Instagram/@tuckercarlson
Every so often, Tucker Carlson, an American Talk Show Host, went from standing in front of an audience at 9 pm to dividing the online community with a viral video where he tasted various nicotine pouches, including his own Alp. That video has recently been reposted onto his Instagram account. Carlson makes some of the strongest smells and flavors funny by either cringing, joking about “nicotine sommelier” since the 40-plus years he has endured others would find absurd; others raised eyebrows about the ethics of promoting nicotine use and even questioned where the Alp pouches were manufactured.
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“Absolutely awful” in Carlson’s voice described the smells jestingly, which he said was like the worst now smell he has possibly encountered. Still, he gave a thumbs-up to the brand claiming it is made with input from expert longtime nicotine users. Nonetheless, the remarks ironically sold the product, and many disapproved of the supposed health claims of nicotine pouches and even questioned his making of Alp in India. In fact, it has been discussed that his approach to the product remains contentious.
One comment flatly opined, “Stop making them in India, Tuck”; this elicited an intense debate with others concurring. Some felt that anything made in India was sub-standard in quality control, whilst others came to defend India’s manufacturing standards. The debate descended to a bizarre low point in passing when one commenter made an inappropriate joke, but the anguish of having Carlson, all loud about America-first, backing an Indian-made pouch remained.
Another one of the issues raised was the seeming contradiction in Carlson’s sudden flip from endorsing Zyn nicotine pouches to his own brand. A fan even put forth, “Lmao Tucker, you loved Zyns this time last year,” which led to speculation as to whether politics or big business suddenly motivated the change. The response went into a fairly wild theory that Zyns probably distanced themselves from Carlson because of his polarizing views, though not a single soul has actually stepped forward to support that claim.
“You’re promoting an addictive substance. I love you Tucker, but that is irresponsible.” Yet others argued that in reality, nicotine pouches are just a harm-reduction alternative to smoking, but the appropriateness of a celebrity endorsing a highly addictive substance sparked a debate for divided opinions.
Meanwhile, some loyalists gave their full-first support to Alp. “Been buying Alp for awhile now. Definitely my favorite,” stated one supporter. Though even her fellow supporters were questioned by detractors who found the product somewhat lacking. “I love Tucker. Bought some Alp to support him but they just don’t hit for me,” she said, signaling that reception could very well depend on one’s level of taste.
The subsequent discussion in the comments went onto comparing it with other brands, wherein suggestions for Zimo or NicNac arose. There was a great deal of anger over the Velo pouches, with users attacking everything: texture, price, and flavor hits. “Velo plus are 100x better than Alp imo,” one user claimed, only to be met with, “yeah but the smell is so bad.”
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Carlson’s entrance into the nicotine industry has been a powder keg of controversy over addiction promotion and international manufacturing with some comedy sprinkled in. Whether the topic will garner his brand more attention or repel his base is yet to be seen, but one thing is for sure; this one is not going to slip past the majority.