Zyn nicotine pouch manufacturer Philip Morris branded as 'woke' company after DEI policies are revealed

The parent company of the popular Zyn nicotine pouch brand is coming under fire for pushing 'woke' policies.

Zyns, small, pillow-like pouches full of nicotine salts have been all the rage in recent years among fraternity brothers, ex-chewing tobacco users and those looking to quit smoking. 

But to the likely dismay of the fraternity members - Zyn's parent company is now under fire for being 'woke.'

The product's manufacturer, American multinational tobacco company Philip Morris, is the subject of an alert by advocacy group Consumers' Research. Its latest 'Woke Alert' - the group's designation for companies that push diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies at the expense of buyers, is targeting the popular product.

'Instead of focusing on consumers, Zyn manufacturer Philip Morris has instead betrayed its own customer base prioritizing woke politics and putting policies like DEI at the heart of the organization,' Consumer's Research Executive Director Will Hild told DailyMail.com in a statement.

'This includes highlighting and pushing mandatory diversity quotas at the company and top leadership stating DEI is most important and should be at the heart of the organization.'

'These woke policies have made brands like Zyn less focused on quality products and more on political agendas. Consumers deserve companies who are focused on serving customers and not woke politicians,' he added.  

Central to the advocacy group's alert are comments made by the Philip Morris's Chief Diversity Officer Mimi Kurnuawan about the DEI movement. 

Her stated goal is 'establishing DEI at the heart of our organization.'

'We are currently in the middle of this process, rolling out initiatives to help establish DEI across our organization—rather than just in pockets—so that it can inform every aspect of our activities, from the marketplace, to the communities in which we operate, and outwards to society at large,' Kurnuawan has said.

But when reached for comment about the company's DEI policies, a Philip Morris International spokesperson completely ignored it, and said they would not engage in politics. 

'Philip Morris International is science-first—not politics,' they told DailyMail.com.

'We’re laser-focused on innovations that serve our customers regardless of their politics. The dedication, talent and passion of our employees is critical to our success.'

The company has also rolled out DEI Ambassadors to tout their preach about the benefits of the platform in online videos. 

'We have set ourselves very ambitious targets being more diverse in terms of gender [and] in terms of nationalities,' one video claims. 

The Zyn parent company also has partnered with LGBTQ group Stonewall, which has advocated for including more LGBTQ friendly material into schools. 

In addition Philip Morris has set DEI goals to ensure that at minimum 40 percent of management and 35 percent of senior roles are filled by females before 2025. 

Though after affirmative action was overturned in 2023, it is unclear how these requirements will be implemented. 

Pushing forward with DEI policies has recently fallen out of fashion for some large corporations similar to Philip Morris.

Just this week Toyota announced it would roll back some if its DEI initiatives after an activist exposed some of the LGBT programs the company supported. 

Earlier this year the product came under scrutiny after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer highlighted the dangers of the product for minors at a press conference. 

During that event Schumer called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to investigate Zyn.