Young people have been hooked on caffeine pouches as of late as part of the latest cultural trend. These pouches have gone viral on social media and are considered to be a tobacco-free energy boost as well as an alternative to caffeine. As of 2025, several brands have grown in popularity, including ZYN Energy (not to be confused with nicotine ZYN), VELO Max Energy, Rogue Energy Pouches, GRIN Caffeine Pouches, and VeloRush. Thanks to its availability and marketing, caffeine pouches have become a viral sensation.
Like any new product that’s become hot on the market, people want to immediately flock to it. It also doesn’t help when everyone else is buying into them because you end up following what all the fuss is about. As Christians, we must be careful to practice discernment in all things, even if the world says it's good. Even experts are already aware of the health risks that come with this addictive product. Speaking with BBC News, Dr Rob van Dam from George Washington University, warned of the dangerous impact on young people consuming these pouches,
"While it's harder to overdose on coffee, with these products it's easier, especially if young people are using energy drinks too."
Due to its immediate energy boosts, it is reasonable that people would gravitate toward these products at the expense of their own health. For instance, it is said that the body can tolerate up to 400 mg of caffeine, about four cups a day, as it is healthy for the majority of healthy adults. But since young people who are sensitive are more prone to overdose at lower amounts. Some side effects that come with the overconsumption of caffeine include a rapid heart rate, abnormal heart rhythms, anxiety or panic attacks, and seizures in extreme cases.
It is also said that one caffeine pouch is the equivalent of two cups of coffee, so it is understandable how the risk of overdose is higher if you consume more than one. And because caffeine is addictive, you’re always going to be chasing the next time, not realizing that it will only do you more harm than good.
In consideration of these products, Christians must ask the question: What does our culture’s craving for energy and escape say about where we’re really placing our trust?
As believers, we understand that humanity is in search of something to fill the void in their hearts. Although we know that it’s only in God, we know that the world has rejected Him and sought to fill in the blank with something else. And this is something we know very well when we lived apart from Him, but at the same time, we know that our flesh rises up against us every now and then with temptation. In the words of John Calvin, “the human heart is a perpetual idol factory.”
If it’s not God, then we will replace Him with something else, including a caffeine pouch. In the first of the 10 commandments, God says Exodus 20:3, “You shall have no other gods before me,” He follows that up with a subsequent commandment stating, “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments,” (Exodus 20:4–6).
However, these commandments have been violated countless times because we have made idols and chosen to seek after God. For the world, they have to chase something that will bring some sort of satisfaction or relief. In the context of any addiction, people get hooked on something or someone in order to feel good. This especially applies when dealing with tough situations, where they feel like they have to cope with their vice because they cannot handle pain. It is an escape for them, but only for a time, because they will soon find that it leaves them empty and wanting more. There is an internal emptiness that takes place because it is a mere moment of instant gratification.
I also believe that people place their trust in these things above God because it is convenient for them. You see, we live in a culture of convenience where you desire to have things your way, even more so when it provides that immediate high, that dopamine rush that we get, and we desire more. Overall, it is convenient for us because it is subjective. We do it because it feels good and it seems right in our own eyes.
Another reason is succumbing to pressure, whether it’s through society, our friends, our family, and so forth. Overall, we pressure ourselves due to the fear of missing out (FOMO for short). But as Christians know, the apostle Paul commands us to “not conform to the patterns of this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds” (Romans 12:2). Like I said earlier, we need to practice discernment in all things rather than succumb to whatever the next trend or viral sensation is. Right now, it's the caffeine pouches, but it could end up being something else in the future, which would be even more stimulating but much more potent and dangerous to one’s health.
There is no absolute trust found in this world, as everything will fade and fail, but God will remain. Returning to God is essential for us because He is our true rest. We know we have that rest because of Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins once and for all. Therefore, we don’t have to find relief in anything else because it can never be found in anything else. The book of Jeremiah says, “They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters to hew for themselves cisterns who can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13). Although we have a great resource in God, we have attempted to create our own apart from Him. We must be reminded that we can never do it in our own strength because we can’t. We also cannot find any other sort of relief or coping mechanism because it will not give us rest.
As we close, let us consider the words famously said by St. Augustine of Hippo, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” This is what the world needs for its rest. The Lord is our ultimate relief, for He has forgiven us of our sins through Christ and has reconciled us to Him as His sons and daughters. We no longer have to try to find ways to escape our pain when we can surrender it to Him. We no longer have to chase after the world, for we now press forward in serving Christ. We don’t have any problem remaining unsatisfied because Christ gives us an absolute continent. Let us pray that our trust would solely be in Him so that we are not seeking anything else.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Jorge Franganillo
