The Tech Bros Are All In on Zyn

Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is launching his own brand, ALP, short for American Lip Pillow, in 2024. “Nicotine is super important,” the ex-smoker told podcaster Theo Von in December, embodying a plump Marlboro Man for the smoke-free era. “This country has become much sadder and less healthy since it was discouraged, and it comes back and it shows: people are just happier.” He also admitted to Men’s Health in January: “Is ALP addictive? Hell yeah, it’s addictive!” (Carlson, 56, reportedly told podcaster Lex Fridman that nicotine “literally… makes my dick super hard.”)

Brain power

The central mechanism of nicotine has not changed during the journey from puff to pouch; the compound still floods the brain with dopamine. Addiction grows quickly, but for some tech users, the rush to productivity offsets the risk of addiction.

“I almost become addicted to the amount of output I can get from using it,” says Cory Firth, an entrepreneur and flow-state coach who swears by a brand called Sonic. The former smoker follows a system of four-week cycles, which he punctuates with one or two weeks of abstinence. “When I notice that I need it to feel normal, that’s when I know I’m in trouble and need to take a break,” he says. “The first few days can be difficult because you are disrupting your base of neurochemicals that help you focus.”

Nick Bostrom, the author of a best-selling book on AI called Superintelligence: paths, dangers, strategiesprefers its method of ingestion, a nicotine-coated toothpick, to benefit from the drug’s “nootropic benefits for memory and concentration.” The nicotine pouches that are revolutionizing the daily work of many tech workers “seem a little gross,” he says, brandishing his toothpick during our Zoom call.

Bostrom, 53, gave up nicotine gum, which he chewed for many years, after discovering the products contained “a bunch of junk that seemed of questionable health.” Cover art, it seems, could follow a similar trajectory – touted until someone takes a close look at the fine print. By contrast, with an unflavored toothpick, the nicotine is as clean as it can be, Bostrom says: “If you’re trying to be health conscious and then you’re continually exposing yourself to a whole bunch of substances…then I think it’s best to do it in a pure form.” He acknowledges with a touch of sarcasm: “There is a kind of composure in saying: “Yes, I am a machine”.

When I talk to Brian Erkkila, a neuroscientist and head of executive affairs at Philip Morris, he won’t get drawn into a discussion about whether smokeless nicotine is cool. But he suggested cigarettes are outdated, calling them a “20th century way of doing things.” He also threw cold water on some of the biohackers’ claims, with the science being “not strong enough to say there is a cognitive benefit.” And Erkkila dismisses criticism of Zyn pouch makeup: “All of these things are food-grade ingredients that you find at the grocery store.”

Ups and downs

But how “clean” are the covers really? A gap is quickly growing between nicotine advocates who use sachets and those who use toothpicks, lozenges, pills, patches or sprays. Biohacking guru and author Dave Asprey describes nicotine as close to a perfect psychoactive drug. “If you’re underexcited, it gets you high; if you get too excited, it depresses you,” he says.

But Asprey is also critical of sachet brands that use artificial additives and synthetic fibers, which it says contain microplastics, and has invested in the Lucy brand, which it says is healthier than its competitors. “Pochettes may fall out of favor, but clean nicotine will likely be here to stay, especially as more research is published on the brain benefits,” adds Asprey.