UK: Health advocates call for ban on over-the-counter and internet sale of nicotine pouches to minors
Call for ban on the sale of Nicotine pouches to minors (file photo)
Health advocates are urging the tightening of a loophole that permits the over-the-counter and internet sale of nicotine products to minors in the UK.
Most UK supermarkets sell nicotine pouches, which are little packages of nicotine that fit under the lip.
However, while the sale of cigarettes and e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18 is prohibited, this is not the case for pouches,as reported by the BBC.
According to Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), the absence of rules is like the 'Wild West.'
The regulations governing cigarettes, vaping products, and other medical items do not apply to nicotine pouches.
Better legislative regulation, according to Hazel Cheeseman of the anti-smoking organisation - Ash, is required to prohibit free samples and sales to minors, limit the potency, and restrict marketing of the pouches.
"Companies are operating to what the law allows," she added. "There is extensive promotion and no way to know if they're being sold to people under 18.
"We need a regulatory framework that captures all nicotine products."
In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We continue to review the impact of nicotine pouches, including by commissioning an expert committee to investigate their risks."
The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) is due to publish a report later this autumn.
However, it came to the conclusion that quitting smoking altogether could result in a health risk reduction for a person who switches from cigarettes to nicotine pouches.
One of the biggest manufacturers of nicotine pouches in the UK, Nordic Spirit, which is controlled by the cigarette corporation Japan Tobacco International, has supported calls for stricter regulations of nicotine pouches (JTI).
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