Unable to ban Zyn pouches, lawmakers target Zyn rewards instead

Nicotine pouch rewards are on the chopping block after an Assembly bill banning the programs made it out of the health committee. Some lawmakers are concerned that offering rewards for Zyn or Velo purchases will make it easier for young people to get hooked, but other lawmakers and business interests say that targeting the products and their rewards programs won’t make a difference. 

The bill is sponsored by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and state Sen. James Skoufis. Rosenthal views the proliferation of nicotine products a public health concern and previously tried (and failed) to ban flavored nicotine pouches earlier this year. 

The Zyn rewards program allows consumers to earn points for buying tins of nicotine pouches and then trade in those points for free gifts like Zyn sweatshirts, AirPods or Amazon gift cards. Rosenthal compared it to the now-discontinued loyalty programs for cigarette brands like Marlboro and Camel.

“This is exactly what the companies intend, that you pick up the habit, and then, because it's nicotine, you become addicted to it, and it's very difficult to quit,” Rosenthal told City & State. “And now the amount of nicotine in these pouches is increasing these days, and so in order to earn these rewards, you have to keep buying the product. We wanted to just take away that incentive the same way as we did with vapes.”

Skoufis said the issue wasn’t necessarily top of mind for him, but it fits in with his view of health policy as the legislative session winds down. 

“I pride myself on being a very pro-public health legislator, and you can look at my track record on vaccines or a number of other issues over the years, and so this very much aligns with where I am in this space,” he said. “But again, it's not taking precedent over many other issues that I am prioritizing over the next four weeks.”

The Assembly Health Committee advanced the bill on Monday, and children invited by committee chair Amy Paulin shared their concerns about the pouches’ rewards system and the threat they pose to adolescents and young adults. The last time nicotine pouch-related legislation was scheduled to come before the committee – the flavored pouch ban – the bill was pulled from committee at the last minute after business interests explained to lawmakers that a ban could lead to an expanded illicit market that would hurt small businesses and consumers.

Assembly Member Michaelle Solages, who opposes the recent attempts to curtail access to Zyn, views Rosenthal’s bill as an extension of that failed push to ban flavored nicotine pouches.

“I really think that this is just another opportunity to get a bite at the apple. They were not successful in moving forward a bill to ban or ban the sale of some flavored nicotine pouches. And I just think this is just another way of them trying to curtail use, but not doing it in a smart way,” Solages said. “As legislators, if we really want to tackle an issue, there are many mechanisms for us to do so. I just don't think tackling the rewards program is really going to achieve the goal that these people set out to.”

Products like Zyn have become popular in the high-stress world of politics, and Rosenthal suggested that the rewards program can capitalize on people's weaknesses. 

“If I still smoked, I'd be smoking a lot more. You know, we're all in a very stressful environment these days, but there's a crackdown on sugar, there's a crackdown on lots of things that aren't good for you, perhaps, but, I mean, you're free to use it,” she said. “You just shouldn't get all these tremendous incentives that encourage you to buy more so you can get prizes, just a level playing field with other nicotine products.”