Shops legally selling addictive nicotine pouches to children

Independent

16-07-2025

Shops are legally selling addictive nicotine pouches to children just weeks after single-use vapes were banned in an effort to cut their use among young people, Trading Standards has warned.
Trading Standards officers said they had found shops displaying the pouches – often in child-friendly sweet flavours and with eye-catching packaging – in plain sight at the front of counters during visits to check they were no longer selling single-use vapes.
Nicotine pouches, commonly known as 'snus', are small pouches similar in shape to teabags containing nicotine, flavourings and sweeteners.
Users place them under their upper lip, allowing nicotine to be absorbed into the bloodstream through the gum.
They are available in flavours similar to those of vapes including Tropical Mango, Very Berry and Cherry Ice.
Trading Standards said the pouches currently 'fall between the gap' of regulation of either a tobacco or a nicotine product, meaning shops can legally sell them to a child of any age.
There is increasing concern about the rising popularity of nicotine pouches among school-aged children in the UK as they can easily go undetected by teachers and parents due to their discreet placement on the gum.
A YouGov survey commissioned by the charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) found a growing awareness of nicotine pouches among under-18s – rising from 38% in 2024 to 43% in 2025.
Almost 4% of teenagers also report trying the pouches, according to the poll of 2,746 youngsters aged 11 to 17.
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill that is currently making its way through Parliament makes the sale of these nicotine products illegal to anyone under the age of 18.
It will also introduce powers to restrict the use of child-appealing flavours, packaging and advertising as well as dictate where they can be placed in shops.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is calling for the bill to be moved up the Parliamentary timetable to ensure it can be swiftly implemented.
CTSI lead officer for tobacco and vapes Kate Pike said: 'We are getting increasing reports from concerned parents and teachers that shops are marketing and selling nicotine pouches to children.
'It is incredibly frustrating that there is nothing we can currently do to prevent them.
'We have been asking for an age of sale on nicotine pouches for some time and were delighted when this measure was included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
'We would urge Government to ensure the bill is prioritised in the parliamentary calendar to enable it to be finalised so we can start taking action against those who either deliberately or uncaringly risk children getting hooked on a highly addictive product.'
Ash chief executive Hazel Cheeseman said: 'The government has all the tools needed to address youth appeal and use of nicotine pouches in legislation before parliament. But parliamentary time has not been found to progress this legislation since April.
'In the meantime, companies, who know their marketing practices will eventually be restricted, are continuing to heavily promote pouches in ways that appeal to children.
'While they are likely to be very much less harmful than smoking, they contain nicotine which is addictive, and the long-term health impacts are not known.'
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: 'Our landmark Tobacco and Vapes Bill will ban the sale of nicotine pouches to under-18s and stop vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately promoted and advertised to children.
'The Bill will place nicotine pouches under the same advertising restrictions as tobacco and provides powers to regulate their nicotine limits, flavours, packaging and how they are displayed.
'It will stop the next generation from getting hooked on nicotine and put an end to the cycle of addiction and disadvantage.'