Donald Trump's administration may be addicted. The consuming craving: nicotine pouches from the popular tobacco-free product Zyn, an oral substance that poses itself as a healthier alternative than chewing tobacco.
The sleek disk-like containers are ubiquitous throughout the administration. Employees across the various departments have been partaking, noting the pouches' mentally invigorating effects. From the White House to the Department of Commerce and beyond, staffers can be seen carrying the tins close for whenever they need a dose.
They are so popular that even Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr swears by them. 'Nicotine pouches are probably the safest way to consume nicotine,' he told a Brazilian radio host last year. He also appeared to pop in a pouch during his confirmation hearing last year, some keen internet sleuths pointed out at the time.
His wife, actress Cheryl Hines, urged Kennedy to use the products after touting her past use of nicotine gum on set to stay alert, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Zyns have become so notorious that when Trump met with executives from the tobacco industry, he reportedly rang up Kennedy to ask what products his HHS chief used. Trump appeared interested in the products during the meeting, sources told the Journal, and soon after the President said he wants to see more pouches authorized. The FDA later approved policies to allow more vape and pouch products to hit American shelves.
'The only guiding factor behind the Trump administration’s health policymaking is Gold Standard Science,' White House spokesman Kush Desai said. 'FDA’s regulatory treatment of nicotine pouches is rooted in recent evidence that has found that nicotine pouches can help adults quit smoking.'
According to the Journal, nicotine pouches were readily available for Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) workers as they plowed through paperwork and worked long shifts. 'People are living on Celsius, Monster and Zyn,' a former Trump administration official told the Journal.
Former Fox News host and conservative pundit Tucker Carlson has also shilled for Zyn, noting in a 2023 show with comedian Theo Von 'you've gotta try this product, it's unbelievable.' Carlson later turned on the brand after starting his own rival nicotine pouch company, called Alp.
Though not all politicos are in favor of the new nicotine trend. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer held a press conference in January 2024 lambasting nicotine products, calling them dangerous.
Nicotine pouch sales have boomed in the past five years, going from 4 percent of the oral nicotine market in 2019 to 44 percent in 2024, according to a 2025 report from JAMA, a medical publication. Though they pose less risks than traditional tobacco products, there are still cardiovascular effects that pose concern to researchers.
