United States | Pouches of resistance

Why do conservatives in America love Zyn?

A nicotine pouch has stimulated America’s young men—and the culture wars 

Zyn smokeless nicotine pouch containers for sale at a convenience store in New York, USA.
Photograph: Getty Images
|New York

You have probably heard of Tucker Carlson, a former Fox News host. But what about Tucker Carlzyn? Mr Carlson has earned the moniker for his enthusiasm for Zyn, a small white pouch, placed between the lip and the gum, that delivers a jolt of nicotine. He has called it “a powerful work enhancer, and also a male enhancer, if you know what I mean”, and likened its effect to “the hand of God reaching down and massaging your central nervous system”. Thanks in part to Mr Carlson, Zyn has become a symbol for a new boyish blend of conservative masculinity.

Explore more

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Pouches of resistance”

From the August 10th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from United States

Xiaohongshu And TikTok Logos

A protest against America’s TikTok ban is mired in contradiction

Another Chinese app is not the alternative some young Americans think it is

Joe Biden drives a machine that's rolling out a carpet of the US flag for Donald Trump to walk on

How Joe Biden wound up serving Donald Trump

In some ways, his administration will look less like an interregnum than like MAGA-lite


Kids skate at the Venice Skatepark in LA, which is covered in ashes as smoke rises from the Palisades Fire

How bad will the smoke be for Angelenos’ health?

Expect more sickness and disrupted schooling


Should you have to prove your age before watching porn?

America’s Supreme Court weighs a Texan law aimed at protecting kids

Tulsi Gabbard, Sean Penn and the hunt for an American hostage

A controversial trip to Syria in 2017 produced a possible sighting of Austin Tice, an imprisoned journalist

How flush Americans feel depends on their views of Donald Trump

Republicans expect a Trumponomics boom, Democrats dread a bust