Prev Med. 2024 Jul 11:108068. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.108068. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study identifies brands of nicotine pouches used in 2021, just before the surge in popularity of Zyn use.

METHODS: We conducted a national, cross-sectional online survey of a general U.S. population (November to December 2021; N = 6131; age 13-40) via Qualtrics panels. Descriptive analyses and chi-squared tests (alpha = 0.05) were performed to assess ever and past-30-day use of nicotine pouch brands across adolescents (13-20), young adults (21-24), and adults (25-40), and to assess frequency of popular brands used among peers.

RESULTS: The top brands ever used were Zyn (overall: 30.9%; adolescents: 31.9%; young adults: 33.2%; adults: 28.3%) and Lyft (overall: 28.8%; adolescents: 28.4%; young adults: 32.9%; adults: 26.3%), with no differences in ever-use by age group (p’s > 0.095). The top brands used in the past-30-days were Zyn (overall: 26.4%; adolescents: 24.5%; young adults: 24.3%; adults: 30.0%) and Rush (overall: 24.2%; adolescents: 21.0%; young adults: 22.7%; adults: 28.6%). Adults (vs. adolescents, young adults) were more likely to report past-30-day use of Lyft (p = 0.004). Participants indicated Zyn (18.5%) and Lyft (18.2%) to be the most popular brands among peers.

CONCLUSIONS: Even in 2021, Zyn was the most popular brand of nicotine pouches. Findings will help regulate and reduce impact of marketing of Zyn.

PMID:39002807 | DOI:10.1016/j.ypmed.2024.108068