Investment director William Llamas, 34, never thought he would develop an addiction.
Then, five years ago, he claims to have “wound up in the hospital for the first time in ten years” due to unexplainable stomach symptoms.
Llamas, who had a colonoscopy, liver examination, and ultrasound, stated, “The doctors tested for everything.” They were unable to identify any issues with him.
However, there was a problem with Llamas; he claims he had a Zyns addiction.
Zyns are tiny white nicotine pouches that are sold in vape shops, bodegas, and online. They are inserted between the gums and upper lip to provide a steady, mild buzz.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Joe Rogan are admirers; biohackers brag about their ability to suppress appetite; even the Secretary of Health and Human Services depends on Zyns to get through long nights of coding. During his Senate confirmation hearings last year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was seen allegedly putting a nicotine packet in his mouth.
Longtime pouch enthusiast Tucker Carlson has called Zyns “lifesaving… like the hand of God reaching down and massaging your central nervous system.”Carlson started his own pouch company, American Lip Pillow, in 2024.
When Llamas was at his best, he would drink a 15-pack of Zyns every day, “starting with my morning coffee,” and keep going until bedtime. “I was addicted to nicotine and wanted more and more.”
When he was at his best, William Llamas drank a 15-pack of Zyns every day, “starting with my morning coffee,” and kept going until bedtime.I was addicted to nicotine and wanted more and more.
Zyns are little white nicotine pouches that are sold in vape shops, bodegas, and online. They are inserted between the gums and upper lip to provide a steady, mild buzz.
Longtime pouch enthusiast Tucker Carlson has called Zyns “lifesaving…like the hand of God reaching down and massaging your central nervous system.”Carlson introduced American Lip Pillow, his own pouch brand, in 2024.
Llamas stated that the Zyns, which are made from a combination of artificial salts, fillers, and flavors, also contained artificial sweeteners, which he thought were aggravating his digestive system in addition to reportedly raising his heart rate.
Numerous Zyn users had identical problems, according to some internet research.
Llamas realized he had to quit taking Zyns after using nicotine pouches for eight years.”I became repulsed by them,” he remarked. “It was extremely difficult, but I managed to give up.”
Just as the Trump Administration starts to relax restrictions on the marketing of nicotine pouches, Llamas is discussing his experience with Zyns in an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail.
The Wall Street Journal was informed this week by White House spokesman Kush Desai that the “FDA’s regulatory treatment of nicotine pouches is rooted in recent evidence that has found that nicotine pouches can help adults quit smoking.”
However, Llamas thinks Zyns are especially dangerous for kids and teenagers because of their bright packaging and candy-like scents, which range from citrus to coffee and mint. “They taste good, they make you feel good, and since it’s over-the-counter and contains nicotine, it’s the ideal product for young people.”
Most worrisome of all, according to Llamas, “nicotine pouches are the most addictive nicotine product on the market and have accelerated the global nicotine craze.” “And the biggest brand in the world is Zyn.”
The hypocrisy of the health-focused MAHA movement, which embraces nicotine as good rather than detrimental, is just as problematic as Zyn’s propensity to hook young people, according to Llamas.
A picture of Secretary of Health and Human Services RFK Jr. (left) appears to show him putting nicotine packets in his mouth. Kennedy in 2025 with Mehmet Oz and President Trump
Iframes are not supported by your browser. “MAHA just picks and chooses what they want to promote,” he claims. “There are good products to promote, and then there are [things like Zyns], but there needs to be more transparency about its addictiveness and side effects.”
Manufacturers of nicotine pouches are still required by the new FDA regulations to go through a rigorous scientific assessment procedure to demonstrate that they adhere to legal public health standards. However, the FDA will now permit businesses to advertise their goods during this process rather than just after it is over. This implies that new pouch items may be introduced to the market much more quickly.
In college, Llamas started utilizing Zyns. The pouches provide a prolonged dose of the stimulant that replicates the effects of smoking without the harm that smoke causes to the body, even though they contain less nicotine than a single cigarette.
Llamas were drawn to Zyns due to their taste and simplicity of use. “I used tobacco pouches to start [consuming nicotine], but they didn’t taste good and you had to spit,” he said. Zyns produced the same buzzing effect, albeit much more subtly: “It was gross.”
No one was aware that he was taking the Zyns, which helped him concentrate and relax. However, Llamas acknowledged, “I have an addictive personality,” and his casual use escalated in a matter of months. Llamas eventually made himself give up.
It wasn’t an easy process. The most noticeable withdrawal symptom is cravings, but stopping nicotine pouches can also cause headaches, exhaustion, disturbed sleep, and increased appetite. “I was thinking about Zyns all the time [while quitting], and it was making me angry,” Llamas recounted. “I started indulging in my other vices, consuming more sugar and alcohol. To mimic Zyn’s mouth feel, I had mints in my mouth.
The worst part was that without the nicotine high, life just seemed to be much less enjoyable.
Llamas looked for support on Reddit, where the ‘QuittingZyn’ forum ‘offered a community of people going through the exact same thing I was,’ just like many other users who were having trouble quitting.
Zyns, according to Llamas and his wife Jessica Llamas, helped him relax and concentrate.
User after user discussing difficult quitting journeys—a few days here, a week or two there—fills the subreddit. On his third day without Zyn, one self-described addict remarked, “I am just unsure of what normal really is anymore.”
Many people report experiencing heart palpitations, mouth and gum inflammation, weeks-long panic attacks, and stomach cramps similar to those that afflicted Llamas as a result of using Zyn. Additionally, male addicts claim erectile trouble is a side effect, despite Carlson’s alleged joking that using nicotine pouches “literally…” gets my d**k really hard.
Zyns are becoming more and more popular in spite of all of this.
According to parent business Philip Morris International (PMI), which paid $16 billion to acquire Zyn’s Swedish manufacturer in 2022, nearly 800 million tins were supplied in the US last year, a 37 percent increase over 2024. (Outside of the US, Philip Morris is also the parent company of Marlboro cigarettes).
“ZYN was the first ever nicotine pouch authorized by the FDA as appropriate for the protection of the public health, and is a better alternative for current legal-age nicotine consumers who would otherwise continue to smoke or use other traditional tobacco products,” a PMI representative told the Daily Mail in response to allegations that Zyns have adverse effects and withdrawal symptoms.
The PMI representative responded to claims that Zyns are addictive by saying, “Nicotine is addictive and not without risk – but it’s the smoke from traditional cigarettes, not nicotine, that is the primary cause of smoking-related diseases.”
Llamas fears that for ardent Zynophiles like himself, the journey from inquiry to addiction to recovery will only get harder as Zyn grows in popularity and becomes easier to promote due to continuous White House deregulation.
With 20 mg to even 50 mg of nicotine per pouch, as opposed to three to six milligrams when Llamas was using Zyns, new and even stronger “extreme” nicotine pouches like Iceberg and Pablo Exclusive brands will further increase the risk of abuse. Llamas has resisted the temptation to relapse since his own stomach cramps have subsided and his heart rate has returned to normal. “I was on a flight recently and the guy sitting next to me pulled out a ton of Zyns; coffee-flavored, six milligrams in strength—my total “go-to,”” he recounted, even if the need is always present. “I could really use that right now,” I thought.”I could refuse, but if I spot a Zyn… My mouth is still watering as I recall how delicious it was and how [wonderful] it made me feel.
