B.C. to remove nicotine pouches from convenience stores

Nicotine pouches will be moving from convenience store shelves to behind the pharmacy counter in B.C., Premier David Eby and Health Minister Adrian Dix announced Wednesday.

The new regulations are aimed at preventing minors from easily purchasing the addictive product, Eby said.

“Whether we're talking about it in cigarettes, vapes or in other products, we don't want our kids to get hooked on nicotine and have a dependence on nicotine for their entire lives,” Eby said at a news conference.

The product being targeted is Zonnic, sold by Imperial Tobacco Canada, which are oral pouches in flavours like tropic breeze, chill mint and berry frost, and contain up to four milligrams of nicotine—the equivalent of three to four cigarettes.

Dix said experts have noticed a “concerning trend” of youth using smoking cessation products recreationally, and raised concerns about the “youth appeal” of Zonnic’s colourful packaging and marketing.

“Their distribution needs to be limited and targeted to those looking to lessen their dependency on nicotine, not create new addictions, especially among young people,” Dix said.

Zonnic is approved for sale in Canada under the Natural and Non-Prescription Health Products Directorate, Dix explained, meaning there are no restrictions on who can buy it, including youth.

While the federal government is working on closing the “loophole” that allows minors to buy Zonnic, Eby said the province is stepping in to put “the highest barrier” it can to make it harder for young people to purchase nicotine pouches.

Namely, restricting the sale of Zonnic and all other nicotine pouches to pharmacies.

“So a kid that wants to buy it can't just grab it off the shelf and pick it up at the cashier at the local convenience store. They have to go to the pharmacy counter, they have to have that engagement with the pharmacist, and that is a barrier we hope will prevent young people from coming into contact with these addictive products,” Eby continued.

However, minors could still theoretically purchase nicotine pouches from a pharmacist. While Zonnic is “not recommended” for those 18 or younger, a ban on minors purchasing it would have to come from the federal government, Dix explained. “We believe they'll be taking action on that shortly,” he added.

“The purpose of this is to move the product away first of all from the grocery store, the gas station, the corner store,” he said.

Dix said children and youth are more likely to develop nicotine addictions, and that youth nicotine use affects memory, concentration, brain development and impulse control, and causes cognitive and behavioural issues.

For its part, Imperial Tobacco Canada says it has done “everything in its power” to prevent kids from accessing Zonnic, keeping it behind the counter at convenience stores and training clerks not to sell to minors.

“When they portray Zonnic that it can be purchased by anyone anytime, that is not accurate,” vice-president of corporate and regulatory affairs Eric Gagnon told CTV News.

“Everything we do, the anti-tobacco groups complain about it. They have the ear of the governments then they convince them to regulate our industry. Unfortunately, the big losers for today are the smokers in B.C.,” Gagnon said.

Imperial Tobacco argues smoking cessation products like Zonnic should be sold alongside cigarettes, so smokers have the opportunity to decide to buy an alternative instead when they go in to buy a pack.

“We are disappointed we didn’t at least have an opportunity to have a discussion with Premier Eby and the minister of health,” Gagnon said. 

The move is a ministerial order to amend the Pharmacy Operation and Drugs Scheduling Act, and will come into effect this week, Dix said.