MINTO – The board of health for Public Health Sudbury and Districts has taken action against the regulation of nicotine pouches, and Minto council is sharing support.
On April 18, Public Health carried a resolution stating the board of health 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.
They also urged Health Canada to strengthen regulations to restrict the sale of new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products.
Council received a resolution letter from the municipality of St. Charles stating their support of the resolution.
Deputy mayor Jean Anderson brought forward a motion during an Oct. 15 meeting 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 the 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 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 of 2024, Public Health Sudbury and Districts 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 the April 18 meeting the board strongly encouraged the Government of Ontario to immediately follow the Government of British Columbia and the Government of Québec ways of exclusively selling nicotine products in pharmacies, “specifically behind the counter.”
After reviewing the letter by Lapierre the municipality of St. Charles supported the recommendations and sent a copy of their passed resolutions to the Premier of Ontario Doug Ford, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Health Sylvia Jones, their local MPP, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Public Health Sudbury and Districts and all Ontario municipalities.
Minto council unanimously supported Anderson’s motion to endorse the letter from St. Charles.
