Canadian Health Minister Plans To Strengthen Regulation Of Nicotine Pouches, But Opponents Worry About Abuse Of Power

Canadian health minister plans to strengthen regulation of nicotine pouches, but opponents worry about abuse of power

Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland said the Ministry of Health's powers should be expanded to restrict health products that are not used normally, including Imperial Tobacco's nicotine pouch Zonnic, and consumer groups are concerned that this move will lead to abuse of power.

 

According to BIV on May 29, Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland said that if dangerous products are misused and threaten public health, the Canadian federal Ministry of Health should have the power to immediately remove them from the market.

 

Holland supports a proposal in the Canadian government's budget bill to give ministers the power to impose conditions on the sale, advertising, production and import of health products.

 

"We need to be able to act quickly so that we can respond to new problems (with tobacco companies) as soon as possible and cater to new loopholes created by their lawyers."

 

The minister called for the use of power to regulate the sale of nicotine pouches. Imperial Tobacco's nicotine pouches, Zonnic, have been approved by Health Canada as a smoking cessation aid, but Horan said teenagers are abusing them, leading to a new generation of nicotine addiction.

 

The Consumer Choice Centre warned that the new clause could allow the minister to abuse his power. The group claims that future health ministers could ban other health products based on political interests, ignoring the need for accurate evidence to prove that these products are really harmful to the human body.

 

The minister responded that the group's concerns just show how desperate tobacco lobbyists are to stop him from restricting youth access to nicotine pouches.

 

"Only a completely dishonest, lying minister of health would restrict it with such a discredited clause."

 

The new clause only applies when the product is not used for its intended purpose and may cause harm. But even if it is not certain whether the product has actually caused harm, the minister can set conditions on the product. Horan elaborated:

 

"The products were used in ways we never anticipated, meaning we never had a chance to assess the health risks of that use. And Health Canada was too slow to respond and could not be relied upon to take the lead."

 

The dispute is the latest conflict between Health Canada and Imperial Tobacco over Zonnic nicotine pouches. In February, Horan announced plans to restrict access to the product, as well as the flavors and marketing strategies that can be used. Imperial Tobacco denied using any loopholes to bring Zonnic to market and said it simply applied to and received approval from Health Canada.

 

The company said the minister ignored other legal nicotine products and unregulated nicotine pouch products on the market.