Nicotine pouches are being sold illegally in corner stores across Canada

A CBC News investigation has revealed that illegal nicotine pouches in high dosages and fun flavors are still readily available for sale in corner shops across the country, despite new federal rules designed to limit their access and deter youth from smoking.

In August 2024, the federal government limited the sale of nicotine pouches to pharmacies in response to growing concerns. multiple health groups About his popularity among Non-smokers and youth.

Nicotine pouches are highly regulated by Health Canada as natural health products for people aged 18 and older and are believed to act as a tool to help people quit smoking.

Zonnic, owned by Imperial Tobacco Canada, is the only brand legally available for sale in pharmacies. The company is authorized under regulations to sell four-milligram sachets only in “mint or menthol” flavors to limit their appeal to children and teens.

And yet, CBC News journalists in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax were able to go to convenience stores and buy Zine, the most popular nicotine pouch brand in the US, from tobacco company Philip Morris International.

Corner store after corner store sold such packs in fruit flavors and in doses up to 15 mg.

And online, several distributors claiming to be based in Canada offered a range of pouch brands in unauthorized flavors and high dosages, along with promises to deliver quickly and discreetly.

“If you take a highly addictive drug like nicotine and you wrap it and sell it in beautiful flavors with beautiful branding and you put messaging around it, that it’s fun to use … kids are going to buy it and they’re going to use it,” said David Hammond, a professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Public Health Sciences who studies tobacco control.

“Early indications are that (nicotine) pouches are more popular among Canadian youth than among adults. And as far as we can tell, it’s growing.”

According to Hammond’s research, five percent of Canadian youth have tried using a bag, which equates to about 100,000 children.

The problem, he says, is that the advertising is targeted at children.

“When you have gummy bear flavors or colas or some of these marketing messages, it’s not something a 50-year-old smoker wants to use to help them quit. It’s something a 15-year-old person grabs while going to a party.”

CBC News could not verify whether the pouches purchased at the convenience store were authentic.

In an emailed statement, Philip Morris International’s local subsidiary — Rothmans, Benson & Hedges — wrote that “the products at issue are being sold by unauthorized parties,” and that it “works with law enforcement to prevent illicit trade and we support government efforts on this front.”

The new rules prevent Zonic from using any advertising or packaging that could be considered attractive to youth, but experts say harmful ads from other brands are still circulating on social media platforms like TikTok, saying their products are discreet and easy to use.

Small white packets hidden between a person’s upper lip and gums and contain nicotine is absorbed into the bloodstream Through mucous membranes.

“Some people see them as a way to recruit new people and expand the nicotine market. Some people see them as a way to help adult smokers quit. And they’re both right,” Hammond said.

Nicotine pouches do not contain cancer-causing chemicals found in tobacco or cigarette smoke. But Health Canada says Nicotine is highly toxic and highly addictive, especially to youth.

risk of dependence, addiction

“Nicotine in any form is a risk to a young and developing brain,” said Dr. Nicolas Chady, a pediatrician and physician at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center in Montreal who specializes in adolescent and addiction medicine.

Chadi says he’s seeing more and more youth using sachets in flavors and dosages that are not authorized for sale in Canada. He says the fact that the pouches are discreet and deliver significant amounts of nicotine to the body is attractive to youth. They say nicotine can increase alertness, focus, heart rate and bring a pleasurable feeling that lasts 30 to 60 minutes.

But young people may be especially vulnerable to its negative effects.

“The younger a person is exposed to nicotine, the greater the risk of eventually developing dependence and addiction,” Chady said.

“A body can develop dependence and tolerance on nicotine, meaning your body is addicted to it and if you stop using it, your body and brain are screaming for more.”

He says the younger a person is when exposed to nicotine, the greater the risk of eventually developing dependence and addiction. But not only this.

“We’re also seeing through research that nicotine has some effects on brain development and is also linked to all kinds of mental health and physical health problems.”

‘A little bit of our goal’

Ashley Biswanger says she started using nicotine pouches to wean herself off vaping as a teen. She describes being instantly attracted and liking the head rush they provide.

“It was like, ‘Oh my God, this is amazing,'” said the 21-year-old political science major at Queens University in Kingston, Ontario.

Biswanger says the pouches were popular among his hockey-playing friends.

“They were using it at the time because, these hockey players, they couldn’t vape because of all the cardio.”

Biswanger says she started out using 12-milligram sachets, but as her tolerance increased she started taking more.

Biswanger says he started stopping when he realized it was affecting his quality of life. “I always wear pajamas to my bed,” she said. “As the years went by, I got really lazy.”

Hammond says Canada needs a regulatory system that can better predict new nicotine pouches and prevent their popularity from rising among youth.

“When we first approved these pouches, we had a goal of our own, where we approved them at the minimum legal age of sale, with very few warnings, without all kinds of flavors,” he said.

Health Canada said in an email statement to CBC News Since August 2024, it has “managed over 300 compliance cases related to the sale/advertisement of unauthorized nicotine pouch products” issuing compliance notices, site visits, seizing products, and alerting Consumers of risks. If retailers refuse to comply, they could be referred to law enforcement, said Health Canada spokesman Joshua Kok.

Several police forces contacted by CBC News said they were not aware of any issues involving the sale of unauthorized nicotine pouches, except in Montreal where police say they are “well aware” of the situation and are monitoring the issue.

Biswanger managed to quit using nicotine pouches cold turkey a few months ago. Now she’s warning other youngsters against starting the destructive habit.

“It’s not worth it,” she said.

“I just wanted to come home and use them…they were so addicting.”