Can You Use Zyns, or Other Nicotine Products, on an Airplane?

A new debate is sparking on social media and amongst travelers: as tobacco-free nicotine use surges, what exactly is the policy for using those products inflight?

The discussion began on the Delta Air Lines Subreddit (r/Delta) with a first-class passenger describing how a flight attendant asked him to spit out his Zyn, a tobacco-free, nicotine pouch. Airlines have very clear policies for smoking, vaping, and chewing tobacco—they are all strictly a no-go. However, the same can’t be said bout Zyns and other tobacco-free alternatives, which is leading to confusion among users.

“They said it was because it was a tobacco product. I didn’t put up a fight and complied right away. Was just wondering if this was an FAA thing I didn’t know about?” the user asked on r/Delta this week.

A Delta spokesperson pointed to Rule 10: Smoke Free Service on Delta’s Contract of Carriage as reasoning behind the flight attendant’s request.

“Delta prohibits smoking and the use of all smokeless tobacco products (including e-cigarettes and vapes) on all flights,” the rule reads.

The Reddit user, who said he complied with the request but was confused as to what Delta’s exact policy was, and others in the Subreddit, argued that the use of Zyn was akin to using nicotine gum or a patch, all of which are smoke-free, and tobacco-free.

However, Delta categorizes Zyn and other smokeless, tobacco-free products as the same as other smokeless tobacco products.

TMR has reached out to other airlines, including American, JetBlue, and United, to get clarity on their policies. Most other airlines have similarly unclear policies that ban tobacco use—though allow it to be carried onboard—but don’t explicitly ban Zyns and other tobacco-free nicotine products.

Airlines are likely to publish clearer policies soon with the increase in popularity of Zyns and other nicotine pouches. Zyn unit sales increasing 641% between 2019 and 2022, and reported sales of the Zyn brand alone projected to increase 51% between 2023 and 2024, the last time period that data is available.