Federal health officials on Thursday backed the public health benefits of nicotine pouches, authorizing Philip Morris International’s Zyn to help adult smokers cut back or quit cigarettes.

The FDA said "an extensive scientific review" found the products were found to pose lower risks of cancer and other serious health conditions compared to cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday okayed the marketing of 20 Zyn nicotine pouch products after undertaking an extensive scientific review of them.

FDA authorizes Zyn nicotine pouches, citing public health benefits for adult smokers, despite concerns over flavored products' appeal to teens.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Thursday that it authorized the marketing of Zyn nicotine pouches but will be "closely monitoring youth use.""The FDA's decision recognizes the role that Zyn can play in the protection of the public health by helping people switch from cigarettes and other traditional tobacco products,

The FDA authorized the marketing of 20 Zyn products on Thursday, marking the first allowance for the fast-growing nicotine pouches.

Zyn and the retailers who sell the product have run afoul of regulators in recent years. The FDA in April of last year warned 119 retailers to stop selling Zyn to underage people, and the company was ordered to pay $1.2 million last year for violating Washington, D.C.’s smokeless tobacco ban.

Little pouches of nicotine sold by the brand ZYN were given the green light for marketing this week through the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) pathway.