For young users, tobacco packets like Zyn are a nicotine trend that just won’t quit

CNN — Tiny packets of nicotine have quickly become a big problem for parents and schools. “We’re very concerned about Zyn use right now,” said Dr. Bonnie Halpern-Felsher, a professor of pediatrics and the founder and director of the Tobacco Prevention Toolkit, an online curricular aimed at reducing and preventing youth tobacco use. Efforts to tackle youth usage Philip Morris, the tobacco giant that bought Zyn maker Swedish Match, has leaned into smokeless products as people move away from cigarettes. “They will often will claim the products are tobacco-free and are a safer alternative to smoking combustible cigarettes, and while they are likely safer than smoking combustible cigarettes, the reality is, we just don’t know the short- and long-term impact of these products,” said Dr. Cheryl Dennison Himmelfarb, who helped write the American Heart Association’s policy paper and is the vice dean of research at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and the School of Medicine and Public Health. “Whether it’s nicotine delivered from tobacco or not, it’s addictive and not ideal for the developing brain.” Dennison Himmelfarb hopes that more stores will enforce the legal age limit and that policy-makers will focus on restricting the use among young people.