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    The Confusing and Extremely Online Politics of Zyn Nicotine Bags

    Comic VibeBy No Comments5 Mins Read

    Tucker Carlson used to love Zyn nicotine bags. Now, he hates them so much he’s launched his own brand, and conservative weirdos online are calling for a boycott. It’s a stunning turn for a nicotine delivery system that has been mired in a culture war for a year, first as a conservative darling battling overbearing lawmakers in Washington and now as an embattled brand that has lost ground for opposing the right. share.

    And all because of a dick joke.

    Carlson loves nicotine, and he’s made no secret of the fun he’s had with Zyn. Last year, while Carlson was hanging out with YouTube pranksters the Nelk Boys, the YouTuber flew a giant can of Zyn around as a gift in a helicopter. “This is the greatest day,” Carlson said when he saw Zyn.

    Last October, Carlson appeared on comedian Theo Von’s podcast and talked about his love for bags.

    “The truth is, Zyn is a powerful work enhancer, and it’s also a male enhancer, if you know what I mean,” he said.

    Philip Morris, the maker of Zyn, didn’t appreciate Carlson’s joke at the time. When Carlson later tried to form a partnership with the tobacco giant, he was rebuffed.

    “While we understand that these may be Mr. Carlson’s opinions or made in jest, these claims lack scientific basis. Given Mr. Carlson’s popularity and influence, these statements may exacerbate misunderstandings and misuse of our products,” Philip Morris said in a response to Carlson published by The Wall Street Journal.

    Philip Morris is understandably reluctant to be associated with quack medical claims, even in jest. For decades, tobacco companies have made outrageous claims about the medical properties of cigarettes and other nicotine products. Today, everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, and the world is extremely sensitive to how nicotine is marketed, but that wasn’t always the case.

    Philip Morris has spent the last year protecting itself from regulators. Tobacco pouches have been around since the 1970s, but didn’t become popular in the United States until the early 2000s. Zyn was launched in 2014 and has gained popularity over the past few years. Phillip Morris sold 116 million cans of this product in the fourth quarter of 2023, with sales growing 78%.

    The popularity has drawn the attention of regulators in Washington. In January, Chuck Schumer called for a federal crackdown on stoma bags. The FDA issued warning letters in April to retailers selling Zyn to children, although the agency claimed in the same press release that there was no evidence of increased nicotine use among teens. In June, the FBI issued a subpoena to Phillip Morris for selling flavored Zyn sachets, and the company stopped all online sales of the product.

    The federal government’s attempt to take nicotine pouches away from those addicted to nicotine quickly met with backlash from conservatives.

    “It takes a Zyn rebellion!” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green, R-Georgia, Said in X’s post. “Democrats who want to legalize all drugs, open the borders and flood our country with fentanyl (a real weapon of mass destruction/killing 300 Americans a day) want to ban Zyn. Democrats are idiots.

    However, Carlson did not defend Zyn. In fact, he decided to launch a competitor.

    “I’ve used a brand that, I’m embarrassed to say, was made by a certain company, a certain brand, a huge donor to Kamala Harris,” he told Old Row Outfitters in an interview on Tuesday. . “I won’t use that brand anymore. I mean, I think it’s fine. It’s good for your girlfriend or whatever, but I don’t think men should use that brand.

    Philip Morris employees did donate to Kamala Harris this election cycle, according to Open Secrets, a website that tracks political donations. But the total amount, $18,200, was far from the huge amount of cash Carlson described. He also began promoting his new nicotine bag brand Alp. For Carlson, the culture war is big business.

    In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, Carlson brought it all back to Philip Morris’ reaction to his dick joke.

    “Of course, I’m not making medical claims about their products. I’m just kidding,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “So I thought: ‘I’m going to launch my own product that’s not controlled by humorless left-wing drones.'”

    At the same time, right-wing drones stated on social media that they would no longer cooperate with Zyn and promised to acquire Alp.

    The Nelke boys apparently didn’t get the memo. On September 14, the group appeared at a Trump rally in Las Vegas and shouted out Zyn.

    “We need Trump back, we need him back bad,” Nelke Boy Kyle Fuguid said. “One more thing…Governor Tim Walz, he has a 95% tax on Zyn. You have to remove President Trump. Minnesota in July imposed a 95% tax on all “tobacco-free products containing nicotine.”

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