British Columbia Shifts Flavored Nicotine Pouch Sales to Pharmacy Counters.

British Columbia has mandated that flavored nicotine pouches be relocated behind pharmacy counters instead of being openly sold, aiming to deter youth addiction.

Health Minister Adrian Dix signed the directive, requiring purchasers to consult with a pharmacist before obtaining the pouches.

Dix stated, “By limiting access to these products and ensuring they are dispensed by trained health-care professionals, our goal is to prevent their misuse, especially among young people for recreational purposes,”

Premier David Eby emphasized the province’s commitment to shielding children from the “hazardous” and “addictive” nature of the product while urging Health Canada to address regulations allowing the sale of pouches in convenience stores and gas stations.

Eby highlighted nicotine’s potential to alter young people’s brains, underscoring the government’s efforts to shield them from products designed to attract children, according to experts.

The pouches, manufactured by Imperial Tobacco under the brand Zonnic, were endorsed by Ottawa as aids for smoking cessation.

Zonnic, devoid of tobacco, contains less than four milligrams of nicotine per pouch and is not intended for inhalation, thus exempting it from current federal or provincial tobacco or vaping regulations.

In British Columbia, individuals must be 19 years old or above to buy vape or tobacco items.

In November, Federal Health Minister Mark Holland expressed concern that regulators had been misled and pledged to close the loophole that permitted Zonnic to be sold openly.

The Canadian Cancer Society praised the decision, emphasizing that although youth smoking rates have decreased in British Columbia, alternative forms of nicotine intake have risen considerably.

Charles Aruliah, the society’s advocacy manager in Vancouver, pointed out that nicotine pouches were being stocked in convenience stores alongside easily accessible items like candy bars, potentially appealing to youth.

“There are very serious questions about what the tobacco industry is doing here and what their intention is. And it would seem that their intention is to addict new young people to nicotine, which is disgusting,” Holland said