Experiences with Zonnic/Zyn nicotine pouches

First let me say that I quit smoking about 5 years ago. I originally posted to this sub 4 years ago, celebrating 8 months without a cigarette. In that 5 years, I have tried on two occasions to smoke. I think I smoked about half a cigarette the one time, and the second time I puked after my first puff. These were both during times of peak stress in my life. Haven't touched one since, and I count myself very lucky to have made it this far. I want to thank you all for your tremendous support in what was a difficult time in my life, and I'm sure that I'll never smoke again even though I've been tempted to light up at other occasions.

About a year ago, Zonnic flavored nicotine pouches became available at convenience stores across my country. Now, I've had my experiences with vaping... I got rid of my vapes when I quit smoking entirely, but occasionally I will take a puff of one when I'm visiting with someone who uses them so you can't consider me entirely nicotine-free. However, when these pouches became readily available, I jumped on the bandwagon because I was curious to try them. Big mistake. They market them as an NRT, but I'd say they are more of a method to target new users who don't wish to have bad breath and stinky clothes.

Since then, they've removed them from stores and now sell them exclusively in pharmacies which I think was probably a good idea. I go to concerts and I see them littered in the garbage cans and urinals, and there have been times where the entire stock of a store or pharmacy is depleted so I assume they are reasonably popular. For me what was originally just a mild curiosity in the product has become an addiction... I put a fresh one in my mouth hourly, from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep. I seem to have withdrawals during the night, causing me to have weird and vivid dreams where I usually wake up in a cold sweat. I want to stop, but I find myself picking them up every time I run low. I've noticed that my gum lines appear to be receding in the areas in my mouth where I put them, and I'm genuinely afraid of the withdrawal process that I'm going to go through when I take the plunge and give them up entirely.

Any advice, or experiences to share regarding these Hell pouches? This community encouraged me once before, I'm hoping to find the strength to quit again.