Trouble in Paradise: Tucker Carlson Turns His Back on ZYN

It was a love affair for the ages. When Tucker met ZYN, everything seemed possible. He ran to the media, extolling the virtues of nicotine pouches, praising the harm-reduction product for making him feel productive, mentally clear, and unstoppable in the bedroom.

However, news that ZYN manufactures Philip Morris International funded Kamala Harris’ Presidential drive has changed everything. Carlson is no longer the unofficial face of ZYN, and this very public breakup only looks like getting messier, as evidenced by this interview below.

So, what’s happening?

Harris sponsorship

When Kamala Harris announced she would run for the 2024 General Election in June, she collected $81 million in donations within 24 hours. One of these donors was Philip Morris International (PMI) — although the sums involved were hardly eye-watering.

However, PMI’s mere association with Harris was enough for Tucker to forget why he fell in love with ZYN and start looking around for something new.

Now, in his words, Tucker says he’s “going through a period of transition with nicotine pouches.” While he stopped short of saying the word ZYN, Tucker stated, “I’m not going to use that brand anymore. I mean, I think it’s fine; it’s good for like your girlfriend or whatever, but I don’t think men should use that brand.”

Spite pouch

We’ve all felt let down by a business, but most of us can’t do anything about it. But, perhaps inspired by Larry David’s spite store, Tucker is turning his anger against ZYN into something more productive.

He’s announced a new nicotine pouch called Alp. In perhaps what will be known as the first spite pouch, he hopes it can eat into ZYN’s large market majority.

While scant details are available for now, from the name alone, it seems that Tucker wants to capture some of the rugged frontier energy of the Alps for his new pouches.

What does it all mean for ZYN?

While the media made a lot of Tuckers’ love for ZYN, it’s hard to know just how much he influenced consumers to try the harm-reduction product. However, if Tucker hopes to spur a ZYN boycott, it might not cause the PMI chief too many sleepless nights.

I’ve always found Tucker to be a faintly absurd character. From the affected bowties of his early Fox News days to his more recent deferential interview with Vladimir Putin, I’m not sure he is the man’s man he seems intent on constantly reminding us he is.

Just this month, Tucker called Darryl Cooper “the best and most honest popular historian” in America on his new podcast. Cooper is a Holocaust revisionist.

So, for PMI, the end of this unofficial union may be a relief. In some ways, they might look at the whole affair and be thankful that their product is not associated with this strange, shouty, divisive, conspiracy-obsessed man.

Of course, not everyone buys Tucker’s side of the story.

Whatever the truth is, I’m eager to see what Alp has to offer and even more eager for nicotine pouches to extract themselves from culture war nonsense.