New wording to describe potential health risks that come from using Zyn nicotine pouches could help reignite sales of the popular smoke-free alternative to cigarettes.

On Tuesday, the Food & Drug Administration said Zyn pouches can be marketed with a modified risk claim that says "using ZYN instead of cigarettes puts you at a lower risk of mouth cancer, heart disease, lung cancer, stroke, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis."

Shares of Philip Morris, which makes the smokeless product, closed down 1.1% Tuesday. The muted reaction likely reflects the fact that the move was widely expected after the FDA greenlit the sale of new Zyn products in May, Jefferies' tobacco analyst Andrei Andon-Ionita told Barron's.

"Today feels more like confirmation than a surprise," added Baptista Research founder Ishan Majumdar. "It's a real commercial win but not a new revenue stream out of nowhere."

The announcement could help Philip Morris win back market share that it has lost to competitors "with broader flavor and strength lineups," Baptista added. Those include rival Rogue's mango-flavored pouches and Velo's wild berry and dragon fruit flavors. Velo is made by British American Tobacco, while Rogue is from privately held Swisher International. Another nicotine patch line from Altria, called on!, stands out for its smaller size option.

Philip Morris has said that retail sales of Zyn, as estimated by Nielsen, rose 10%, in the first quarter, compared with the same period in 2025. However, Zyn shipments fell 23.5% to 155 million cans during the same period. The company attributed that drop to supply-chain issues and promotional activities last year.

Another reason shareholders may be unimpressed is that the U.S. is a relatively small part of Philip Morris' overall revenue, Morningstar consumer analyst Kristoffer Inton noted. For 2025, sales in the Americas accounted for just 12% of revenue, while Europe had the largest share of 42%.

While Philip Morris' smoke-free business accounted for $17 billion of its $40 billion total revenue in 2025, that comes largely from its IQOS heated tobacco line. Philip Morris shipped 155.1 billion units of its heated tobacco products last year versus 20.7 billion of smoke-free products including Zyn.

Shares of Philip Morris are up nearly 13% this year versus the S&P 500's 10% rise.

Write to Anita Hamilton at anita.hamilton@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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June 30, 2026 17:15 ET (21:15 GMT)

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