A study found that the nicotine bag usage rate among American high school students rose from 3% to 5.4% from 2023 to 2024. Research indicates that nicotine bags have rapidly gained popularity among teenagers due to their ease of concealment and social media promotion, posing addiction and health risks. Researchers suggest strengthening supervision and public education.
Key points:
- The usage rate of nicotine bags among American high school students rose from 3% in 2023 to 5.4% in 2024.
- The tendency of teenagers to use such products is highly correlated with diverse flavors, ease of concealment and social media promotion.
- Compared with vapes, the users of nicotine bags are more concentrated among men, white people and rural teenagers.
- Researchers pointed out that although this product is not an FDA-approved smoking cessation tool, it spreads rapidly among teenagers due to its low sensory burden.
- Scholars suggest strengthening supervision, limiting the variety of flavors, and enhancing public awareness to prevent the expansion of addiction risks and cognitive impairments.
Nicotine bag use among U.S. high school students rises to 5.4 percent
According to Infobae’s report on May 7th, a study published in JAMA Network Open shows that the usage rate of nicotine bags among American high school students has significantly increased over the past year, rising from 3% in 2023 to 5.4% in 2024.
This study is based on the “Monitoring the Future” survey funded by the US federal government, with a sample size of 10,146 students from grades 10 to 12. Data shows that teenagers are twice as likely as those who reported using nicotine bags in the past 30 days or the past year. Although the usage rate of e-cigarettes among teenagers slightly declined in 2024, from 20% to 18%, nicotine bags showed a reverse upward trend, and there was a phenomenon of “dual use” of vapes and nicotine bags. In 2024, 3.6% of students indicated that they were using both products simultaneously, which was much higher than 2.1% in 2023.
Flavor Marketing and Social Media as Drivers
The research also pointed out that nicotine bags are more popular among men, white people and teenagers living in rural areas. This demographic profile highly overlaps with traditional smokeless tobacco (such as chewable tobacco). Researchers believe that such differences in demographic characteristics suggest that policy intervention should adopt a product differentiation management logic.
Research shows that nicotine bags have rapidly spread among young people on social media through “Zynfluencer” promotion methods, and related content often links them to “confidence”, “Masculinity” or “improved concentration”. ZYN was authorized by the FDA in January 2025 to sell specific flavors of products to adults over 21 years old, but such products have not been certified by the FDA as smoking cessation AIDS.
Researchers suggest that the awareness of the risks of such products needs to be strengthened among the education system, parents and pediatricians. Secondly, products should be managed more strictly through policy means, especially by restricting packaging strategies such as “cinnamon” and “tropical fruits” that are widely present in the current market and appeal to the tastes of teenagers.
