The Trudeau government has begun cracking down on nicotine pouches, introducing new measures to prevent youth from getting addicted to the product.
Nicotine pouches will only be able to be purchased from behind pharmacy counters as of next week and several flavoured options have been outright banned.
Popular nicotine pouch brand name Zonnic will have its products removed from convenience store and gas station shelves on Aug. 28.
Menthol and mint-flavoured pouches will still be permitted under the new rules but must still be sold exclusively in pharmacies.
Health Minister Mark Holland told CBC News that such products are “clearly designed to target youth” and that those days are “over.”
The Trudeau government pledged to tackle the issue nearly a year ago in response to national health groups warning that there was heightened risk these products are getting youth addicted to nicotine.
“It has been so deeply disturbing to see so many young people becoming addicted to these nicotine pouches who’ve never had any interaction with cigarettes,” said Holland.
The products are produced by cigarette manufacturer Imperial Tobacco, a company that Holland accused of exploiting a loophole in Canada’s legal system to get the pouches approved by Health Canada.
Legislation was passed in June to give Holland further ministerial powers to unilaterally restrict sales, manufacturing, advertising and importation of products deemed by the government to be harmful or which have been found to be used for unintended purposes.
“We never know what hole they’ll slither out of next to try to attack our children,” said Holland.
Imperial Tobacco has been given six months to make the necessary changes, which includes new packaging which cannot be geared towards youth and must come with a warning label.
The health minister said that the changes may not have been implemented soon enough, and worries that many young Canadians have already been captured by tobacco companies.
“I’m very concerned that there are kids who are already addicted. I am very concerned that tobacco companies have already achieved their goal,” he said. “It repulses me.”
Vice-president of Imperial Tobacco Eric Gagnon accused the health minister of having a “personal vendetta” against the company, which he argued underwent a two-year approval process to sell such products.
“Apparently because we’re a tobacco company, we’re treated differently than anybody else,” said Gagnon. “The biggest losers right now are the adult smokers that have been using Zonnic.”
Health Canada approved Zonnic pouches last year as a method to help adult smokers quit and as the product does not contain any tobacco and isn’t inhaled, it falls outside the purview of existing provincial or national tobacco or vaping laws.
Imperial Tobacco denies that the products have been geared towards youth and said it has instructed store clerks to require identification for its purchase.
There is no available data on how many youth have tried Zonnic pouches as the product isn’t being tracked by the government.