Conservatives push back against Liberal nicotine pouch ban
A Conservative MP has slammed the Liberal government’s ban on commercial nicotine pouches, arguing that prohibiting smoking cessation alternatives makes no sense in the effort to reduce cigarette use.
A Conservative MP has slammed the Liberal government’s ban on commercial nicotine pouches, arguing that prohibiting smoking cessation alternatives makes no sense in the effort to reduce cigarette use.
Conservative MP Burton Bailey questioned the Liberals’ strategy to reduce the number of Canadian smokers to five per cent by 2035 by banning products used to quit. He asked why the government wouldn’t reverse its commercial ban on nicotine products.
“Data from 2022 to 2025 would suggest that the use of nicotine pouches as an alternative to smoking cigarettes had a marked decrease in cigarette sales from the point of Health Canada regulation of about four per cent. Why was the sale of pouches approved by Health Canada in the first place?” Bailey asked.
Deputy Health Canada minister Greg Orencsak told Bailey that Health Canada approved nicotine pouches as a “less harmful” alternative to smoking cigarettes.
The Liberals’ ban, implemented last year, prohibits the sale of nicotine pouches in convenience stores but still permits select brands to be sold by pharmacists, while several flavoured options have been outright banned.
Bailey asked Orencsak why the government doesn’t allow convenience stores to sell the product, making the less harmful smoking cessation product more available to Canadians with valid ID.
Orencsak noted the ban was to prevent children from accessing nicotine pouches and that Health Canada “will continue to review and consider” to “inform the government’s regulations.”
Bailey noted that cigarettes are still available with proper ID, but nicotine pouches, which Orencsak admitted were a healthier alternative and used to get off cigarettes, were less available.
Conservatives began campaigning against the ban at the end of the last federal election. In recent weeks, Conservatives renewed calls to have the limitations reversed, noting pharmacists have said they don’t want the responsibility and convenience stores already have strict age requirements when selling tobacco products.
During the last federal election, Anne Kothawala, the president and CEO of the Convenience Industry Council of Canada, called to end the ban aswell, saying prohibition just pushes people away from legitimate businesses and contributes to the contraband market, with which comes organized crime and a lack of health regulation.
Liberal MP Doug Eyolfson also questioned health officials, asking if smoking cessation tools such as nicotine pouches or vaping were more effective than other approaches, such as nicotine gum or patches, which the Liberal government still allows. Orencac said it is a “fairly recent product” on the market.
Kendal Weber, the assistant deputy minister for controlled substances, said “some people have indicated to us that they have stopped smoking using a vaping product” and that the government doesn’t “have evidence” that vaping is a gateway to smoking.
Several smoking cessation tools are on the market, and preferences for how an individual quits smoking vary. Some might prefer a patch or a pouch, while others choose something that more resembles the ritual of smoking a cigarette, such as a vape.