British Columbia is introducing new regulations to prevent the sale of “nicotine pouches” to children and youth across the province.
The rules taking effect Wednesday will restrict all buccal nicotine pouch products to behind the counter at pharmacies. No prescription is required, but purchasers will need to speak to a pharmacist to get it.
One example of such a product — highlighted in a press conference — is Zonnic, whose colourful packages offer the pouches in various flavours including berry frost, chill mint and tropic breeze.
On its website, the company bills the product as a “new nicotine replacement therapy” meant to help people quit smoking. It states that its pouches aren’t intended for use by those under 18.
According to Health Minister Adrian Dix, nicotine is a highly addictive substance and youth are more susceptible to developing a dependency on it than adults.
“These products will no longer be available for sale in convenience stores in B.C.,” Dix said in an announcement with the Canadian Cancer Society.
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“Whether we’re talking about it in cigarettes or vapes or other products, we don’t want our kids to get hooked on nicotine and have a dependency on nicotine their entire lives,” added Premier David Eby.
The Ministry of Health’s website states that nicotine dependence can result in withdrawal and symptoms including headaches, shakes, dizziness and feelings of anxiety or depression.
The substance also affects memory and concentration, can alter brain development and cause cognitive and behavioural issues in youth.
Buccal nicotine pouches are new to the Canadian market, and according to Eby, aren’t currently covered by Health Canada regulations.
They can be sold in convenience stores to youth across Canada. However, Eby has been assured by federal Health Minister Mark Holland that Ottawa is working to close the “loophole.”
According to the B.C. Ministry of Health, the pouches can contain up to four milligrams of nicotine, the rough equivalent of the nicotine absorbed from three to four cigarettes.
Eby called the marketing of products like Zonnic “irresponsible.” Experts are concerned that Zonnic, and other products, have been “designed to appeal to children, to hook them early and set them on a lifetime of nicotine dependence,” he added.
British Columbia has already restricted the sale of flavoured vape juice to adult-only stores and limited the potency of vape juice sold in the province. Vaping products must be plainly packaged with labels that have health warnings, and retailers are prohibited from selling non-nicotine or nicotine-cannabis blended vapour products.
Minors can’t purchase tobacco or vape products in the province.
The Canadian Tobacco and Nicotine Survey 2022 found that 13 per cent of youth in Canada had vaped in the past 30 days. In B.C., that number jumps to 16.1 per cent for youth between 15 and 19.
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