The Great Nicotine Glow Up

Vapes blew open the market, leading to a new era of experimentation and a chance for brands to cash in.

- AINSLEY HARRIS

BUFFALO BILLS QUARterback Josh Allen appeared on the podcast Green Light in August to discuss his routine during the offseason, which was soon coming to an end. When host and NFL veteran Chris Long mentioned that the Bills star looked "slim," Allen jumped in to explain. "I was eating better. I took care of myself more than I ever have in our little month-and-a-half break," he said. "I don't know if I should say this, but there's a secret trick-I don't know if it's true or not but I'm just throwing in a few Zyns." Zyn, a nicotine product derived from tobacco that looks like a doll-size tea bag and comes in a range of strengths and flavors, had been appearing discreetly along the gumlines of a growing number of public figures for more than a year.

The Food and Drug Administration forbids paid tobacco sponsorships in sports and entertainment, but it doesn't govern unsolicited endorsements like the one from Allen. In certain corners of social media, unpaid pouch enthusiastsZynfluencers, or Zynmeliers, if you must-have been out in force.

In his Green Light interview, Allen called Zyn's citrus flavor "pretty dang good," and Long, clearly delighted by Allen's confession, slid two canisters out of his pocket to compare tasting notes. A clip of their interaction soon took off on TikTok, notching more than 930,000 views. One commenter anointed it Allen's "MVP seazyn." Barely a generation ago, when nicotine was almost exclusively tied to cigarettes and all the health risks associated with tobacco, it would have been shocking for a professional athlete to endorse the stimulant. Then, in the mid-2010s, vapes arrived on the scene, offering a hightech, tobacco-free hit of nicotine that broadened the addictive chemical compound's appeal. Almost overnight the highly regulated tobacco industry, which had been defined by standardized products and Marlboro Man-style loyalty, was reborn as a place for specialization and experimentation.