Concerned about intensified lobbying by the world's largest tobacco companies to weaken restrictions on the sale of nicotine pouches, health groups are reminding the public and decision-makers that the Canadian experience with these products to date suggests stronger, not weaker, controls are required. These products are not helping smokers quit, but they are helping tobacco companies recruit new nicotine addicts, including thousands of youths.
“Few Canadian smokers are using pouches in their quit attempts, and those who do appear less likely to succeed than those going cold turkey or using conventional stop-smoking treatments,” says Les Hagen, Executive Director of Action on Smoking & Health (ASH Canada).
This conclusion is based on the results of the Canadian Community Health Survey, the largest health survey conducted by Statistics Canada. The survey now includes questions on the quit methods used by smokers, and asked about the use of nicotine pouches in 2024.
The results published in the 2024 CCHS Data Dictionaryshow that of the 2 million Canadian smokers who had tried to quit in the previous year, only 117,000 (6%) used pouches, and of these the number who reported successfully quitting smoking was too small (under 26 in the CCHS sample) to provide a reportable estimate. (See data analysis here.)
Although the data provided does not allow for statistical comparison, the estimated proportion of failed quit attempts among pouch users was the highest of any quit aid identified in this survey. Of the smokers participating in the survey who had tried to quit, almost all (92%) of those who used pouches had relapsed by the time they were surveyed.Nicotine pouches were legal for sale during that year, and were widely distributed in convenience stores outside Quebec and British Columbia until sales were federally restricted to pharmacies in late August 2024.
“The supposed benefits of nicotine pouches as cessation aids are being exaggerated to pressure the federal governmentinto weakening market restrictions,” says Cynthia Callard, Executive Director of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.
Ineffective for smokers, but appealing for youth
“The survey results underscore how addictive nicotine is,” says Ms. Callard. “No matter the method or product used, the vast majority (8 out of 10) of quit attempts fail. This should encourage Health Canada to prioritize preventing nicotine addiction by reducing the appeal and availability of nicotine for young people.”
Arecent studybased on the Compass survey of Quebec high school students observed that “nicotine pouches appear to be gaining popularity among Canadian youth” and cautioned that they “have considerable potential to follow the same popularity trajectory as e-cigarettes.” Despite their limited availability on the Quebec market, students were almost as likely to report using pouches (2.6%) as cigarettes (3%) in the last 30 days.
Meanwhile, Canadian data from the International Tobacco Control (ITC) Youth Tobacco and Vaping Surveyfound that young people are mostly motivated to use nicotine pouches “for fun,” “out of curiosity” and for the drug effect. As a way to “quit smoking” was the least invoked reason.
“The promotion of ineffective cessation tools now appears to be an integral part of the tobacco industry's business plan, as it stands to profit both from smoking and the addiction of novel nicotine products. Promoting nicotine pouches is no threat to their cigarette sale revenues, which remain as high as ever,while these products are gaining popularity among non-smokers, especially youth,” adds Flory Doucas, Co-Director and Spokesperson of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control.
Lobbying efforts to bring pouches back into convenience stores
Tobacco companies have used full-page ads, officialand unofficialpetitions, opinion piecesand legal challenges in their sustained campaign to weaken the 2024 regulations. Led by Canada's top two cigarette manufacturers, Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITC) and Rothmans, Bensen & Hedges (RBH),lobbying efforts include front groups with undisclosed funding, such as bringbackthepouches.caand quitclub.com. (See appendix herefor examples of pressure tactics.)
Indeed, RBH's “Unsmoke” campaign has bombarded the Internet, especially news sites, with political advertising, exaggerating the role novel nicotine products such as pouches and e-cigarettes play in getting smokers to quit, eclipsing the impacts they have in addicting new generations of Canadians and the inherent risks they carry.
Members of Parliament siding with Big Tobacco?
“No one will be surprised by tobacco industry tactics to mislead the public and politicians about the health impacts of their products. But it's alarming to learn that some Members of Parliament would believe Big Tobacco's rhetoric regarding nicotine pouches and call for weaker controls on these addictive products”, adds Les Hagen.
A product endorsement campaignand several petitions were launched by Members of Parliament calling for nicotine pouch regulations to be struck down. “At the very least, political support for the industry's propaganda should stop and more should be done to protect kids. The current rules for nicotine pouches should be maintained, and regulatory efforts should be ramped up to reduce all forms of nicotine use by young people, namely youth vaping, a phenomenon that remains widespread due to government inactionon flavours and other marketing practices,” concludes Ms. Doucas.
Several other countrieshave banned nicotine pouches, recognizing that youth uptake and their minimal cessation potential outweigh the population benefits of their legalization. Fortunately, despite their continued availability in Canada, the federal rules appear to limit consumption among youth compared to jurisdictions with weaker restrictions.
Link to compilation of industry examples of pressure tactics here:https://cqct.qc.ca/Communiques_docs/2025/PRSS_25_12_03_Appendix_ProPouchPressureTactics.pdf
SOURCE Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control
https://rt.newswire.ca/rt.gif?NewsItemId=C7428&Transmission_Id=202512030730CANADANWWEB______C7428&DateId=20251203