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Call for ban on sale of nicotine pouches to minors

Mid-to long-term corporate and market strategy.

Health advocates are urging the tightening of a loophole that permits the over-the-counter and internet sale of nicotine products to minors in the UK, highlighting that while the sale of cigarettes and e-cigarettes is forbidden to under-18s, pouches are not regulated in the same way.

Most stores sell nicotine pouches, which are little packages of nicotine that fit under the lip. However, while the sale of cigarettes and e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18 is prohibited, this is not the case for pouches, as reported by the BBC.


According to Action on Smoking and Health (Ash), the absence of rules is like the 'Wild West'. The regulations governing cigarettes, vaping products, and other medical items do not apply to nicotine pouches.

The pouches come in a variety of flavours with a packet of 20 usually costing £6.50. Leading brands have introduced their own restrictions on age of sale and warnings on packaging.

Calls for more regulations of nicotine pouches have been welcomed by one of the UK's largest nicotine pouch providers, Nordic Spirit, owned by the tobacco company Japan Tobacco International (JTI), BBC reported.

Better legislative regulation, according to Hazel Cheeseman of the anti-smoking organisation - Ash, is required to prohibit free samples and sales to minors, limit the potency, and restrict marketing of the pouches.

"Companies are operating to what the law allows," she added. "There is extensive promotion and no way to know if they're being sold to people under 18. We need a regulatory framework that captures all nicotine products."

New figures from ASH suggest that the number of people using the pouches in the UK is small. In its survey of 13,000 people, about one in 25 had tried nicotine pouches and awareness was highest among 18 to 24-year-olds, with 45 per cent having heard of them.

In a statement, the Department of Health and Social Care said: "We continue to review the impact of nicotine pouches, including by commissioning an expert committee to investigate their risks."

The Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COT) is due to publish a report later this autumn.

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Indies: It’s criminal police and government turn blind eye to shoplifting

Independent retailers are demanding tougher police action, more bobbies on the beat and harsher punishments as shoplifting levels reach an all-time high, a new survey reveals.

A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.

Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.

Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.

The results of the Fed’s survey came as new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that shoplifting was at a record high, with almost half a million offences recorded last year.

According to the ONS, 469,788 offences were logged by forces in the year to June 2024 – a 29 per cent increase on the previous 12 months.

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“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.

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