America's New Favorite Addictive Substance

The little pouch powering Philip Morris...

Nicotine has long been a treat for society — but it’s always come in dirty forms.

Cigarettes smell. Chew leads to constant spitting.

Enter a new form of nicotine, smell- and residue-free: Zyn.

These little white pouches are invisible once inside someone’s lip and require zero spitting. They were recently approved by the FDA for marketing purposes as they propose a much lower health risk than tobacco products, and offer a healthy alternative to smokers who are merely in it for the hit of nicotine.

Zyn sales have gone parabolic in the US, with Philip Morris just reporting a 42% year-over-year growth in sales at nearly 165 million tins. The company forecasts similar growth for all of 2025, meaning upwards of 820 tins sold just in the US.

Philip Morris is all-in on Zyn. It plans to spend $1.5 billion this year to further invest in its new darling.

The current level of Zyn sales is exciting as an investor, but what’s even more exciting is what’s ahead. If you look at other addictive substances, like soda, you start to see a pathway towards much greener pastures.

Coca-Cola, for example, sells 2.2 billion servings per day of soda.

Another canned-crack company, Red Bull, sells over 12 billion cans a year of its energy drink. Frito-Lay sells over 1 billion bags of Doritos each year.

Philip Morris isn’t quite there yet with Zyn. But it won’t be long until those little, white pouches have a complete strangle hold over American society.

Important news stories arise each day, meaning some get lost in the shuffle as time moves forward. But what matters isn’t erased by what’s next.

And I don’t forget.

Want more content each week on what’s truly important in the business world? Subscribe today — and see what’s in store.