The Dictatorship
The FDA’s authorization of Zyn shouldn’t be this controversial
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently authorized the marketing of 20 nicotine pouch products under the Zyn brandincluding flavors like Wintergreen and the “unflavored” Chill. That authorization sparked a new round of proposed legislationtrend pieces and frustration. Meanwhile, the stock price for Philip Morris International Inc., which manufactures the smokeless product, has caught fire.
Zyn has proven to be especially controversial given a series of buzzy stories about its use by young people and its seeming popularity on social media sites like TikTok.
Tobacco-control professionals fought long and hard for comprehensive legislation that would give FDA regulatory oversight over tobacco products and nicotine products that do not make therapeutic claims. But Zyn has proven to be especially controversial given a series of buzzy stories about its use by young people and its seeming popularity on social media sites like TikTok. So-called “Zynfluencers” have led to fears that a new and youthful crowd could be looking to exploit the pouches for everything from long work days to clubbing. Most recently, Carrie Battan over at The New Yorker wrote about how Zyn pouches were becoming a “staple for American dudes” in a dispatch announcing “the new nicotine gold rush.”
The good news is some of these fears may be overblown, especially fears about abuse by young people.
The reality is that after being available on the U.S. market for 10 years, only 2.4% of U.S. high school students had used a nicotine pouch in the previous 30 days in 2024 (as compared to 7.8 % for electronic cigarettes).
Zyn, like other new “nicotine pouch” products, contains no tobacco. It consists of a pouch, a bit like a mini teabag, containing powdered nicotine, along with a few other ingredients such as noncaloric sweeteners and flavors. Each tin contains 15 pouches which are typically placed under the upper lip for up to an hour to allow the nicotine to be absorbed through the lining of the mouth. The amount of nicotine delivered by the 3 mg and 6 mg strength pouches is slightly higher than that delivered by 2 mg and 4 mg nicotine gum, but the peak is lower and slower than the nicotine delivered by a cigarette.
In deciding whether to authorize these products, the FDA has to scrutinize a very detailed application and assess whether it is “appropriate for the protection of public health” to allow the products to be sold on the U.S. market. This involves weighing the likely risks and benefits to the population, including youth, those not currently using any tobacco products and existing users.
The 68-page summary of the FDA’s January Zyn decision noted that the levels of 42 potentially harmful chemicals were so low in Zyn as to be undetectable. FDA officials concluded that the health risks from Zyn pouches are likely lower than potential risks from using snus (low toxicant smokeless tobacco) and the FDA has already concluded that some snus brands are significantly less harmful than cigarettes.
In their summary decision statement, FDA also referred to data produced by the applicants from studies on the effects of Zyn on existing tobacco users. Officials mentioned that in one study, more than 60% of existing tobacco users reported using Zyn to help reduce or quit smoking. Another study found that nearly a quarter of existing tobacco users completely switched to Zyn. While the manufacturers of Zyn are not claiming that Zyn is a medicinal smoking cessation aid, the fact that relatively few young people are taking up Zyn use, whereas a meaningful proportion of smokers are likely to switch to the product, suggests that the benefits are likely to outweigh the risks. This, combined with the very low toxicant delivery profile of Zyn (particularly compared to cigarettes), convinced the FDA that it is appropriate for public health for Zyn products to be marketed in the U.S.
This is the FDA doing its job exactly as required by the 2009 Tobacco Control Act.
This is the FDA doing its job exactly as required by the 2009 Tobacco Control Act. The real controversy about this decision should be in relation to the length of time it took. Over 2,000 brands of cigarettes are currently available on the U.S. market. Each one emits thousands of toxic chemicals, including carcinogens that are inhaled directly into the lungs, with consequences we are all too familiar with. It is a good thing that smokers now have legal access to a product that can deliver the same drug many are already addicted to (nicotine) but with far lower health risks than cigarettes.
The day before announcing Zyn’s marketing authorization, FDA Center for Tobacco Products announced another proposed rule that could have a massive impact on public health: a product standard that would limit the amount of nicotine permissible in cigarettes to nonaddictive levels. The timing may not have been coincidental.
This “low-nicotine cigarette” standard must pass through many steps before it can be implemented. One factor that may be key to its success is a wide selection of legal, less harmful (nonsmoked) nicotine products for nicotine-addicted smokers looking to switch. Zyn could be just such a product. So yes, it may seem like authorizing another nicotine product — especially one with its own youthful cultural cachet — is a risky decision. But when evaluating all the factors, it actually makes sense.
Jonathan Foulds, Ph.D, is a professor of public health sciences at the Penn State College of Medicine, focusing on nicotine addiction and smoking cessation. Foulds has written and published extensively on tobacco and nicotine, and was a founding member and vice president of the Association for the Treatment of Tobacco Use and Dependence (ATTUD).
The Dictatorship
Federal court rules against new global tariffs Trump imposed
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal court ruled Thursday against the new global tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court.
A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York found the 10% global tariffs were illegal after small businesses sued.
The court ruled 2-1 that Trump overstepped the tariff power that Congress had allowed the president under the law. The tariffs are “invalid″ and “unauthorized by law,” the majority wrote.
The third judge on the panel found the law allows the president more leeway on tariffs.
If the administration appeals Thursday’s decision, as expected, it would first turn to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, based in Washington, and then, potentially, the Supreme Court.
At issue are temporary 10% worldwide tariffs the Trump administration imposed after the Supreme Court in February struck down even broader double-digit tariffs the president had imposed last year on almost every country on Earth. The new tariffs, invoked under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, were set to expire July 24.
The court’s decision directly blocked the collection of tariffs from three plaintiffs — the state of Washington and two businesses, spice company Burlap & Barrel and toy company Basic Fun! “It’s not clear’’ whether other businesses would have to continue to pay the tariffs, said Jeffrey Schwab, director of litigation at the libertarian Liberty Justice Center, which represented the two companies.
“We fought back today and we won, and we’re extremely excited,” Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun!, told reporters Thursday.
The ruling marked another legal setback for the Trump administration, which has attempted to shield the U.S. economy behind a wall of import taxes. Last year, Trump invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to declare the nation’s longstanding trade deficit a national emergency, justifying sweeping global tariffs.
The Supreme Court ruled Feb. 28 that IEEPA did not authorize the tariffs. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to establish taxes, including tariffs, though lawmakers can delegate tariff power to the president.
Dave Townsend, a trade lawyer at Dorsey & Whitney, said the ruling will open the door for more companies to request that the tariffs be thrown out and that any payments they’ve made be refunded.
“Other importers likely will now ask for a broader remedy that applies to more companies,” Townsend said, though he cautioned the case could also reach the Supreme Court.
Trump is already taking steps to replace the tariffs that were struck down by the Supreme Court in January. The administration is conducting two investigations that could end in more tariffs.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is looking into whether 16 U.S. trading partners — including China, the European Union and Japan — are overproducing goods, driving down prices and putting U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage. It is also investigating whether 60 economies — from Nigeria to Norway and accounting for 99% of U.S. imports — do enough to prohibit the trade in products created by forced labor.
The Dictatorship
Trump says EU has until July 4 to approve trade deal
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said in a Thursday social media post that goods from the European Union would face higher tariff rates if the 27-member bloc fails to approve last year’s trade framework by July 4.
The announcement appeared to be a deadline extension after the president said last Friday that EU autos would face a higher 25% tariff starting this week. Trump made the updated announcement after what he described as a “great call” with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Still, the U.S. president was displeased that the European Parliament had yet to finalize the trade arrangement reached last year, which was further complicated in February by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Trump lacked the legal authority to declare an economic emergency to impose the initial tariffs used to pressure the EU into talks.
“A promise was made that the EU would deliver their side of the Deal and, as per Agreement, cut their Tariffs to ZERO!” Trump posted. “I agreed to give her until our Country’s 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels.”
It was unclear from the post whether Trump was implying that the tariff rates would jump on all EU goods or the increase would only apply to autos.
His latest statement indicates he might be backing away from his earlier threat on EU autos by giving the European Parliament several more weeks to approve the agreement.
Under the original terms of the framework, the U.S. would charge a 15% tax on most goods imported from the EU.
But since the Supreme Court ruling, the administration has levied a 10% tariff while investigating trade imbalances and national security issues, aiming to put in new tariffs to make up for lost revenues.
The Dictatorship
In the wake of the Virginia ruling, where does the national redistricting arms race stand?
In Virginia, a majority of the House of Delegates voted to approve a new congressional district map that was designed to help Democrats add as many as four seats in the U.S. House. A majority of the state Senate agreed, as did the commonwealth’s popularly elected governor. The issue then went to the people of Virginia, and a majority of voters backed the redistricting initiative, too.
A majority of the Virginia Supreme Court, however, rejected the plan anyway. MS NOW reported:
The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved congressional redistricting plan, ruling that Democrats violated constitutional procedures when placing the referendum on the ballot for last month’s special election. […]
In its 4-3 decision, the court on Friday found that the process used to place the amendment on the ballot did not comply with Virginia’s constitutional rules governing how such proposals must be approved by the legislature before being presented to voters. As a result, the justices upheld a lower court ruling that blocks the amendment from being certified and implemented.
For Democratic efforts on the national level, the ruling is an unexpected gut punch, especially given the fact that after Virginia voters approved the overhauled map last month, it appeared that Democrats would be able to keep pace with the GOP as part of the broader redistricting fight.
What’s more, the state Supreme Court ruling comes on the heels of a similarly brutal blow after Republican-appointed U.S. Supreme Court justices gutted the Voting Rights Act, which opened the door even further to an intensified Republican effort to erase majority-Black congressional districts in the South.
Given all of this, it’s easy to imagine many Americans responding to the head-spinning developments with a simple question: “So where do things stand now?”
Before we dig in on that, it’s worth pausing to acknowledge the absurdity of the circumstances. For generations, states redrew congressional district lines after the decennial census. There were limited exceptions, but in nearly all of those instances, mid-decade redistricting only happened when courts told states that their maps were unlawful and needed to be redone.
The idea that politicians would simply choose to start redrawing maps, in the middle of a decade, in pursuit of partisan advantages, was practically unheard of.
Last year, however, Donald Trump, fearing the results of the 2026 midterm elections and the possible accountability that would result from Democratic victories, decided that the American model needed to be discarded. It was time, the president said, to pursue what one White House official described as a campaign of “maximum warfare” in which Republican officials in key states would embrace gerrymandering without regard for fairness, norms, traditions or propriety.
The goal was simple: Deliver Republican victories in congressional races long before Americans had a chance to cast their ballots.
The result was an arms race that’s still going on — and here’s where things stand.

Texas: Republicans in the Lone Star State got the ball rolling last summer, acting at Trump’s behest and approving a map designed to give Republicans five additional U.S. House seats. It touched off the national arms race.
California: Responding to Texas, Democratic officials in the Golden State, as well as the state’s voters, approved a map of their own designed to give Democrats five additional U.S. House seats.
Missouri: In September, state Republicans approved a map designed to give the GOP one additional seat.
North Carolina: In October, state Republicans approved a map designed to give Republicans one additional seat.
Ohio: While the redistricting effort in the Buckeye State wasn’t as brazen as it was elsewhere, Ohio’s new map diluted two Democratic-held districts, creating GOP pickup opportunities.
Utah: A state court approved a new map that will likely give Democrats one additional seat.
Florida: Just this week, Republicans completed the process on a new map designed to give Republicans as many as four additional seats.
Tennessee: Also this week, Republicans approved a new map designed to give Republicans one additional seat, taking advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling.
Louisiana: While the newly redrawn map in the Pelican State hasn’t been formally unveiled, it will reportedly add one additional Republican seat.
Alabama: Republicans are currently moving forward with plans for a map that would give Republicans two more seats.
It’s important to emphasize that some of these maps are currently facing legal challenges, while others are still taking shape. Most of these maps would take effect during this year’s election cycle, but there’s still some uncertainty surrounding the implementation date in some states.
Nevertheless, the Virginia map that enjoyed popular public support was prepared to help mitigate an unprecedented Republican abuse. The state Supreme Court in the commonwealth appears to have removed that option.
After Virginia voters had their say, many GOP officials questioned whether the entire gerrymandering gambit had been a waste of time and effort. In the aftermath of two highly controversial court rulings, Republicans are suddenly feeling a lot better about the whole scheme.
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