A Delta passenger says he was told to spit out his tobacco-free nicotine Zyn pouch on a recent flight, leaving him and other fliers baffled about the airline’s policies.
“Got told to spit my Zyn out on a flight. I really didn’t know that was a thing?” the person wrote on the Reddit thread r/delta.
“Delta flight, first class (not that that matters). They brought a cup out and asked me to spit my Zyn out,” the flier said. “They said it was because it was a tobacco product. I didn’t put up a fight and complied right away.
Nicotine pouches are allowed in both carry-on bags and checked bags, according to the TSA. Getty Images“Was just wondering if this was an FAA thing I didn’t know about?”
Zyn — a tobacco-free nicotine pouch that isn’t spat out like smoke-free tobacco products such as dips – is permitted by the TSA to be in carry-on and checked bags, but most airlines are vague about whether it is allowed to be used on their flights.
Nearly all airlines bar the use of e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco, but many policies are murky about whether Zyn and similar products such as nicotine gum are allowed.
Delta’s website makes no specific mention tobacco-free nicotine pouches in its flight policies, nor do the sites for American Airlines, United, Southwest Airlines or JetBlue.
Other travelers on Reddit were equally vexed by the situation. Many said they’ve used nicotine pouches without problem, so long as they’re discrete.
American, United, Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines do not specifically say on their websites whether passengers can or can’t use nicotine pouches. daryakomarova – stock.adobe.com“I see many people using them on flights, myself included, and as long as you’re not doing it right in front of an [flight attendant], you’re fine,” one person commented.
“It is silly because no one would stop you from using nicotine gum or a patch,” they added.
Redditors took to the comments section to share thoughts about the incident — and their own similar experiences. bignai – stock.adobe.comAnother person wrote, “How would the [flight attendant] even know what it is? Just looks like gum/mints.”
One fliler said they recently saw an in-flight magazine with a Zyn advertisement targeted specifically at airline customers.
“I was on a United flight a few days ago and the shopping/menu magazine in the seatback actually had a Zyn ad in it. It said something like, ‘Flight ready,’ ” the person wrote.
A Delta rep, asked for comment, only reiterated that smokeless tobacco is prohibited and was unclear about pouches and other tobacco-free products such as gum and patches.
