And then they came for the upper-decky lip pillows.
San Francisco is clamping down on the online sale of flavored Zyn pouches — a nicotine product that gives users a hit of the addictive substance in the form of a small pouch placed between the lip and gum.
A new lawsuit targets a handful of online retailers that the city says are violating its prohibition on flavored tobacco products, a law intended to prevent children from getting hooked. Unflavored versions of the product, which are sold at corner stores and tobacco shops in the city, will remain available for online purchase.
“The tobacco industry has gone to tremendous lengths to reinvent their products to addict young people,” said City Attorney David Chiu. “We aren’t going to allow these companies to disregard the law and unravel decades of progress on preventing youth from using tobacco.”
The Standard obtained a draft of the complaint, which was filed Tuesday in San Francisco County Superior Court. The suit alleges that Northerner Scandinavia, Lucy Goods, Rogue Holdings, and Swisher International sell flavored Zyn products online to San Franciscans despite the ban.
“Tobacco companies market nicotine pouches as discreet — the ‘perfect way to enjoy the nicotine you love without getting noticed, and without the risk of staining your teeth’; and claim that they are smoking cessation devices that help users ‘focus better, think deeper, chill out smoother, and inspire creativity,'” the complaint states.
San Francisco has a track record of targeting nicotine and tobacco products. In 2019, it became the first major U.S. city to ban the immensely popular Juul vape and other e-cigarette products. In December, the city sued online retailers for violating local bans on flavored tobacco and e-cigarettes in the form of vapes.
As recently as 2021, vaping remained common among San Francisco high school students despite heavy restrictions on the products. That year, 8% of city high schoolers said they used e-cigarettes, and 20% said they had tried them. The vast majority of students who vape choose flavored tobacco products, according to research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer has called for a federal crackdown on the popular nicotine pouches, claiming they pose a danger to teens.
“It’s a pouch packed with problems — high levels of nicotine. So today, I’m delivering a warning to parents, because these nicotine pouches seem to lock their sights on young kids — teenagers, and even lower — and then use the social media to hook ’em,” the senator from New York said in January.
Companies targeted by the lawsuit did not respond to requests for comment by publication time.