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Tag: Zonnic

  • Imperial Canada Urges Action as Illicit Pouch Surge

    Imperial Canada Urges Action as Illicit Pouch Surge

    Imperial Tobacco Canada called on the federal government to act quickly against a growing illicit market for nicotine pouches, following a CBC investigation that found widespread illegal sales in stores and online. The company says a recent Ministerial Order requiring legal pouches to be kept behind pharmacy counters has backfired by pushing consumers toward unregulated, higher-nicotine products sold without age checks.

    “By restricting access to regulated products, the policy has driven consumers straight toward unmonitored, illegal alternatives,” said Eric Gagnon, Imperial’s vice-president of corporate and regulatory affairs. He warned that these illicit pouches often lack quality controls and pose risks to public health, especially for youth.

    Imperial echoed public health expert David Hammond’s call for stronger enforcement, including proactive retail inspections, but said enforcement alone is insufficient. The company argues that allowing approved cessation products to be sold in convenience stores and gas stations—where adult smokers already shop—would help cut demand for illegal alternatives. Imperial’s ZONNIC, the only pouch authorized by Health Canada, is limited to 4 mg of nicotine and must meet strict standards, unlike the illicit products now proliferating across the market.

  • ITCAN Launches Zonnic Awareness Campaign

    ITCAN Launches Zonnic Awareness Campaign

    Photo: mtsaride

    Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITCAN) launched a public awareness campaign about its Zonnic nicotine pouches. The company says it aims to dispel myths and prove accurate, science-based information about nicotine-replacement therapies (NRT) and Zonnic’s potential role in reducing smoking in Canada.

    “Our new Zonnic campaign fact-checks what’s being said about Zonnic nicotine pouches and reflects our dedication to harm reduction and our commitment to help reduce smoking rates in Canada,” said ITCAN President and CEO Frank Silva in a statement.

    Since Zonnic’s launch in October, anti-tobacco lobby groups and the Federal Minister of Health have targeted ITCAN with accusations and inaccuracies, according to the company.

    “Our intentions are clear; we want to help smokers who want to quit smoking, period,” said Silva. “This starts by distributing new and innovative options and by keeping these products available to adult smokers while ensuring that minors don’t have access to any kind of nicotine products, including NRTs. Our position is that all forms of NRT should require proof of age before purchase and be stored at retail in a way that is inaccessible to minors.

    “We have tried to meet with Minister Holland. Our door is always open, but he has not returned our calls. We are more than open to a fair discussion, based on facts, to keep NRTs accessible to adult smokers while keeping nicotine products out of the hands of youth. Working together, we can achieve your ministry’s goal, a goal that we share.”

  • Canada to Crack Down on Pouches

    Canada to Crack Down on Pouches

    Image: Imperial Tobacco Canada

    Canada Health Minister Mark Holland promised to crack down on nicotine pouches, issuing a warning to tobacco companies that he claimed are marketing the products to children, according to City News Everywhere.

    “I would say to the tobacco companies that continue to look for ways to use loopholes to addict people to their products, get away, stay the hell away from our kids,” Holland said during a press conference.

    He accused Imperial Tobacco of using a loophole to get its oral nicotine pouch, Zonnic, approved by Health Canada, branding the product as a quit-smoking aid. Health Canada’s approval did not include a minimum age limit. Holland claims that this product is now being used to hook another generation on nicotine products.

    Imperial denied claims of using a loophole to gain approval; the company stated it simply applied to Health Canada and received approval.

    Holland plans to restrict access to Zonnic as well as restrict flavors and marketing.

    “To me, it is absolutely essential that we see these products move behind the counter,” Holland said.

    “Whatever dark corner the tobacco industry crawls and creeps into to go after our children, wherever they go, whatever loophole they think they can find, they will meet me like an iron wall,” he said.

    “To single out Zonnic for practices that are widespread across the industry is not only unfair but also smacks of hypocrisy, suggesting an anti-tobacco company bias rather than a genuine concern for public health,” said Eric Gagnon, vice president of regulatory affairs at Imperial Tobacco Canada.

    Gagnon noted that Imperial Tobacco Canada is open to discussing Holland’s proposed restrictions, but he believes that they should apply to all stop-smoking products, including nicotine gum. He also noted that the company has moved to place Zonnic behind counters, despite not being required to do so, but he feels that flavors are helpful to those trying to quit smoking and that Zonnic should be available everywhere that cigarettes are sold.

    Health Canada issued a consumer safety alert the same day as the health minister’s press conference regarding Zonnic: “They should not be used recreationally, by nonsmokers, by people under the age of 18 or by others at risk of nicotine’s toxic effects.”

    Tobacco control advocates have applauded the health minister’s plans. “We’re thrilled that Minister Holland is taking steps to stop this cycle and protect youth,” said Doug Roth, chief executive of Heart and Stroke, which Holland worked for between 2011 and 2015.

  • BC Restricts Pouch Sales to Pharmacies

    BC Restricts Pouch Sales to Pharmacies

    Photo: StratfordProductions

    British Columbia has restricted the sale of nicotine pouches to drug stores, forcing users to consult a pharmacists prior to purchase, reports CBC.

    “By limiting access to these products and ensuring they are dispensed by trained health-care professionals, our goal is to prevent their misuse, especially among young people for recreational purposes,” said Health Minister Adrian Dix.

    The Canadian Cancer Society applauded the move, noting that while youth smoking rates in B.C. are down, other methods of nicotine consumption are up significantly.

    “With the introduction of flavored nicotine pouches last year, youth once again can become addicted to these new tobacco industry products,” it said in a statement.

    BAT subsidiary Imperial Tobacco Canada, manufacturer of the Zonnic nicotine pouch brand that was authorized for sale by Health Canada in October 2023, said British Columbia’s move would make it harder for smokers to quit.

    “It is mindboggling that the only cessation product in BC that is currently stored behind the counter in convenience stores with retailers requiring age-verification is being targeted by today’s announcement,” said Eric Gagnon, vice-president, corporate and regulatory affairs at Imperial Tobacco Canada, in a statement.

     “If today’s announcement was truly about protecting youth against nicotine, we question why Premier Eby isn’t putting the same restrictions on the other cessation products that contain nicotine and are available over the counter without proof-of-age,” he added.

    In November, federal health minister Mark Holland said regulators had been “duped” and vowed to close the loophole that allowed Zonnic to be sold openly.

    “There are very serious questions about what the tobacco industry is doing here and what their intention is. And it would seem that their intention is to addict new young people to nicotine, which is disgusting,” Holland said at the time.

    Zonnic does not contain tobacco, and because the pouches contain less than four milligrams of nicotine each and are not inhaled, they do not fall under existing federal or provincial tobacco or vaping legislation.

  • Canada Targets Zonnic Marketing ‘Loopholes’

    Canada Targets Zonnic Marketing ‘Loopholes’

    Image: Imperial Tobacco Canada

    Canadian Health Minister Mark Holland announced that the health department will address “loopholes” surrounding Zonnic, a flavored nicotine pouch product from Imperial Tobacco Canada, reports the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

    Health Canada previously approved the sale of Zonnic without any advertising or sales method restrictions.

    According to Holland, “the behavior and intentions of the tobacco industry have raised serious concerns as they appear to want to addict new young people to nicotine, which is appalling, and we want to address this issue.”

    In November, six national health organizations called on the government to immediately regulate the advertising and sale of flavored nicotine products; Zonnic is not included in any existing federal or provincial tobacco or e-cigarette legislation as it does not contain tobacco, contains less than 4 mg of nicotine and is not inhaled.

    Holland reportedly takes responsibility for the oversight and plans to review the approval process for nicotine products.

    Imperial Tobacco Canada must conduct annual self-reports and “identify any appeal or abuse of their products among young people,” Health Canada stated.

    “Marketing targeted at young people will be considered deceptive advertising and may trigger post-listing compliance action,” the Canadian Ministry of Health stated. Decisions regarding product sales locations and age restrictions are determined by individual provinces and territories, according to Health Canada.

    In response to earlier criticism, Imperial Tobacco Canada said that it has already taken measures to prevent youth access to its products.

  • Health Groups Target Zonnic Pouch

    Health Groups Target Zonnic Pouch

    Photo: Imperial Tobacco Canada

    Anti-smoking advocates in Canada are calling for the federal government to restrict sales of Zonnic, a product of Imperial Tobacco Canada (ITCAN), stating that it is aimed at youth. Health Canada recently approved the product, which is a nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) oral pouch containing up to 4 mg of nicotine.

    Despite the criticism, Imperial Tobacco Canada has defended its product. ITCAN “believes that Zonnic, a nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) product authorized for sale by Health Canada, will help adult Canadian smokers quit,” the company wrote in a press release. “In addition to the youth access prevention measures ITCAN has already taken, ITCAN would support regulations that limit the sale [of the] NRT category to adults 18 years old and over.”

    “I want to be absolutely clear: Zonnic is not a tobacco product,” said Eric Gagno, vice president of legal and external affairs at ITCAN. “It is licensed, regulated and advertised in the same way as any other smoking cessation product on the market. There should be no reason why ITCAN is singled out for adding another innovative choice to the market to help adult smokers quit.”

    Zonnic is marketed as an NRT for adults, but it is available for sale at convenience stores and gas stations with no legal restrictions on who can purchase it, according to public health groups. The groups also stated that ITCAN’s social media posts feature young people and highlight Zonnic’s flavors, including Berry Frost and Tropic Breeze.

    “It really is incomprehensible that this could have happened, but it has,” Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society, told The Globe and Mail. “And now it has to be fixed.”

    ITCAN’s press release states that “Zonnic is not promoted any differently than any other competing smoking cessation product in Canada. ITCAN’s marketing guidelines require that all material be targeted at adults. Everyone appearing in Zonnic advertising is 25 years old and older. In addition, the company has gone above and beyond the regulatory requirements in the terms of its market authorization by instructing retailers to require proof of age to purchase Zonnic at convenience stores. Zonnic is also sold behind the counter, which means the retailer must hand the product to the consumer. Furthermore, Zonnic will be available in pharmacies before the end of the month.”

    The public health groups, including the Canadian Cancer Society, the Canadian Lung Association, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation, are calling on the Canadian government to make nicotine pouches prescription only or suspend the sale until changes can be made to prevent sales to minors. The groups are also calling for a moratorium on approval for any other nicotine pouches unless they are prescription only.

    “As for all of our products,” Gagnon said, “our position has been consistent and strong on this point. Nicotine products are for adult consumers only. We believe that if we truly want to reduce the health risks of tobacco products, we need to introduce products that will be appealing to adult smokers and have them available where people traditionally buy their cigarettes. Health groups should be on our side with this rather than putting up roadblocks.”

    “We are aligned to Health Canada’s goal of reducing smoking rates to below 5 percent by 2035,” Gagnon said. “But to get there, we need to change the conversation to bring about impactful outcomes. Governments, health groups and industry must work together in a meaningful manner to bring effective solutions to the market. Our door is always open to have those discussions.”