nicotine products.¹⁰ In 2023, ZYN spent approximately $13 million on digital advertising alone, which is a $10 million increase from their digital ad spending in 2022.¹¹

As early as 2008 the National Cancer Institute concluded and the Surgeon General’s Report affirmed in 2017 that advertising causes increased smoking initiation and continued consumption.^{12 13} Among youth and young adults, exposure to e-cigarette advertising has been linked to subsequent past 30-day use of e-cigarettes¹⁴ and future e-cigarette experimentation among those who had never used tobacco.¹⁵ Additionally, positive perceptions of product marketing are associated with a higher likelihood of purchasing oral nicotine products.⁶ The dramatic rise of nicotine pouch sales and advertising expenditures warrants increased examination of nicotine pouch advertising. However, to date, the existing limited research on marketing of nicotine pouches, including ZYN, has focused on advertisements (ads) before 2022¹⁶⁻¹⁸ without more recent data. In November 2022, Swedish Match merged with Philip Morris International (PMI) after PMI acquired over 93% of Swedish Match shares.¹⁹ Mergers and acquisitions can significantly reshape a corporation’s and a brand’s marketing strategies, including promotional messages, target markets, and brand positioning.²⁰ Notably, following the merger, ZYN’s advertising expenditure increased significantly,¹¹ indicating potential changes in marketing priorities and messaging strategies. To get more insight into ZYN advertising, this study will (1) delineate the messaging of ZYN’s nicotine pouch ads since its national availability in the U.S., and (2) compare ZYN ad messaging across pre-merger and post-merger.

METHODS

Data Source

We analyzed consumer-facing ZYN ad content from January 2019 to June 2023, which were provided by Vivvix (formerly Numerator Ad Intel; https://go.vivvix.com/numerator-ad-intel). Vivvix monitored 227 consumer magazines and 257 newspapers for print ads; 6 network and 98 cable stations for TV ads; 692 stations across 41 market areas for radio ads; 1,275 websites/URLs for online display ads (i.e., static image advertisements on websites, such as website banners); 600 websites/URLs for online video ads (i.e., video advertisements on websites, such as those occurring before/during/after a video stream); and 1,100 websites and 700 applications (apps) for mobile ads (i.e., ads accessed via mobile device, which included both static image and video advertisements). According to Vivvix, for TV, data from Vivvix covered approximately 95% of the market; for print and radio, that range was closer to 85–90%. Given the sprawling nature of the digital landscape, Vivvix’s approach for online display, online video, and mobile was to obtain a representative sample. We excluded business-to-business ads and ads that included the European Union (EU) warning label. A total of 207 unique ads (out of 288 ads obtained from Vivvix) were identified for analysis, defined as featuring distinct combinations of images and text. Ads that only varied in image size, text size, or layout were not considered unique.

Codebook Development and Coding Procedures

We used an existing coding guide for all-brand nicotine pouch ads from January 2019 to March 2020¹⁶ and adapted it based on a review of 50 randomly selected ads from April 2020-March 2023 (accounting for 24.2% of the ads during this time period). Any code deletions or additions were made through discussion within the research team. We randomly selected 130 ZYN ads to test the codebook and train coders. The entirety of each ad was examined to document product features and marketing claims. Demographic characteristics of individuals with faces visible in the ads were coded. Two coders independently coded the 130 ads, wrote analytic memos, and discussed discrepancies, followed by codebook revision on an iterative basis until consensus was achieved. Another investigator resolved disagreement when needed. Then, using the updated codebook, the two coders coded another 40 ads (19.3%). Please refer to the Appendix for the details of the codes (nicotine strength, flavor, referencing to other nicotine products, marketing claims, sales promotions, linking to other sources, and people featured in the ads). The level of agreement was satisfactory, with Krippendorff’s alpha ranging from 0.75 to 1.0 for each of the coded items, and then one of the two coders independently coded the remining 84 ads in accordance with the procedures outlined in seminal content-analysis texts.²¹

Statistical Analysis

Descriptive statistics provided an overview of the characteristics of ZYN ads. Chi-square tests were conducted to compare characteristics before and after PMI’s acquisition of Swedish Match, ZYN’s manufacturer. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 26. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

Overview

Among the total dataset of 207 consumer-facing ZYN ads, a majority of the ads were on digital media with 53.6% being online display, followed by 20.8% online video, and 17.9% mobile ads. There were only 6.3% print, 1.0% television, and 0.5% radio ads. There were 42 ads in 2019, 30 ads in 2020, 40 ads in 2021, 45 ads in 2022, and 50 ads for the first half of 2023 (January through June). Of the 207 ads, 148 (71.5%) were pre-merger ads, and 59 (28.5%) were post-merger ads. Table 1 presents data on the total number of ads and the percentage featuring each code. It also provides the number of ads and their respective percentages of each code before and after the merger.

Table 1.

Number and percentage of each coded item

Codes	Total (N=207)	Pre-merger (n=148)	Post-merger (n=59)
	n (%)			χ2	p value
Nicotine strength
3 mg	158 (76.3%)	110 (74.3%)	48 (81.4%)	1.154	.283
6 mg	88 (42.5%)	63 (42.6%)	25 (42.4%)	.001	.980
Flavor
Peppermint	136 (65.7%)	93 (62.8%)	43 (72.9%)	1.888	.169
Mint/cool mint	88 (42.5%)	53 (35.8%)	35 (59.3%)	9.541**	.002
Wintergreen	73 (35.3%)	47 (31.8%)	26 (44.1%)	2.801	.094
Spearmint	64 (30.9%)	47 (31.8%)	17 (28.8%)	.171	.679
Cinnamon	45 (21.7%)	33 (22.3%)	12 (20.3%)	.095	.758
Coffee	43 (20.8%)	33 (22.3%)	10 (16.9%)	.733	.392
Citrus	34 (16.4%)	20 (13.5%)	14 (23.7%)	3.207	.073
Menthol	21 (10.1%)	11 (7.4%)	10 (16.9%)	4.191*	.041
Unflavored smooth	33 (15.9%)	21 (14.2%)	12 (20.3%)	1.191	.275
Unflavored chill	24 (11.6%)	14 (9.5%)	10 (16.9%)	2.309	.129
Referencing to other nicotine products
“Tobacco-free”	67 (32.4%)	60 (40.5%)	7 (11.9%)	15.846***	.000
“Smoke-free”	42 (20.3%)	25 (16.9%)	17 (28.8%)	3.707	.054
“Spit-free”	40 (19.3%)	21 (14.2%)	19 (32.2%)	8.781**	.003
“Vape-free”	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	-	-
Other references to smokeless tobacco	3 (1.5%)	3 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	-	-
Marketing claims
Multiple choices	86 (41.5%)	60 (40.5%)	26 (44.1%)	.216	.642
Easy to buy	54 (26.1%)	28 (18.9%)	26 (44.1%)	13.837***	.000
Change	49 (23.7%)	28 (18.9%)	21 (35.6%)	6.491*	.011
Sales success or sales leader	31 (15.0%)	16 (10.8%)	15 (25.4%)	7.074**	.008
Increased ability to use anywhere	35 (16.9%)	25 (16.9%)	10 (16.9%)	.000	.992
Improved social interactions	23 (11.1%)	15 (10.1%)	8 (13.6%)	.501	.479
Easy to use	13 (6.3%)	7 (4.7%)	6 (10.2%)	2.121	.145
High social status or luxury	9 (4.3%)	1 (0.7%)	8 (13.6%)	-	-
Romance and increased romantic involvement	6 (2.9%)	4 (2.7%)	2 (3.4%)	-	-
Food safety or food quality descriptor	4 (1.9%)	4 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	-	-
Freedom and Individual rights	3 (1.4%)	2 (1.4%)	1 (1.7%)	-	-
No bothering non-smokers or exposing others to secondhand smoke	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	-	-
Pharmaceutical or medicinal quality descriptors	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	-	-
Sales promotion
Reward programs	20 (9.7%)	10 (6.8%)	10 (16.9%)	5.021*	.025
Free samples	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	-	-
Free shipping	8 (3.9%)	5 (3.4%)	3 (5.1%)	-	-
ZYN 10 Challenge	23 (11.1%)	12 (8.1%)	11 (18.6%)	4.741*	.029
Linking to other sources
Website	116 (56.0%)	71 (48.0%)	45 (76.3%)	13.712***	.000
Social media	13 (6.3%)	13 (8.8%)	0(0.0%)	5.530*	.019
Phone number	13 (6.3%)	12 (8.1%)	1 (1.7%)	-	-
People featured
Men	33 (15.9%)	25 (16.9%)	8 (13.6%)	11.933**	.003
Women	33 (15.9%)	22 (14.9%)	11 (18.6%)	3.955	.138
Individuals aged 25–64	35 (16.9%)	24 (16.2%)	11 (18.6%)	.177	.674
Individuals aged 65 or older	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	-	-
White	34 (16.4%)	23 (15.5%)	11 (18.6%)	4.581	.101
Black or African American	9 (4.3%)	7 (4.7%)	2 (3.4%)	4.259	.119
Hispanic/Latino	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (3.4%)	-	-
Asian	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.7%)	-	-

Note: In each Chi-square test, results are suppressed if more than 20% of the cells have expected counts less than 5, or if any cell has an expected count of 0 because the test may be unreliable. Asterisks indicate significant change from pre- to post-merger:

^*p<0.05;

^**p<0.01;

^***p<0.001.

Nicotine Strength

Among the analyzed ads, 95.2% contained nicotine strength information. The nicotine strength of 3 mg was advertised in 158 ads (76.3%) and 6 mg was advertised in 88 ads (42.5%). There was no significant difference between pre- and post-merger for ads featuring 3 mg or 6 mg.

Flavor

Among all ads analyzed, 187 (90.3%) had flavor information. Nearly two thirds of the ads featured peppermint (n=136, 65.7%), followed by mint/cool mint (n=88, 42.5%), wintergreen (n=73, 35.3%), spearmint (n=64, 30.9%), cinnamon (n=45, 21.7%), coffee (n=43, 20.8%), citrus (n=34, 16.4%), menthol (n=21, 10.1%), unflavored smooth (n=33, 15.9%) and unflavored chill (n=24, 11.6%). The percentages of ads featuring mint/cool mint and menthol were significantly higher post-merger than pre-merger, with mint/cool mint being 59.3%_post vs. 35.8%_pre (χ²=9.54, p<.01) and menthol being 16.9%_post vs. 7.4%_pre (χ²=4.19, p<.05). No significant differences were observed for other flavors.

Referencing to Other Nicotine Products

“Free” claims were made to differentiate ZYN nicotine pouches from other nicotine products (Figure 1). Specifically, 67 ads (32.4%) made the “tobacco-free” claim, 42 ads (20.3%) made the “smoke-free” claim, and 40 ads (19.3%) made the “spit-free” claim. One ad made the “vape-free” claim in 2019. Three pre-merger ads also referenced traditional smokeless tobacco products beyond making the “spit-free” claim. Chi-square tests showed that the percentage of ads featuring “spit-free” claims was significantly higher post-merger (32.2%) versus pre-merger (14.2%, χ²=8.78, p<.01). In contrast, the percentage of ads featuring the “tobacco-free” claim was significantly lower post-merger (11.9%) versus pre-merger (40.5%, χ²=15.85, p<.001).

Figure 1.

The image in figure 1 features how ZYN differentiates itself from other nicotine products. The ad includes the phrases: ‘ZYN TOBACCO-FREE NICOTINE PRODUCTS,’ ‘TOBACCO-FREE,’ ‘SMOKE-FREE’ and ‘SPITFREE’. A warning in the ad states: ‘WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical’. The brand ZYN is owned by Philip Morris International. The image is used with permission from Vivvix.

Marketing Claims

The most common claim was multiple choices featuring products with multiple flavors and strengths, which appeared in 86 ads (41.5%). The second most common claim was easy to buy, in 54 ads (26.1%), followed by change (49 ads, 23.7%) that emphasized new or different features, sales success or sales leader (31 ads, 15.0%), increased ability to use anywhere (35 ads, 16.9%), and improved social interaction (23 ads, 11.1%). Figure 2 shows examples of marketing claims in ZYN ads. We also observed less frequent marketing claims, including easy to use (13 ads, 6.3%), high social status or luxury (9 ads, 4.3%), romance and increased romantic involvement (6 ads, 2.9%), food safety or food quality descriptors (organic, no GMO) (4 ads, 1.9%), freedom and individual rights (3 ads, 1.4%), no bothering non-smokers or exposing others to secondhand smoke (1 ads, 0.5%), and pharmaceutical or medicinal quality descriptors (1 ad, 0.5%).

Figure 2.

Includes three ZYN ad images, each highlighting a different type of marketing claim used in ZYN advertisements: Left Image (multiple choices claim):%. This image emphasises product variety. It includes the phrases ‘ZYN TOBACCO-FREE NICOTINE PRODUCTS’ and ‘SIX SATISFYING FLAVOURS,’ accompanied by six ZYN nicotine pouch cases, each representing a different flavour. A warning in the ad states: ‘WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical. %Middle image (sales success claim): %This ad highlights ZYN’s market leadership. It features the phrases ‘ZYN TOBACCO-FREE NICOTINE PRODUCTS,’ ‘#1 SELLING NICOTINE POUCH,’ ‘The Fastest Growing Nicotine Pouch in the USA,’ and ‘Discover what makes ZYN the #1 selling tobacco-free nicotine pouch. Visit ZYN.com today’. An open lid ZYN nicotine pouch case is also shown. A warning in the ad states: ‘WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical’. %Right image (change/innovation claim):%This ad promotes ZYN as a modern alternative. It includes the text ‘Experience a Fresh, New Way to Enjoy Nicotine’ and ‘ZYN is made with pharmaceutical-grade nicotine salt, for up to 1 hour of tobacco-free satisfaction’. The ad features a person working on a laptop alongside two ZYN nicotine pouch cases. A warning in the ad states: ‘WARNING: This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical’. The brand ZYN is owned by Philip Morris International. The images are used with permission from Vivvix.

We further compared ZYN’s marketing claims in ads before and after Swedish Match merged with PMI in November 2022. A total of 192 marketing claims were identified in the 148 pre-merger ads and 123 marketing claims were identified in the 59 post-merger ads; on average, each post-merger ad contained more marketing claims than each pre-merger ad (2.08 claims vs. 1.30 claims). The top six marketing claims that were advertised in more than 10% of the ads remained consistent before and after the ownership change, and the less popular claims of food safety or food quality descriptors, no bothering non-smokers/exposing others to secondhand smoke, and pharmaceutical or medicinal quality descriptors disappeared after the merger (Figure 3). The percentages of ads containing easy to buy, change, and sales success or sales leader were significantly higher post-merger than pre-merger, with esay to buy being 44.1%_post vs. 18.9%_pre (χ² =13.84, p<.001), change being 35.6%_post vs. 18.9%_pre (χ² =6.49, p<.05), and sales success or sales leader being 25.4%_post vs. 10.8%_pre (χ² =7.07, p<.01). No significant pre- to post-merger changes were found for the other claims.

Figure 3.

Comparing the percentage of marketing claims in ads before and after the acquisition by PMI. Note: % in the figure was calculated by dividing the number of ads with a certain claim by the total number of ads during that period (ie, 148 ads before the acquisition or 59 ads after the acquisition). *A significant difference in % between the ads before and after the acquisition, p<0.05.

Sales Promotion

About a quarter of the ads (n=51, 24.6%) featured sales promotions. Promotion strategies included reward programs (n=20, 9.7%), free shipping (n=8, 3.9%), and a challenge program called “ZYN 10 Challenge” (n=23, 11.1%). The ZYN 10 Challenge was a program that encouraged people who used traditional tobacco to buy ZYN and use it for 10 days. ZYN would give participants their money back if they were not satisfied with the product. The percentages of ads containing reward programs and ZYN 10 Challenge were significantly higher post-merger compared to pre-merger, with reward programs being 16.9%_post vs. 6.8%_pre (χ²=5.02, p<.05) and ZYN 10 Challenge being 18.6%_post vs. 8.1%_pre (χ²=4.74, p<.05). No significant pre- to post-merger changes were found for the promotion strategy of free shipping.

Linking to Other Sources

More than two thirds of the ads (67.1%) linked to another source, including websites (56.0%), social media (6.3%), or phone number (6.3%) for people to learn more about ZYN. While the percentage of ads linking to websites was significantly higher post-merger (76.3%) than pre-merger (48%, (χ² =13.71, p<.001), the percentage of ads linking to social media was significantly lower post-merger, reducing to 0, than pre-merger (8.8%, (χ² =5.53, p<.05). There was no significant difference between the percentage of ads that provided phone number before and after the merger.

Characteristics of People Featured in ZYN Ads

A total of 50 ads (24.2%) featured people. Of these, 36 ads featured images of people whose characteristics were identifiable, with some ads including more than one person. Among the 36 ads, 35 ads (97.2%) featured middle-aged adults (ages 25–64), and only one ad featured an older adult (age 65 or older). Males and females were featured equally in 33 ads. Thirty-four ads (91.5%) featured White individuals, followed by Black or African American (n=9, 23.4%), Hispanic/Latino (n=2, 8.5%), and Asian (n=1, 2.1%). The percentage of ads featuring men was significantly lower post-merger (13.6%) compared to pre-merger (16.9%, (χ²=11.93, p<.01), while other characteristics of people featured in ZYN ads did not significantly change from pre- to post-merger.

DISCUSSION

This study provides a review of ZYN ad messaging from the beginning of ZYN’s national availability in 2019 through 2023 when advertising expenditures significantly increased¹¹ and compares the ad messaging before and after the ownership change from Swedish Match to PMI in 2023. We found that ZYN nicotine pouches were primarily advertised through digital media, which included online display, online video, and mobile ads. This aligns with the findings of recent studies that ZYN heavily invested in digital media, spending about $13 million on digital advertising in 2023.11 In a separate study, ZYN led in online display and video ad expenditures, accounting for 46.2% and 71.1% of each category, respectively, out of all oral nicotine product brands.¹⁰ This indicates that nicotine pouch advertising on digital media has been dominated by ZYN and this trend may continue or increase if ZYN maintains its expenditures on online ads. Digital media offers a much more cost-efficient advertising platform compared to traditional media of TV and print. The potential for high volumes of digital ads with minimal expenditures emphasizes the need for increased monitoring and regulation of digital advertising for nicotine products. Additionally, ZYN leveraged digital media by incorporating hyperlink functions, such as “learn more” and “shop now” to direct users to other information sources, such as purchase websites, rewards programs, or event websites (like the ZYN 10 Challenge). Notably, the inclusion of hyperlinks to websites and reward programs also increased post-merger. Therefore, ZYN ads not only advertise product information (such as nicotine strength and flavor), shape a clear image of ZYN, and enhance the public’s brand awareness, but also promote sales and introduce other information sources to extend the ad content, which is a common integrated marketing communication strategy.²²

ZYN’s key marketing claims in ads featured the wide range of choices of flavors and nicotine strengths, easy purchase, new and different ways to consume nicotine, sales success, increased ability to use anywhere, and improved social interaction. The findings regarding usage freedom, flavor variety, and social interaction align with previous studies that examined nicotine pouch ads, including those for ZYN over shorter time periods before 2022.^{16 18} A study on direct mail advertising of Velo, On!, and Revel also found that ability to use anywhere was one of the top claims in terms of both proportion of mail volume (84%) and proportion of unique ads (70%).¹⁷ Our findings suggest that while ZYN made the common claims employed by other oral nicotine products, it made unique claims to emphasize its status as a sales leader, ease of purchase, and novelty. We found that the most common marketing claims remained unchanged after the merger. While some less popular claims disappeared in post-merger ads, the claims of easy to buy, change, and sales success or sales leader became more prevalent. Additionally, post-merger ads, on average, contained more marketing claims than pre-merger ads, indicating a greater intensity of marketing messages.

Nicotine pouches have potential appeal to people who do not use other tobacco products.²³ In fact, though e-cigarettes remain the most commonly used nicotine product among youth, the 2024 National Youth Tobacco Survey shows that the prevalence of nicotine pouch use has surpassed cigarettes, making them the second most commonly used nicotine product after e-cigarettes,^{8 24} and tobacco-naïve youth are susceptible to trying nicotine pouches.¹ Although we did not identify ads specifically featuring adolescents or adults <25 years of age, the pervasive flavor information in ZYN ads may contribute to the popularity of nicotine pouches among young people, given the well-documented impact of flavors on youth and young adult nicotine product use, and decreased availability of flavored cigarettes and e-cigarettes.^25–27 A survey study found that after observing marketing materials, participants under 21 years of age were more likely to buy ZYN if the marketing contained messages about good tasting flavors.⁶ Other factors found to be influential in adolescents’ decisions to use tobacco products include perceived harm reduction of the products and ease of use.^28–30 Therefore, the key messages conveyed in ZYN ads, as discussed above, along with its increasing promotion of reward programs and links to websites for easy purchase can make ZYN appealing to young people. Moreover, youth of lower socioeconomic status and sexual minority youth are more likely than their peers to be susceptible to using nicotine products, including nicotine pouches,³¹ and 29% of young people who use e-cigarettes have also tried nicotine pouches.²³ Therefore, it is imperative to monitor the impact of oral nicotine product advertising, particularly advertising for nicotine pouches, on young people. Restricting flavors and/or specific marketing claims may prevent or reduce youth use.

While we did not find explicit smoking cessation or harm reduction claims, ZYN intentionally compared its nicotine pouches to cigarettes and traditional smokeless tobacco to emphasize their superiority, using claims like “smoke-free” and “spit-free” with the “spit-free” claims appearing significantly more frequently in the post-merger ads. The “ZYN 10 Challenge” encouraged tobacco users looking to quit to “try 10 smoke-free, spit-free days with ZYN.”³² While it does not use the term “cessation aid”, this messaging may lead the public to perceive ZYN as a therapeutic nicotine product that may support cessation efforts. In addition, over 30% of ZYN ads included the implicit reduced harm concept of “tobacco-free”, a widely used claim across brands in the oral nicotine product industry.^{5 16 17} Though it is possible that nicotine pouches may be a reduced harm product for some populations (e.g., people who smoke cigarettes who switch to nicotine pouches),^{1 33} variable amounts of carcinogenic tobacco specific nitrosamines have been reported,³⁴ suggesting that they are not without risks. Nicotine pouches can also deliver high levels of nicotine, similar to conventional smokeless tobacco,³⁵ and blood nicotine levels can exceed that of smoking.³⁶ The absence of a clear message encouraging complete switching from cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to nicotine pouches may implicitly promote the use of nicotine pouches only in environments where smoking is prohibited. This could lead to dual or polytobacco product use of nicotine pouches alongside other nicotine products,¹⁶ increasing users’ nicotine consumption and addiction. Notably, after PMI acquired the manufacturer of ZYN in November 2022, “tobacco-free” claims in ZYN ads significantly reduced. In January 2025, the FDA authorized the marketing of 20 ZYN products for the first time.³⁷ This timing suggests that the reduction in “tobacco-free” messaging might be an intentional adjustment by PMI to align with FDA requirements in its approval application. Our data also provide a useful baseline for future studies of ZYN advertising following this FDA action.

There are several limitations in this study. First, this study analyzed unique ads. Since one ad can be used repeatedly, the ads analyzed may not reflect the total number of ads ZYN placed in these media over the years. Second, ZYN ads on social media were not included in the analysis. These ads, regardless of their origin, can be further shared by people on social media who view and engage with the content, potentially amplifying their effects.¹¹ Similarly, we do not have information on the reach of the content from the ZYN ads studied. Third, this dataset did not cover all of ZYN’s advertising efforts, such as advertising via direct emails, offline events, and sponsorships. Fourth, other factors beyond the merger may have influenced changes in ZYN advertising over time, such as the FDA gaining regulatory authority over non-tobacco nicotine products in April 2022. Though this policy didn’t directly impact FDA’s authority over ZYN, it affected the broader nicotine product market, where ZYN is a significant player. Additionally, reductions in the availability of flavored e-cigarettes and cigarettes due to state and local flavor restriction policies^38–40 may have influenced the flavor availability and marketing of ZYN, which could also explain the increased advertising of unflavored ZYN pouches found in our study (though not statistically significant). In sum, the observed changes should not be attributed solely to the merger. Last but not least, the post-merger period was much shorter than the pre-merger period, which may not be sufficient to observe some changes resulting from the ownership change.

CONCLUSIONS

Several aspects of ZYN ads, including reduced “tobacco-free” claims and increased promotion of reward programs and linking to websites for easy purchase were observed after PMI’s acquisition of Swedish Match, ZYN’s manufacturer. However, consistent key marketing claims over the years have contributed to a unified image of ZYN regardless of the ownership change. The finding that ZYN placed the majority of its ads on cost-efficient digital media highlights the need for more monitoring and regulations on digital ads. Restrictions on flavors and/or marketing strategies that appeal to youth, and efforts to prevent polytobacco use of nicotine pouches with other nicotine products may also be important to protect public health.

What is already known on this topic

• ZYN has been a leading brand in nicotine pouch sales and advertising expenditures in the product category.

• In November 2022, Philip Morris International (PMI) successfully acquired Swedish Match, the company that developed ZYN.

• Little research addresses nicotine pouch ad messaging over time.

What this study adds

• Nicotine strength and flavor appeared in almost all ZYN ads and ZYN relied heavily on digital media for advertising (i.e., online display, mobile ads and online video).

• Some aspects of ZYN ads changed after PMI acquired Swedish Match; for example, the use of “tobacco-free” claims significantly reduced, whereas reward programs were advertised more.

• ZYN’s primary marketing claims did not change but the presence of several claims significantly increased from pre- to post-merger, including easy to buy, change, and sales success.

How this study might affect research, practice or policy

• The findings of this study provide a lens to understand ZYN nicotine pouch ad messaging, particularly in more recent years after being acquired by PMI.

• Heavily advertised flavors may drive popularity of nicotine pouches among adults and youth.

• Harm reduction claims were implicit, and future studies should examine their impact on public risk perception and usage.

• The messaging of ZYN ads identified in this study may serve as a comparison reference for other nicotine pouch brands and for analyses following the 2025 FDA authorization of ZYN advertising.