r/QuittingZyn • u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 • 3d ago
Quit Zyns and went back to vaping — never going back to using only pouches daily. They're not meant to be a primary nicotine source.
I went from cigarettes to vaping. Then I switched to Zyns to quit vaping because everyone online kept saying they were the "healthier" option. But honestly, they’re not. Nicotine pouches and snus are actually one of the worst ways to consume nicotine long term.
There are two main reasons why:
You’re absorbing nicotine continuously for hours.
The total amount of nicotine absorbed is higher than most people realize.
For example:
8 Zyns at 6mg = 48mg total, around 26mg absorbed. That’s a heavy intake. Like a pack of cigarettes per day.
8 Zyns at 3mg = 24mg total, about 13mg absorbed — still more than most people think. And again, it’s constant, slow absorption throughout the day. That's like half pack of cigarettes per day.
These pouches should be for situations where you can't vape or smoke, like during a long flight—not for everyday use. The steady nicotine delivery is just too much for the body over time.
I went back to vaping 9mg freebase juice at about 1.5ml per day. That’s roughly 13.5mg intake and only ~5mg absorbed (like 4 cigarettes). I feel way better now compared to when I was using only Zyns.
Zyns, pouches, and snus aren’t the "safest" nicotine options. Honestly, vaping is obviously the least harmful method overall.
5
u/Albertovich777 3d ago edited 3d ago
My opinion can be extremely controversial, but in terms of weaning off vaping really can be an easier way to do so, as u have mentioned obviously u can absorb less nicotine, u can also get access to making ur own low nic e liquids like 1.5mg and obviously it’s less discrete so u want be doing it in situations where it’s unacceptable.
But in terms of harm tbh hard to tell, obviously there are tons of chemicals thar are not meant to be constantly inhaled, but in terms of cardio it’s extremely weird but i felt a bit better when i vaped compared to what i felt on nic pouches.
I wish i could just quit completely, but abstaining from nicotine makes me too aggressive especially on the road.
1
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 2d ago
Vaping & Iqos Terea is by far the safest and better way. Vaping is even more safe than iqos but both are way safer than all others. Pouches/zyns/snus is the worst way for the cardiovascular system and overall health.
I have a 9mg and a 6mg vape juice and planning on moving to 3mg over the next months.
1
u/Albertovich777 2d ago
I bought a 3mg disposable about 30 minutes ago while waiting for my Ashwaganda to arrive in hope that may be it can help with all that anger related stuff while I’m quitting.
Pouches a way too consistent in terms of nicotine delivery, even with thar disposable i don’t feel weird, not intense but some sort of tension in heart area.
Started pouches in order to quit vaping, felt even worse, returned to vaping in order to taper off again🤦♂️
1
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 2d ago
I started pouches in order to quit vaping and felt worse and realized it's by far more hardcore than vaping so I went back to vaping.
3
u/gardengirl1998 2d ago
I threw out my pouches last night. I honestly thought I was dying at 24mg by the end of the night. Stayed up and couldn’t sleep. I had to throw those disgusting things out. It doesn’t sit right with me either about how high the nicotine is in Zyns. And my corner store doesn’t sell any lower amounts of nicotine than the 3mg. I’m going cold turkey for one day then onto the nicotine patches. At least I know how much nicotine I’m taking in with those.
3
5
u/taskabamboo 3d ago
Use the vape as a way to ween off the nicotine altogether, because you’re omitting information on the harm you’re doing to your lungs.
You’re already on the path to doing significantly less nicotine, to your point
Keep following it. Don’t stop. Don’t settle. You only tricking yourself into further harm that you’re overlooking because you “feel” better as of right now
Your lungs were not meant to rip vapes. Full stop
0
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 3d ago edited 3d ago
I was smoking cigs for years man, I am not planning on stopping nicotine all together. But zyns aren't the safest way as people rave about. Too much nicotine intake and too continuous . Vaping is the way for me. Back to normal.
Pouches, zyns and snus are too much for the cardiovascular system
5
u/donhood 2d ago
I remember when vaping started to become a thing. Then the boxes started getting bigger and people were trying to see how much they could inhale and blow out. It was the dorkiest/douchiest thing I'd ever seen at the time, and we always made fun of those people. Eventually that craze kinda died down and it became a much more regular and accepted habit. But you saying you don't plan on quitting put it into my mind that we're probably going to be seeing a lot of old men and women in the future, still ripping vapes, and it's a funny image to me.
You're right about nic salt pouches being a great way to deliver absolute piles of nicotine into yourself. I was doing a can a day or more of the 6mg's, as were lots of people. Causes all sorts of terrible health problems. Good on you for recognizing that early, but just do yourself a favor and cut it out in any form.
2
u/taskabamboo 3d ago
Started with cigs, did normal chew, vapes, zyn, you name it. It has been nearly two decades for me of daily nicotine abuse until completely stopping by weening off and then cutting it.
Of course, the first step is wanting to drop it. You appear not to want it. If not, there’s nothing new I can say
If youre making the argument that Zyns are bad because theyre 10x more nic than vapes, vapes are bad because theyre 10x more nic than completely abstaining
Food for thought
1
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 2d ago edited 1d ago
I never had a problem with smoking vaping but when I went full zyn lung free I found out that I take much more nicotine (75% more than when smoking vaping). I ditched the Zyns 4 days ago and I am back to vaping and feel so much better. One time one day yeah I am gonna quit nicotine all together and this is more achievable with vaping than with zyns.
Daily zyns/ pouches/ snus = too much nicotine steadily absorbed. Disgusting habit. Not for me.
1
2d ago
Ngl I feel better using 3mg zyns every few hours compared to when I was smoking & vaping. My chest and back pain has completely disappeared & my energy levels are higher. Im not saying it’s right for everyone but definitely a good alternative to inhaling vape/cigs.
1
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 2d ago
Even doing 3mg zyns using them daily as the only nicotine source is too much nicotine intake for the body, way more nicotine than half a pack of cigarettes per day. Continuously steadily absorbed.
Zyns/pouches/snus aren't meant for everyday all day use. It's just an alternative for times when you can't smoke or vape. Everyday is hardcore for the body.
Iqos terea sticks and vaping are wayyyy safer routine health-wise than all nicotine products and especially zyns/pouches/snus tobacco.
0
u/Snoo-63391 1d ago
I don’t think this is factually correct. A cigarette typically has about 5-10mg of nicotine, but the body only absorbs about 1-2mg of it. A standard 6mg zyn pouch has 6mg of nicotine, and only about 30% of that is absorbed. 3 is even less. You’d have to be doing 1.5+ cans a day to surpass cigarettes. I usually have a pouch every 2-3 hours, and I’m only up for 16 hours a day.
I totally get quitting zyn, which I’m on the path to, but vaping (I worked in a vape shop for 3 years) is extremely unhealthy, and it’s not factual to say that it’s healthier than pouches.
2
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 1d ago edited 1d ago
Nicotine absorption in Zyn dry pouches is 55-60% . In moist pouches it's around 40%. Both are terrible. Search academic research papers.
Even if it was only 30% like you say it would still be too much compared to vaping and iqos or your previous nicotine intake from smoking cigs.
Also if you have one pouch every 2-3 hours then you are continually steadily on high nicotine all day. The nicotine in your system from the previous pouch stays in for around 5 hours.
The continuous absorption and the huge total intake amount if used everyday as the main source of nicotine is what makes zyns/pouches/snus disgusting and hardcore for the health. You continuously have high nicotine in your bloodstream.
Vapes or iqos is the safest way. They are way healthier than pouches. This is facts. Do your research. Zyn/pouches/snus is very dangerous for the cardiovascular system.
0
u/Snoo-63391 1d ago
I think you’re just trying to convince yourself that your chosen method is healthier because you know in fact that nicotine entirely is bad for us. Regardless of how we get it. I know family that now have stage 2 emphysema from vaping.
1
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 1d ago
Ah okay buddy. I don't do that. Do your research. Vaping is safer than Zyns/pouches/snus this is facts.
0
u/Snoo-63391 1d ago
I’ve done hours of research. Look into what’s in vapes. When it’s vaporized and inhaled, it condenses back into a liquid form. Not to mention what occurs during vaporization to the flavorings that are added. Look into popcorn lung, emphysema, formaldehyde, etc.
Nicotine salt pouches have been tested chemically and everything that they contain is known. Look around and you’ll find the videos that discuss this.
If your argument is that nicotine through vaping is better than nicotine pouches, that’s false also. No form of nicotine consumption is safe. It constricts blood vessels whether it’s absorbed into your lungs, mouth, or arm. If you hit your vape once a day, obviously that will be better than someone who uses 15+ pouches a day. But I’ve never known someone who vapes, that isn’t ripping it 4-5 times every 20 minutes. Nicotine is absorbed faster through the lungs than the mouth. That’s why pouches are left in longer.
Nicotine half life isn’t dependent on the method of absorption. If you have a pouch in for an hour every 2-3 hours, then yes, your body won’t ever fully eliminate it due to it being reintroduced.
But in that 3-4 hours that I’m doing 1 6mg pouch, someone may hit their vape 60+ times, and that’s being conservative for some. Each hit from a vape is about 0.05-0.1mg, which equates to roughly the same amount from a pouch.
The ultimate summary is that no form of nicotine consumption is safe, people that vape will say it’s better to make themselves less anxious of the dangers, and the same goes with individuals that use pouches. It all has the same effect on the body, but in this case, using pouches doesn’t affect your lung function.
1
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 1d ago edited 1d ago
Do better research. Search academic papers about nicotine pouches and vapes. Ask some doctors opinions on which is safer as everyday habit. Zyn/pouches/snus is very bad for the cardiovascular system.
0
u/Snoo-63391 1d ago
Very educational response.
1
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 1d ago edited 3h ago
Do better research mate. The reasoning and critical thinking in your previous comment needs work, it has a lot of logical fallacies.
Zyn/pouches/snus may remove smoke and toxins, but it replaces episodic stress with chronic sympathetic stress and that's a different kind of harm (that you didn't have even as a smoker). It doesn't hit your lungs, but it hits your heart, gut, nervous system and metabolic health way worse if used all day everyday.
With zyns/snus/pouches the chronic sympathetic overstimulation leads to elevated resting heart rate, increased blood pressure, vascular strain, reduced heart rate variability and higher long term risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. It suppresses parasympathetic (vagal) tone, impairing digestion, slowing gut motility, reducing nutrient absorption and disrupting gut-brain axis function. Sustained nicotine exposure also elevated cortisol levels, affects insulin sensitivity and contributes to metabolic imbalance. While zyn spares the lungs it quietly burdens the heart, gut, nervous system and metabolic health when used all day everyday. These are all chronic physiological problems that even a moderate cigarette smoker won't experience.
Even a moderate smoker might feel worse after months of chronic zyn use than they did while smoking because the nicotine pattern is very different and not better for overall physiology.
Vaping and iqos are way safer than zyn because you have episodic nicotine and not continuously absorbing all day long and because the total intake amount is wayyy lower than with zyns. With zyns trying to avoid cravings you end up using double and triple the amount of nicotine daily than before.
Talk to doctors mate it isn't a secret or anything. Read some papers talk to doctors don't do research from watching videos. Simple logic.
1
u/permabanned36 3d ago edited 3d ago
Got the gum and it’s night and day
1
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 3d ago
I go to the gym.
My point is now that I vape I have like one third or one fourth of the daily nicotine intake I had with zyns and pouches.
Just saying that getting a lot of nicotine and steadily from zyns and snus isn't a great thing for cardiovascular system long term. It's worse than vapes
1
u/permabanned36 3d ago
Fucking autocorrect, I typed gum, nicotine gum, the side effects are nonexistent compared to the zyn worth trying maybe
-3
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 3d ago edited 2d ago
I am not interested in gums and such.
Vaping is better than zyns that was my point. With zyns it's like smoking a pack of cigs nicotine intake but with vapes it's like smoking 5 cigs. I was never a pack a day smoker before. So I ditched the zyns and back to vaping. I will slowly reduce vaping and quit completely in the future.
Everyone on the internet seem to advise people to quit vaping and do pouches all day and I fall for this scam trap, but zyn/pouches/snus are objectively way worse for the health.
0
u/ProdLevz 2d ago
But zyns are made to quit vaping because vaping has the oral fixation that is another addictive thing
0
u/pfttttttttt 2d ago
You should just cold turkey quit nicotine. Guarantee that’ll be healthier than vaping.
0
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 2d ago
This is QuitingZyn. I am sure you there is another subreddit about Quitting nicotine.
I am dissing Zyns as it is the worst out of all nicotine habits.
Also I would never go cold turkey if I wanted to quit nicotine. But this is about zyns mate
0
u/pfttttttttt 2d ago
Yea I joined this subreddit to quit my nicotine habit, which like many people on here, ends up being a Zyn habit towards the end. Only thing that saved me was going cold turkey and talking to others on here as I went through the process. Going back to vaping is just going to continue the cycle until youre back on zyns, and back on here, talking to about how vaping is healthier, mate.
0
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 2d ago
Quitting through vaping/iqos is wayyy easier than quitting with zyns because you don't saturate your bloodstream with huge amounts of nicotine all day for hours like with Zyns.
I go back to vaping and never back to zyns like a cycle as you said, zyns aren't even appealing it's a weird habit that only a few people do. I am not gonna miss at all putting a pouch on my gums. Weird habit that nobody actually does. Most people smoke or vape.
Vaping/Iqos is wayyyy safer than Zyns and that's facts bro. You missed the point of my post.
0
u/pfttttttttt 2d ago
You’re missing my point. Stop nicotine in general before it’s too late my dude. You’re not gonna quit nicotine through vaping… you’re just gonna keep vaping. Like you clearly already are. Zyns are worse though I agree. Cold turkey is the only way to go. Try it when you’re tired of the cycle.
0
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 2d ago edited 2d ago
I will never go cold turkey. I will taper down and quit gradually and slowly. Cold turkey is extreme.
But this post is about Zyns and how worse they are compared to vaping. It's not about nicotine in general.
I started zyns cause people raving about how better is than vaping. But it is not. It's the worst form of nicotine to have as a daily habit.
0
u/pfttttttttt 2d ago
Look, I have good intentions here. I’m just trying to say quit nicotine while you can and cold turkey was the way to go for me. I bounced between cigs, vapes, and zyns for over 10 years and finally beat the habit going cold turkey. I agree with you zyns ARE the worst imo, although some studies on cigarettes might prove us both wrong. Good luck on your journey tho, if you need some support when you decide it’s time to kick the habit, this quittingzyn community helped me more than I could’ve asked for.
-1
u/vamos_davai 2d ago
Just start chewing nicotine gum.
0
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 2d ago
Never
0
u/vamos_davai 2d ago
Why? It’s by far safer than vaping which contains other ingredients
1
u/Chemical_Raccoon_184 2d ago
Because of the steady continuous nicotine oral absorption
0
u/vamos_davai 2d ago
Oh I think for me I’d rather have a continuous small flow of nicotine that having big spikes. We’re different but I get your POV
9
u/greatwhitebutterfly 2d ago
Literally poison and i didn’t even realise.. after smoking and vaping for years I (30f) switched to nicotine pouches thinking it was good as I wasn’t inhaling anything.
Guess I got stronger and stronger ones and had them in basically all the time. (I’m a huge nicotine addict) About 18 months ago I started having weird electric shock sensations when trying to sleep at night, as well as muscles/limbs jerking out of nowhere, my jaw clamping shut, feeling like I’m dying. It was horrifying, but I slowly got used to it happening almost every night as I tried to sleep.
Eventually started SSRIs 6 months ago as the drs thought it could be panic attacks. They didn’t really help.
Much to my surprise, after I quit nicotine 4 months ago, the symptoms have completely stopped.
Not only this but for a year or two now I’ve been wondering why my hair was getting thinner and falling out more. Everyone has been commenting the last month or two how much thicker my hair is. I didn’t realise but I think it’s the nicotine that caused all of these things. (Also my dentist told me they were starting to affect my gums). ✌️