logo
episode-header-image
Aug 19
20m 58s

Why Big Tobacco is buzzing over nicotine...

Financial Times
About this episode

This is a revised version of an earlier episode and clarifies the position of Zyn in the US market.


As the popularity of cigarettes has slid in the past couple decades, Big Tobacco has been searching for a new hit product. Now, they think they’ve found it: nicotine pouches. FT reporters Clara Murray and Mari Novik explain how nicotine pouches became popular, and whether they’ll become the sector’s newest addiction or if they will be snuffed out. 


Clips from ABC News, ABC4 Utah, CBS Mornings, Theo Von Podcast, Time, TikTok


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 


For further reading:

The new nicotine hit that could save Big Tobacco

Big Tobacco stock rally reveals uncomfortable truth

Big Tobacco will take heat on its smokeless transformation


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 


Follow Clara Murray on X (@clara__murray) and Bluesky (‪@claradoodle.bsky.social‬). Follow Mari Novik on X (@marinoevik) and Bluesky(@marinovik.bsky.social‬). Saffeya Ahmed is on X (@saffeya_ahmed), or you can follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more. 


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Nov 19
What’s the deal with OpenAI's deals?
<p>OpenAI is entering a new era. It's restructured to add a for-profit arm to its business and has signed more than a trillion dollars’ worth of deals to secure chips and build out data centres. But those huge financial commitments also raise massive questions: How will a heavily ... Show More
26m 5s
Nov 12
Pfizer and Novo Nordisk’s $10bn battle over weight-loss drugs
Pharma juggernauts Pfizer and Novo Nordisk are struggling in the obesity drug race.The two companies are searching for their next moneymaker, and that search recently spun out into a ferocious, multibillion-dollar battle for control of biotech start-up Metsera. The FT’s US deals ... Show More
26m 3s
Nov 5
The $17bn nuclear start-up without any revenue
Publicly-listed Oklo sits at the intersection of two hot areas for Wall Street: artificial intelligence and energy companies. This year alone, Oklo’s share price has jumped more than 400 per cent. But the business hasn’t generated any revenue. It hasn’t built a nuclear reactor, a ... Show More
23m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2025
Influencers Fueled Zyn’s Rise. Could the Attention Backfire?
Zyn nicotine pouches hit the market as a run-of-the-mill tobacco-replacement product, but over the past few years, they’ve gone viral thanks to so-called “Zynfluencers”: content creators who post about Zyn. They’re not paid by Zyn’s parent company Philip Morris, and while the onl ... Show More
16m 54s
Oct 24
Why Teens Just Can't Quit Nicotine
A few years ago, vaping was at the top of every parent’s list of worries — including Sanjay’s. But in just a few short years, the landscape has shifted again. Teen vaping rates have dropped, but new nicotine products have quickly taken their place. Dr. Pamela Ling, a professor at ... Show More
25m 4s
May 2025
White snus: Why are teens, Swedes and footballers getting hooked?
More and more people are using snus. Maybe you’ve noticed this where you live: people walking around with circular plastic tubs in their pockets and slipping small white parcels into their gums? There are two types: brown snus and white snus. Brown snus has been around for a whil ... Show More
10m 58s
Jul 2024
⚪ “Zynfluencers” — Zyn’s tobacco off-ramp/on-ramp. Nespresso’s latte test drive. Your retirement fund’s emergency ATM
<p>Zyn’s smoke-free nicotine pouches are surging like Juul 2.0… but is it a tobacco on-ramp or off-ramp?</p><p>Nespresso is opening up theme-park style experiential stores… because even lattes need a test drive.</p><p>Need $1,000 now?... Well, the IRS will now let you get that mo ... Show More
22m 50s
Aug 2024
S2 Ep19: #30 Blazing Hot Takes: The Latest in Vaping With Drs. Ling and Vijayaraghavan
<div>Join us to hear the latest pearls and best practices on talking to patients about vaping, if e-cigarettes can be used to stop smoking cigarettes, and every other question you hadn’t thought to ask about vaping with Drs. Pam Ling (<a href="https://profiles.ucsf.edu/pamela.lin ... Show More
1h 6m
Aug 29
326. The psychology of nicotine
Nicotine is everywhere - but not in the way we once knew it. It’s not just in cigarettes anymore. It’s in sleek vapes, tiny pouches, lozenges, gum, even diffusers marketed as 'wellness'. And somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like a vice and started looking... aesthetic. ... Show More
46m 9s
Jun 2024
Smoking is Cool. Now, So is Quitting.
Well, smoking is cool again. Run go watch any of the biggest films and tv from the past year. What do you notice? They all feature cigarettes and vapes. And today, many Gen Z who try e-cigarettes remain e-cigarette users (CDC). So we talk with a new company called Blip about how ... Show More
15m 45s
Aug 2024
Lilly Is Selling Zepbound Vials at 50% Discount to Shots
Watch Carol and Tim LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF. Bloomberg News Health Care Reporter Madison Muller discusses Eli Lilly selling vials of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Zepbound to patients for as little as $399 a month as it works to overcome supply shortag ... Show More
52m 35s
Nov 2024
Why Tim Spector wants to bring back the nanny state
<p>The government should treat ultra-processed foods like cigarettes and alcohol - and bring in higher taxes on the companies that make them, says Professor Tim Spector. Labour has declared war on junk food as part of a drive to save the NHS by shifting from "sickness to preventi ... Show More
26m 29s