Nicotine Pouches Sold To Children Mimic Sweets, Says Uk Trading Standards Body

Nicotine pouches are being legally sold to children and are being made appealing to them pinch typical flavours and packaging mimicking sweets, a trading standards assemblage has said.

In June, it became illegal for single-use vapes to beryllium sold successful England to tackle their wide usage by children. However, location is presently nary authorities that restricts nan property astatine which you tin bargain nicotine pouches.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) said nan pouches presently autumn betwixt “regulatory gaps arsenic they are not regulated arsenic a circumstantial baccy aliases nicotine product”.

Nicotine pouches, which incorporate nicotine, flavouring and sweeteners, are placed successful nan precocious lip, allowing nicotine to beryllium absorbed done nan gum. Trading standards officers recovered they were successful plain show astatine checkout areas of galore stores, pinch packaging and flavours akin to sweets and truthful made appealing to children, nan CTSI said.

According to a study by Action connected Smoking and Health (Ash) carried retired by YouGov, successful 2024 only 38% of 11- to 17-year-olds were alert of nicotine pouches, rising to 43% this year.

Duncan Stephenson, nan argumentation and outer affairs head astatine nan CTSI, said nan prominence of nicotine pouches “very overmuch feels for illustration a crippled of whack-a-mole”, because “just arsenic 1 merchandise is dealt with, different emerges.”

Stephenson added: “While Trading Standards is moving to guarantee that nan prohibition connected azygous disposable vapes is successful place, we are coming crossed caller and emerging threats.

“The readiness of perchance harmful products being promoted and sold to our children seems never-ending. Nicotine pouches are nan latest example, pinch slick marketing, saccharine flavours and colourful packaging that consequence appealing to young people, whether intended aliases not.

“Local Trading Standards teams connected nan crushed are uncovering these risks each day, but we urgently request nan powers group retired successful nan baccy and vapes measure to return urgent and effective action. Strong, proactive regularisation is basal to protect children and extremity these products from slipping done nan cracks.”

The baccy and vapes bill, which is presently astatine nan committee shape successful nan House of Lords, will see authorities to restrict nan usage of flavours, packaging and advertizing of nicotine pouches that mightiness entreaty to children, and besides dictate wherever they tin beryllium placed wrong shops.

The CTSI is calling for nan measure to beryllium moved up nan parliamentary timeline to guarantee location is nary hold successful restrictions connected nan waste of nicotine pouches to children being implemented.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “Our landmark baccy and vapes measure will prohibition nan waste of nicotine pouches to under-18s and extremity vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately promoted and advertised to children.

“The measure will spot nicotine pouches nether nan aforesaid advertizing restrictions arsenic baccy and provides powers to modulate their nicotine limits, flavours, packaging and really they are displayed.

“It will extremity nan adjacent procreation from getting hooked connected nicotine and put an extremity to nan rhythm of addiction and disadvantage.”