• A new study found that the number of teens using nicotine pouches nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024.
• An author of the study was shocked by the sharp rise in Zyn use, though he expected an increase.
• There was also an increase in people using both pouches like Zyn and e-cigarettes.

Teens aren't into e-cigarettes anymore. Nicotine pouches like Zyn are quickly becoming their new nicotine replacement.

A new study published in the JAMA Network on Wednesday explored the nicotine habits of over 10,000 teens in 10th and 12th grade.

The researchers found that their nicotine pouch use nearly doubled from 2023 to 2024. Many teens reported using both pouches and vapes. The only metric that decreased was using vapes alone.

Adam M. Leventhal, the executive director of the USC Institute for Addiction Science and one of the authors of the study, told Business Insider he had a feeling that pouch use would increase among teens, as demand for Zyn soared and caused continual shortages.

However, he said he was surprised to see such a huge rise, so quickly.

It's harder to ban pouches

If you look up "Zyn" on TikTok, your feed will be littered with young people using it, commenting on the flavor options and demonstrating how to insert "upper deckies."

Leventhal said that teens' general draw toward nicotine hasn't changed over the years despite efforts to spread awareness about the health risks.

Based on his team's previous research, teens like that nicotine can stimulate mood, increase metabolism, and suppress appetite.

Pouches are especially alluring to teens because they're more discreet, Leventhal said. "They can use them in school without teachers seeing them or even in front of their parents," he said.

Pouches can be a supplement in places they can't bring their vapes, like in movie theaters or on planes.

It's also what makes pouches risky. Because of their inconspicuousness, they're easy to use continuously throughout the day.

A surprising gender divide

The study showed that teen girls vape more than teen boys — another unexpected finding, Leventhal said.

"Historically, any kind of substance, you typically see that males have higher-use levels than females," he said. "But vaping, it's appeared to kind of switch over recent years."

One theory is that pouches have more masculine branding. Zyn, a Swedish brand, was originally marketed to women who wanted to quit cigarettes. Now, everyone from Wall Street bros to Josh Brolin uses Zyn. Tucker Carlson, a former Zyn user, now plans to start his own brand, as he feels Zyn is not manly enough.

It all points to marketing that could make pouches "particularly attractive to boys," Leventhal said.

The health risks of Zyn and vapes for teens

Leventhal's main concern with the pouch trend among teens is that they're likely "exposing themselves to higher levels of nicotine" than using e-cigarettes alone.

Zyn can harm gum tissue, change your brain chemistry, and increase your heart rate. Vaping, meanwhile, is considered as harmful as smoking traditional cigarettes. Both are highly addictive.

While some TikTokers say they use Zyn to try to quit vaping, Leventhal said it's not a viable solution to e-cigarette addiction, especially since many just start using both.

"We don't want children to use any nicotine products," he said. "So all nicotine products should be avoided."

• Josh Brolin spoke about auditioning for "The Goonies" on the podcast "Literally! With Rob Lowe."
• Brolin, the son of actor James Brolin, said he auditioned multiple times to prove his talent.
• "Instead of that kind of nepotistic thing, they looked at me and they were like, 'Oh yeah? So act,'" he said.

Josh Brolin says his famous lineage backfired and put him at a disadvantage when he auditioned for "The Goonies."

"'I think 'Goonies' was quite an accident," Brolin, the son of actor James Brolin and Jane Cameron Agee, said during an interview on the podcast "Literally! With Rob Lowe."

"I went in there, I'd been told, they pulled the Brolin thing, 'Are you Brolin's kid? You want to be an actor, huh?'" Brolin continued. "So instead of that kind of nepotistic thing, they looked at me and they were like, 'Oh yeah? So act.'"

Brolin made his film debut in the 1985 adventure movie directed by Richard Donner and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, who also wrote the story.

The movie centered on a group of misfits led by Sean Astin's Mikey Walsh. Brolin starred as his red bandana-wearing older brother, Brand Walsh.

Brolin said that prior to auditioning for "The Goonies," his mom had kicked him out of their house, and he was staying on his dad's couch. Then 16, said he'd already missed a considerable amount of high school days and "really wanted to try something new."

"I said, maybe I should do this acting thing," Brolin recalled. "It's kinda what everybody resorts to when they don't know what to do. They either become a real estate agent or an actor. So I chose acting."

Brolin said that he went on 350 auditions, sometimes even four in one day. He vowed to prove himself to casting directors who may have speculated that he wanted to take advantage of his famous connection so he could easily land roles.

So he studied acting, read books, and "stayed in a bookstore 90% of the time." Then he met director Donner and Spielberg and it all clicked.

"I just looked right for the part," Brolin said. "You look at Sean Astin, you look at the type of movie it is, I looked like a bit of a bad boy, but sort of a jock, and I was in good shape, so they were like, 'That's the guy.'"

"I went back six times, just so they could make sure, and then I did it," he said.

Brolin went on to land notable roles in films like "No Country For Old Men," "True Grit," "Sicario," and the "Dune" franchise. He's also known for playing the villains Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Cable in "Deadpool 2."

Brolin reminisced about his breakout role during an interview with Howard Stern in November in support of his memoir, "From Under the Truck."

Brolin said that "The Goonies" was a lucky break, and he knows that perhaps being the son of James opened the door for his acting career. However, he believed that he was a good fit for the part of Brand.

"I was the right guy," Brolin said. "I look at that objectively now and I go, 'That's the perfect specimen for that role.'"