MINTO – Town council here has supported a call from Public Health Sudbury and Districts (PHSD) for regulation of nicotine pouches.
On April 18, the PHSD board passed a resolution stating it “strongly” encourages Health Canada to take “immediate” action to close the regulatory gap that permits the sale of nicotine pouches to youth under 18 years of age.
The PHSD board also urged Health Canada to “strengthen” regulations to restrict the sale of new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products.
Minto council received a resolution letter from the municipality of St. Charles, stating its support of the PHSD resolution.
Deputy mayor Jean Anderson brought forward a motion on Oct. 15 stating, “I would like to recommend that we endorse the letter and send back our own.”
“Using nicotine pouches to control people’s smoking cravings is going to cause a drastic intake increase of oral cancers, gum cancers, tooth decay and just create a substitute addiction from one to the other,” she added.
Health Canada gave approval to Imperial Tobacco Canada in July of 2023 to sell Zonnic under the Natural Health Product Regulations as a nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) product.
“It’s a poorly thought-out process and it’s available to anybody of any age to purchase – not a good idea in my humble opinion,” stated Anderson.
During that time Zonnic was sold under Health Canada approval without adhering to the restrictions of the Federal Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, 1997 and the Smoke-Free Ontario Act, 2017, stated PHSD board of health chair René Lapierre.
The 1997 act speaks to general restrictions on manufacturers and distributors of tobacco products and the 2017 act is intended to protect Ontarians from the harms of second-hand tobacco and cannabis smoke and vapour.
Since 2023 nicotine pouches have become “widely” available to youth, stated Lapierre.
“The unrestricted sale, display and promotion of nicotine pouches contribute to accessibility, normalization and potential health hazards,” he added.
In March, PHSD released an advisory alert to local health system partners, sharing concerns related to nicotine pouches.
Letters were sent to education directors, educators and parents to increase awareness, stated Lapierre.
At its April 18 meeting the board “strongly” encouraged the Government of Ontario to “immediately” follow the Government of British Columbia and the Government of Québec to exclusively sell nicotine products in pharmacies, “specifically behind the counter.”
After reviewing Lapierre’s letter, the municipality of St. Charles supported the recommendations and sent a copy of its resolutions to the Premier of Ontario Doug Ford, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones, their local MPP, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, PHSD and all Ontario municipalities.
Minto council unanimously passed Anderson’s motion to support the St. Charles resolution.
