Nicotine Is in Unchartered Territory It’s long been obvious why cigarettes are bad. The risks of alternatives like Zyn and Juul are much hazier. For the better part of the past century, the case against nicotine was simple: Smoking a cigarette might feel nice, but it will eventually kill you. Nearly one in five deaths in the United States is caused by complications from cigarette smoke. Chewing tobacco is less dangerous, but still deadly: It has long been associated with head and neck cancers. But in 2025, nicotine isn’t so straightforward. Smoking is so deadly not because of nicotine, per se, but because of tobacco: Lighting a cigarette burns tobacco, releasing nicotine into the body. Chewi... [Read more]