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BBC News
17-06-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Rise in awareness of nicotine pouches among children, survey suggests
Young people under the age of 18 are more aware of nicotine pouches, new data to a survey commissioned by charity Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), the percentage of 11-17 year olds who said they knew of the pouches grew from 38% in 2024 to 43% this survey indicates nearly 4% of children in this age group have tried a nicotine pouch, equivalent to 210,000 young is calling on the government to prioritise the passing of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will ban the marketing of nicotine pouches and their sale to under Department of Health and Social Care said the bill "will stop the next generation from getting hooked on nicotine". The bill is making its way through Parliament and is currently in the House of CEO Hazel Cheeseman said: "There is currently no date for the next phase of the legislation and therefore no clear timeframe for when it will become illegal to sell a 9-year-old a nicotine pouch. "The government must make passing this bill a priority."Nicotine pouches, often sold in cans, are small tea-bag-like rectangles that contain white powder that releases nicotine into the bloodstream when placed between a person's upper lip and gum. They do not contain are less harmful than smoking and some people use them as a way to quit smoking, though they are not recommended by the warns that the lack of limits on the strength of the nicotine put into pouches, along with the absence of age restrictions on their sales, make them a highly addictive nicotine product that anyone can buy, including children. It's 'terrifying' Jasmine Primrose, a teacher at a high school in north London, started a petition calling for greater regulation of nicotine pouches after seeing a 17-year-old pupil being offered a free can of pouches at a corner shop next to their school."They're literally giving nicotine addiction out for free to children and I think that's terrifying. I think there should definitely be an age range on that," she told the said while vapes were still the bigger offender at schools, she had confiscated a number of nicotine pouches from students."A lot of parents aren't aware of the issue, parents don't even know that it's happening most of the time," she said. Ash's survey of 13,000 adults and 2,700 11 to 17-year-olds was carried out by YouGov. It suggests there has been an increase in the number of adults aged between 18 and 34 using the pouches since 2023 - though the overall percentage of the population who uses them remains survey indicates 2.6% of 18-34 year olds reported using pouches in 2025, up from 1.2% in also suggests there is a strong gender divide among nicotine pouch users, with men under 40 three times more likely to use pouches than women of the same 24-year-old man who has recently quit using nicotine pouches is Kofi Bernson."I had them every single day in every social situation, while driving, whilst at work, in a meeting… you could have them anywhere and no-one will know, and that is one of… the most addictive aspects of it", he told the BBC. He said while he found them effective in helping him to quit smoking, quitting nicotine pouches was much harder, and it took him three or four attempts to do said he also experienced side-effects like headaches, heart flutters, sore gums, a decrease in his appetite and feeling is relatively little research into the potential health implications associated with nicotine pouches, but a 2023 review carried out by the British Dental Journal said mouth and throat soreness, mouth ulcers, hiccups and coughing were well-documented side-effects. A study published in 2024 in Germany also found their use can have cardiovascular effects, such as an increased heart rate.A research paper co-published by Ash in 2024 said that for people who smoke, switching to nicotine pouches could have positive health effects. While pouches are less harmful than smoking, they are highly addictive and not recommended for teenagers or non-smokers. Ash CEO, Ms Cheeseman said "the surge in teen awareness and growing levels of use in young adults over the last two years indicates that the industry's marketing strategies are working."Products are highly promoted in shops and on social media with football stars and male influencers used to further raise their profile," she said.A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said the proposed bill would stop nicotine products from being 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."But the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, a professional association which represents trading standards professionals, said there is little that can be done to stop the sale of nicotine pouches to children until the law is changed. "I hear from trading standards teams across the country who are getting reports from concerned citizens who have seen teenagers being sold these products," Tobacco and vapes lead Katie Pike said."However, there is no action we can take until the law is changed as no offence is being committed."
The Guardian
01-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Tory peer proposed delay on heated tobacco ban after Philip Morris visit
A Conservative peer proposed delaying the UK's proposed ban on heated tobacco, weeks after a leading cigarette company paid for him to visit its research facility in Switzerland. The tobacco and vapes bill would gradually raise the age at which consumers can buy cigarettes and other tobacco products, making the UK the first major economy to chart a course towards phasing out tobacco altogether. But the timetable for heated tobacco could be disrupted after Lord Vaizey put forward an amendment that would require more research to be done into the 'potential' harms that such products can cause relative to cigarettes. Vaizey's proposal came six weeks after he was a guest of Philip Morris International (PMI), whose IQOS product is the world-leading heated tobacco brand, during a two-day visit to its research facility in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. PMI paid for Vaizey's flights and accommodation, according to his own parliamentary disclosures, analysed by the Guardian and the Examination, a non-profit newsroom that investigates global health threats. The cost of the trip was not revealed and neither Vaizey nor PMI said whether other British parliamentarians were there. Three weeks after the trip, on 23 April, Vaizey took part in a House of Lords debate on the tobacco and vapes bill. During the debate, he disclosed his visit to the Philip Morris facility, known as The Cube, where the tobacco company has also hosted politicians from Finland and Colombia. Vaizey said he had met scientists there who were researching heated tobacco. 'There is an argument which says that people should be able to access nicotine if it can be done in a safe way,' said Vaizey, who said he used IQOS products. 'I want to say something controversial: a lot of the tone of this debate looks backward at the sins of the big tobacco. It does not perhaps acknowledge – though that might be too kind a word – that big tobacco has perhaps moved forward in terms of heated tobacco.' On 14 May, six weeks after his visit to Switzerland, Vaizey tabled his amendment, which would delay the ban on heated tobacco products, including the IQOS. He proposed that the health secretary be required to 'assess the harm to human health associated with the use of tobacco related devices' and compare any harms with those caused by cigarettes. The amendment appears to reheat elements of a legal challenge brought by Philip Morris in 2023 against the tobacco and vapes bill, which was initially proposed by the previous government. PMI's challenge questioned whether the government's consultation was 'meaningful', on the basis that the outcome was pre-determined. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion It also sought to limit the scope of the ban to leave out heated tobacco products, which use devices to heat tobacco at a lower temperature than conventional cigarettes. PMI withdrew its challenge after a response from government lawyers, who stated that the relative harms of cigarettes versus heated tobacco were not relevant. This is because the gradual implementation of the ban, which raises the minimum age for tobacco purchase by one year every year, means that nobody affected would ever have been able to choose between the two methods of nicotine ingestion anyway. At the time, Whitehall sources said the legal challenge was a delaying tactic by Philip Morris, whose IQOS heated tobacco product ships around 140m units a year and has replaced Marlboro as its most successful product by net revenue. Martin McKee, professor of European public health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said Vaizey was repeating the tobacco industry's playbook by suggesting that heated tobacco should be compared with cigarettes 'rather than with the more appropriate comparator of not smoking'. PMI did not respond to questions from the Guardian about Vaizey's trip to Switzerland and its relationship with the Tory peer. Lord Vaizey declined to comment.
