Dani Darlene wasn’t a fan of her husband’s ZYN tradition. Then she came upon she could get an iPad out of it.
For years, “the most annoying thing was finding ZYN bags and containers in the house,” said Darlene, a 24-year-old personal trainer Assets. But after learning in regards to the brand’s rewards program via TikTok in February, the anger took a special form.
“I’m going to take advantage of that,” Darlene said Assets.
ZYN’s tobacco-free oral nicotine pouches are available in packs of 15 in round plastic containers that resemble a can of Ice Breakers mints. Each container comes with a novel code that might be redeemed for 15 points on the corporate’s website – but only 60 cans might be scanned per 30 days. Users can then redeem their points for a variety of prizes starting from handbags to air fryers.
“I feel like a kid in an arcade getting all the tickets and winning a prize,” Darlene said. “That’s what it feels like.”
After hoarding ZYN containers for months and punctiliously scanning each code, Darlene was in a position to secure a $50 Amazon gift card. Now she’s attempting to earn 7,560 points – 504 containers – for a ninth-generation iPad and even 15,000 points – 1,000 cans – for a Dyson AirWrap hair styler.
Most nicotine pouch users need two days to make use of up a single day of doses. after to the web retailer NicoKick. That’s why Darlene called in her husband’s colleagues as backup.
“They have a Home Depot bucket in the back of the truck and they just throw their cans in it,” Darlene said Assets. “And then when I’m ready to pick it up, I’ll take it.”
TikTok videos feature other Gen Z and Millennial users to pose with Dozens of ZYN cans, able to redeem them. ZYN’s rewards program is harking back to centuries-old cigarette rewards programs through which smokers could redeem vouchers from cigarette packs for T-shirts, hats, bags or other goods. But the corporate itself doesn’t make that comparison.
“The ZYN Rewards program is modeled on loyalty programs for consumer products and services offered across a variety of industries to reward a loyal consumer base of strictly age-restricted, legal-age nicotine users,” ZYN parent company Philip Morris International said in a press release Assets. “The elements included in the program are based on customer feedback.”
The recent cigarette coupon?
Current FDA guidelines regulating tobacco products don’t apply to ZYN, said Dr. Zongshan Duan, assistant professor at Georgia State University School of Public Health.
“They have much more freedom to market their products in many different forms compared to combustible tobacco,” said Dr. Duan Assets. This includes radio, TV, print and internet marketing, he said.
ZYN’s tobacco-free status has allowed the corporate to avoid federal and state tobacco marketing regulations – including bans on coupons, branded merchandise, event sponsorships and promotional gifts.
As for reward programs, in response to the 2023 FDA, they’re still federally legal for tobacco products – so long as the reward is just not tobacco Guidelines. Marlboro has an lively US rewards program with Apple AirTags, $80 Visa gift cards and Solo Stove Mesa tabletop fire pits.
However, FDA Regulations ban “cigarette and smokeless tobacco” corporations from selling branded items—think Marlboro hats, Parliament trunks, or Winston jackets.
Social media users have reported receiving ZYN-branded towels, neon signs and water bottles as a part of the rewards program, although a spokesperson for Philip Morris International said the present rewards website “does not contain any of these products.” A “discontinued” ZYN beach towel is currently being resold Ebay for $89.99.
“I think the ultimate goal is the same [as cigarette coupons]“It’s just about improving the user behavior of these products,” said Dr. Duan. “But with a slightly different approach.”
What’s behind the rise of Zyn?
ZYN bags have taken the US by storm – you’ll be able to spot them under your lips office employee seeking a discreet dose of nicotine or on the front lines of the culture war after Sen. Chuck Schumer’s push for a federal crackdown on the “bag of problems” prompted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green to call for “cynsurrection.”
Philip Morris International said it shipped 131.6 million ZYN doses within the U.S. in the primary quarter of 2024, a rise of nearly 80% from the identical period last 12 months. The company’s U.S. business grew 62% from 2022 to 2023, in response to a PMI result report.
ZYN is marketed as a substitute for smoking or vaping – not necessarily a technique to quit nicotine completely. However, the corporate insists that it is just not aimed toward first-time nicotine users. “If you are not currently consuming nicotine, ZYN is not for you,” the web site states.
“A lot of people accidentally developed an addiction to nicotine,” Darlene said, after vaping became popular Assets. She said she has watched ZYN use increase amongst her friends as they fight to wean themselves from smoking or vaping.
Darlene estimates her husband has been through nearly 10,000 containers of ZYN in his life – although she says he promised to stop before they became parents. Another reason to quit is “cynflation,” she said. A can of 15 ZYN bags now costs as much as $8 in Colorado, where she lives, up from $4 about five years ago.
Ultimately, Darlene said she would select her husband’s health over an iPad. But for now?
“If you’re already spending the money, you might as well,” she said.
