With the popularity of nicotine pouch products, so too has industry and community concern. Reports indicate that these products are being advertised as such to kids. Alex’s case is one of the most egregious and troubling cases. Nick began using nicotine pouches at 15 years old. Alex’s safety story demonstrates both the potential dangers of these products and specifically how attractive they are to our youth primarily because of that appeal.
Two years ago, Alex, who had no prior interest in smoking or vaping, accidentally learned about nicotine pouches through her friends at school. The pull of the bright, colorful packaging, which looks very similar to the ubiquitous ‘Millions’ sweets, was enough to lure Alex in. The pouches, small, soft sachets filled with nicotine—a stimulant present in tobacco that is widely known to be highly addictive—took little time to hook users.
The marketing of these tobacco-free nicotine pouches has drawn widespread concern from health officials and consumer advocates. The tub also features a design that reflects images associated with the best-selling ‘Millions’ sweets. These magical, chewy, sugar-coated caramels are made by Scottish confectionary giant Golden Casket Ltd. One tub of the confections has an iridescent orange exterior that captures attention. It shows a cartoonish smiling orange on top of a pile of smaller oranges all underneath the happy word “Millions.”
Kate Pike, from the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards, has spoken out against the measures. She’s most concerned about the marketing practices employed by nicotine pouch manufacturers. She added that it’s “outrageous” that products try to copy familiar sugary brand names to lure children.
“Millions sweets are clearly a product for children and there is no reason to link them with nicotine pouches unless you want to attract children.” – Kate Pike, Chartered Institute of Trading Standards
The dangers posed by nicotine pouches are not just a question of speculation. At first, Alex was only using one pouch per day, but his consumption soon grew to three pouches daily. At his peak, he was inexplicably eating 15 pouches a day. This shocking rise in use underscores the ability for addiction that these products are able to create among our country’s youth.
The shop employee who sold the nicotine pouches told her they contained 100mg of nicotine. On average, that puts them about ten times as potent as a normal cigarette. In later lab tests, we found that the nicotine content was actually 17mg per pouch. Even with this reduced figure, it is still well above what most legitimate manufacturers would consider a safe level.
Prof. Crawford Moodie of the University of Stirling has been studying the marketing of tobacco and nicotine products for several years. He further admits that these kinds of hawkish marketing strategies aimed at youth consumers have real and dangerous public health consequences.
Kate Pike added to this by calling for stricter regulations around nicotine pouches. She noted that the new state of the market shows a breakdown in our efforts to protect emerging adults from these addictive chemicals.
“But the fact that companies are putting these on the market and retailers are quite happy to sell them shows that we are not in a good place with respect to controlling the nicotine pouch market and protecting young people in particular.” – Kate Pike, Chartered Institute of Trading Standards
The manufacturer of popular brand of ‘Millions’ sweets responded to the controversy by announcing that they were not associated with nicotine pouches. They indicated their displeasure at having their branding used in such a way.
“If this was alcohol, there would be an outcry. A child coming across that would think it’s for them and nicotine is a highly addictive substance.” – Kate Pike, Chartered Institute of Trading Standards
Even amid mounting scrutiny and public outcry, the use of these nicotine pouches continues to soar among young people. The Disclosure program interviewed several young people who admitted to using these products, underscoring the urgency of addressing this issue.
