Tag: smoking cessation

Philip Morris International has begun ramping up production of its increasingly popular ZYN nicotine pouches at a new factory in Aurora, south of Denver International Airport.

PMI markets ZYN pouches as a much cleaner and safer method for obtaining nicotine than smoking cigarettes or chewing tobacco, although FDA restrictions prevent the company from marketing its pouches as a smoking cessation product.

In January 2025, the Food and Drug Administration authorized ZYN as the first nicotine pouch cleared for marketing in the U.S, stating it is “appropriate for the protection of public health.” But the FDA didn’t “approve” the pouches, given that it still considers all nicotine products harmful and potentially addictive.

Instead, the company uses terms like “no smoke,” “no spitting,” and “no tobacco leaf.” That last term is key.

Brian Erkkila, PMI’s senior adviser of scientific engagement, said that smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease in the U.S. Nearly 30 million Americans continue to smoke, and each year, 500,000 people die from cigarette smoking.

Smokers expose themselves to 1,000-plus compounds and carcinogens every time they light up. Some of the most damaging items on that long list are carbon monoxide, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, nitrosamines, formaldehyde, benzene, acrolein, hydrogen cyanide and ammonia.

The dangerous compounds are a leading cause of multiple cancers, including lung, mouth, throat, and esophageal. Smoking contributes to a variety of cardiovascular diseases and is the primary cause of bronchitis, emphysema and reduced lung function. The nicotine addiction is so compelling that smokers make a dangerous trade-off, shortening their lives and harming those around them.

Enter the ZYN pouches, which come in 6-milligram and 3-milligram sizes. Flavors include Chill, Menthol, Cinnamon, Peppermint, Citrus, Smooth, Coffee, Spearmint, Cool Mint and Wintergreen. Users typically ingest four or more a day, tucking a pouch in between the upper or lower lip and gums.

The pouches contain pharmaceutical-grade nicotine, extracted from tobacco leaves but without the toxins. The nicotine, which is shipped to the Aurora plant, is mixed with a proprietary plant-based filler and flavorings and then piped down to the factory floor. Rows of machines place it into small pouches, which are weighed and scanned to ensure they have the right content. Fifteen pouches are placed into a can. Cans are stacked in groups of five, wrapped and eventually placed into boxes for shipping to retailers.

The process is fairly straightforward and largely automated. Workers monitor the machines and the conveyor lines to make sure things are flowing smoothly, but they aren’t stuck with repetitive motions for hours on end. Quality control workers dart in and out to grab product samples for frequent quality control tests.

Production and worker training are underway in the completed sections as 800 construction workers push hard to finish the remaining sections at the 600,000-square-foot facility. Between capital spending and construction wages, PMI, through its Swedish Match subsidiary, will invest about $1 billion in the Aurora plant.

Aurora will provide $7.1 million in tax rebates to PMI, while the Colorado Economic Development Commission approved $4.5 million in Job Growth Incentive Tax Credits and Adams County has agreed to chip in another $4.3 million in incentives.

The company has hired about 120 of the 500 workers it plans to eventually employ in Aurora, which is the location of its second U.S. ZYN plant after one in Owensboro, Ky.  An online portal is available for those interested in applying for a position. The average wage is expected to be $90,000 a year.

The project has come together quickly since it was announced in July 2024, a rapid schedule driven by soaring demand. ZYN sales have grown by triple-digit rates in recent years, and the brand now accounts for an estimated 70% to 80% of nicotine pouches sold in the U.S.

ZYN pouches, and the plant itself, are not without opposition.

Public health officials argue that switching to alternative delivery methods for nicotine, even ones with fewer toxic compounds, doesn’t address the core issue of addiction. In the debate between harm reduction versus abstinence, they argue that the latter is both achievable and the only genuine solution.

Even in its purest form, nicotine comes with cardiovascular impacts, including an increased heart rate, temporary rises in blood pressure and constriction of blood vessels. Nicotine pouches are relatively new, meaning long-term impacts are still to be determined.

Users who don’t stop smoking can find themselves in worse shape than when they started using pouches, warned Arnold Levinson, a clinical professor and professor emeritus in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health at the University of Colorado School of Public Health.

“If you want to quit smoking, don’t think you’ll do it by ‘switching’ to ZYN – you’re likely get hooked on ZYN but keep smoking anyway,” said Levinson, who has done extensive research on tobacco use and smoking cessation and has played an important role in shaping the state’s tobacco policies.

Erkkila, who is a former lead toxicologist at the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products, counters that half of ZYN users no longer smoke and many of the remainder smoke less.

“People do move away from cigarettes in a meaningful way,” he said.

ZYN pouches offer a slower nicotine absorption rate, which results in lower dopamine spikes. Pouches also come with fewer “habit loops,” such as lighting up, inhaling, and grinding down a stub, and they are less ritualistic and social in their usage.

Luke Niforatos, executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, an advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., said pouches are “extremely addictive, given their high nicotine content, and bear risks for cardiovascular and oral health.”

The public health community is especially worried about the impacts on underage users and young adults, he said. He and Levinson both argue that efforts to limit those under 21 from purchasing and using tobacco products are far from foolproof and safeguards are often circumvented.

Underage users may view pouches as a “healthier” and harder-to-detect way to get a nicotine buzz. And as with vaping products, flavors tend to have a greater pull on younger users. Denver voters, by a wide margin, banned the sale of flavored nicotine products in November. The law took effect at the start of the year, meaning most of the ZYN product lines won’t be available in the city.

“No one has ever kept kids from getting tobacco products — ZYN is another path to nicotine addiction and health problems for young people. The investment in ZYN manufacturing would have been much better spent elsewhere,” Levinson said.