San Diego firm files federal lawsuit against Zyn, makers of popular nicotine pouches

The Schmidt National Law Group has filed a lawsuit against Philip Morris in the Southern District of California.

Attorneys involved in the lawsuit claim Philip Morris, the maker of Zyn, is targeting children and young adults with their flavored nicotine pouches named Zyn.

“Now comes along Zyn the chewing gum, and the common denominator of all these nicotine delivery systems is as far as targeting towards kids, and I'm talking about kids, middle school, high school, younger and younger,” Managing Attorney at The Schmidt National Law Group Martin Schmidt said.

A person must be at least 21 years old to purchase the product legally but it is very accessible to people younger than 21, according to Schmidt.

The class action lawsuit seeks “damages” from Philip Morris and Schmidt said he would like stricter limits on access to the product.

“I think it definitely has become more popular in the last 6 months. I see a lot more of my friends using it and I’ve seen a lot more of my peers using it,” San Diego State University student Mia Spencer said.

Some people claim they use the product because it is a safer alternative to vaping.

“I started using Zyn recently to get off of vaping. I don’t necessarily love that I use them, but I am using that as an excuse to not be vaping anymore,” SDSU student Riley Godwin said.

The case could take years to work its way through the litigation process, according to Schmidt.

NBC 7 reached out to Philip Morris about the lawsuit, but they have not returned our request for comment.