The Attorney General of the District of Columbia is probably a reasonable guy. Sure, his political ideas remind me of women I dated in my early 20s. But I made that work, so I can at least sympathise with Brian Schwalb.
However, as part of the recent ZYN case — where the Philip Morris International brand was fined $1.2 million after allegedly violating the flavoured tobacco and nicotine products ban — he took a giant swing and a miss at nicotine pouches.
In a lengthy Twitter thread, he threw open the door, casually hurling around claims that are the product of shallow thinking on the subject. Remember, ZYN is getting in trouble because adult citizens in DC bought nicotine pouches through retail channels, which is something they should be allowed to do precisely because they are adults.
Now, Schwalb might be sincere, but his arguments are so similar to the sophistry of tobacco control that I’m not sure it’s a coincidence. Or maybe, and now I’m being sincere, is there a type of person who is susceptible to these gossamer-thin arguments?
We see it with politicians, both left and right, and other people in the public sphere with different outlooks. My hunch is that he’s busy, and some advisor told him pouches are bad, so Schwalb looks lightweight because charlatans have hoodwinked his team. It seems you need to choose both friends and advisors wisely.
Whatever is going wrong, Brian Schwalb should consider the following three things, having already heard the familiar case against pouches.
#1. Nicotine pouches are dangerous
A lot of people have used pouches. Some of them have used too many pouches, and the worst that happened was they got a bit sick for a day. They’re not lethal, even if nicotine is a substance that you have to respect a bit, like caffeine or alcohol.
Is Schwalb comfortable with the “dangers” of alcohol because he understands it has benefits? If so, that’s how many of us feel about nicotine because it’s even safer than alcohol.
#2. Nicotine pouches are addictive
People throw around the word addicted these days. Just like having a food sensitivity has suddenly been “upgraded” to having an allergy, dependence has come to mean addiction. But using nicotine pouches is the healthiest way to consume nicotine, and long-term data from Swedish snus shows that an even cleaner version of that product is not going to wreak havoc in society in any way.
People with addictions isolate their friends and family, are overrepresented in crime statistics, struggle with homelessness, and often have serious health problems. Pouches don’t cause these issues, and they’re not going to rip through DC neighbourhoods.
Even though pouches are illegal to buy in DC, organised crime gangs don’t have turf wars for the right to sell pouches. The reason why? They’re pouches, not crack cocaine.
#3. CDC data
Next, Schalwb states, “CDC data indicates that about 890,000 middle and high school students in the US have used nicotine pouches”. A more interesting number to look at is how many students use pouches regularly or, to cast the net even wider, within the last 30 days. That number is around 110,000 or 1.2% across the entire US.
I mean, is that a big deal? Is it worthy of a tough-on-crime type press conference? While 2024 has been an improvement, DC has a far higher homicide, property, violent, robbery, and motor car theft crime than the US average. In other words, DC has real problems, and the attorney general shouldn’t have time to mess around on pouches.
Final thoughts
Entering into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) is not an admission of guilt; Swedish Match North America denies the claims they facilitated sales of nicotine pouches in DC.
They’ve effectively settled for $1.2 million to avoid litigation. However, Schwalb is swaggering around like he’s busted an organised crime gang.
Pouches are one of the least problematic ways to use nicotine. There is a clear demand for them among DC citizens, and they’re a net benefit to society if they help people quit or avoid cigarettes. They are not dangerous, addictive, or popular among youth. Pretending they are makes Schwalb look unserious.
