Forget free lunch on Fridays, if your company isn’t supplying you with bottomless nicotine, do they really care about you?
Driving the news: Palantir and a slew of other tech companies have begun stocking their offices with vending machines full of free nicotine pouches, an increasingly popular cigarette alternative that many tech workers insist can improve their productivity.
The founder of pouch producer, Sesh, told the Wall Street Journal that he’s had dozens of startups reach out wanting nicotine vending machines installed at their offices.
Catch-up: Nicotine pouches’ popularity has skyrocketed over the past few years, particularly with young men, many of whom have been sold on the (unsubstantiated) promise that they can give you a boost of focus at work or the gym.
In 2024, Health Canada changed its regulations to ban the sale of Zonnics (the only pouches approved in Canada) outside of pharmacies as well as limiting flavours to mint and menthol.
The FDA is now considering slowing down its approval of new pouches over fears that young people have already started to get addicted.
Why it matters: Despite Ottawa’s crackdown, these pouches have become a new generation’s cigarettes. One study in Quebec found that young people’s usage of nicotine pouches is now nearly on par with cigarette smoking.
Similarly, a CDC analysis found that use of pouches has roughly quadrupled since 2022 among young Americans.
Zoom out: There’s been a push from Conservatives to make pouches easier to buy in Canada. In September, Conservative MP Brad Vis tabled a petition in the House of Commons to return them to stores, while his fellow MP Jamil Javani has posted (seemingly unironic) videos of himself popping a pouch in his mouth, saying “Free the Zyn.”—LA
