ZYN Blackcurrant Frost Nicotine Pouches

ZYN Blackcurrant Frost is a dark berry and menthol pouch sold in one strength, 13.5mg, built in the Slim format. Each 0.7g pouch comes 21 to a can and holds no tobacco leaf, and the brand is produced in Sweden by Swedish Match North Europe AB, which belongs to Philip Morris International. Anyone who bought it before the UK relaunch will know it as Icy Blackcurrant 12.5mg, the name and number this product used to carry.

What Blackcurrant Frost tastes like

ZYN describes a cooling taste of menthol topped by dark berries and fruit, and the order of that sentence tells you how the pouch is built. Menthol is the base and the dark berry character sits over the top of it, so the cooling and the fruit reach you together rather than one after the other. Read it as a frost flavour first and a berry flavour second. The nearest thing to it on our shelves is Compare with ZYN Blueberry Frost pouches, which takes the same frost idea in a different berry direction, and the full brand line up is in our ZYN collection.

Specifications

Mini or Slim, and which one this is

This is a Slim, the format ZYN also badges as Regular, and at 13.5mg it sits well up the range. A Slim pouch weighs 0.7g, feels slightly moist rather than dry, and is cut long and narrow so it follows the gum line; 21 go in a can and the lid shows between three and six dots. That moisture is functional, not cosmetic, because it is why a Slim starts releasing quickly instead of building gradually. The alternative in the brand's line up is the Mini: a 0.4g pouch, dry to the touch, 20 per can, smaller in the mouth and slower and steadier in the way it works. Mini tops out at 6mg and Slim opens at 9mg, so a 13.5mg pouch was only ever going to be a Slim. Other options across both formats are in the nicotine pouches category.

What the strength numbers mean

The 13.5mg on this can is the nicotine held in one pouch. It is not a concentration and it is not a total for the tin. Turning it into a concentration needs the pouch weight, which is 0.7g, and 13.5 divided by 0.7 gives roughly 19.3mg of nicotine per gram of pouch. It matters because a can from another brand carrying a similar looking figure may behave nothing like this one: several brands label the per gram concentration rather than the per pouch dose, and those two measurements are not comparable.

How to use ZYN pouches

1. Pull a pouch from the top of the can and settle it under your top lip.
2. Leave it in position. It is not chewed and it is certainly not swallowed.
3. The first minute or so brings a tingle. That is expected and it fades away.
4. Around 30 minutes in, lift the pouch out and stash it in the lid compartment, which is designed to hold spent pouches until a bin turns up.

ZYN Blackcurrant Frost Nicotine Pouches FAQs

Is Blackcurrant Frost a snus product?

No, although the word follows these pouches around. Snus contains tobacco leaf and oral tobacco cannot be sold in this country. There is no tobacco leaf in here, which is precisely why it is legal.

How many pouches come in a can?

21 in every can, all of them Slim.

How long do you keep a pouch in for?

ZYN's guidance is around 30 minutes.

Mini or Slim, what is the difference and why is this a Slim?

Mini is the small dry 0.4g pouch that stops at 6mg, while Slim is the moister 0.7g pouch from 9mg upwards, and 13.5mg puts this firmly in the second group.

Was this sold under another name?

Yes, it was Icy Blackcurrant 12.5mg before the UK range was relaunched.

Safety and age restriction

Nicotine is an addictive substance. These pouches are for adults aged 18 or over who already use nicotine, and they are not intended for non smokers, for anyone who has stopped using nicotine, or for anyone under 18. Do not use them if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Nicotine pouches are not risk free. Keep cans away from children and pets, and stop use if you feel unwell.