U.K. health campaigners are calling for the closure of a loophole that allows nicotine pouches to be sold to under-18s, reports the BBC.
Nicotine pouches, which are made without tobacco, are not regulated by rules that cover tobacco products, vaping products or medical products in the U.K. As a result, there are no age restrictions on sales.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) says the lack of rules is a “Wild West.”
Leading manufacturers, however, have introduced their own restrictions on age of sale and warnings on packaging.
In a recent ASH survey of 13,000 people, about one in 25 said they had tried nicotine pouches, and awareness was highest among 18-year-olds to 24-year-olds, with 45 percent having heard of them.
Leonie Brose, reader in nicotine research at King’s College London, agreed the current regulation should be reviewed.
“If you are a smoker, then moving to something else is a good idea, but if you’ve never smoked, it’s not a good idea to take up nicotine because it is addictive and may produce a dependence,” she said.
Japan Tobacco International, which sells Nordic Spirit nicotine pouches, welcomed the call for more regulation.
Spokeswoman Nicky Small told the BBC that the company has spearheaded a self-regulation framework that governs the marketing of the product and limits access to over-18s.