Alarm raised over rise in illegal nicotine pouches

Experts have raised warning over illegal high strength nicotine pouches saying they could cause inadvertent overdosing and harm to teenagers and young adults.

According to a recent BBC report, there has been an alarming rise in illegal nicotine pouches containing potentially dangerous levels of nicotine.

Trading Standards teams in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Dorset have made more than 1,500 seizures in the past year.

During the last 12 months, Oxfordshire Trading Standards has seized more than 900 packets of non-compliant nicotine pouches from retailers and launched several criminal investigations.

In Dorset, 844 seizures were made by officers and in Windsor and Maidenhead 21.

Since the products are fairly new there are no specific regulations covering advertising, strength or age restrictions.

Instead, they come under General Product Safety Regulations which means they need to be clearly labelled in English with safety guidelines.

"Nicotine is a poison, you need to know who to contact if something goes wrong, what to do if you swallow it, how many is safe to have over a period of time," BBC quoted Jody Kerman, head of Trading Standards at Oxfordshire County Council, as saying.

"If it's not in English, how are you supposed to know how to use it safely?"

Most pouches contain six to 20 milligrams (mg) of nicotine while some products contain 50mg.

Some illegal pouches claim to contain as much as 150mg of nicotine, although tests conducted on behalf of Trading Standards found actual levels varied greatly.

The government said new legislation would stop nicotine products being marketed to children and it was investing £30 million in enforcement.

Two of the largest companies, Japan Tobacco International and British American Tobacco that are behind brands such as Nordic Spirit and Velo, said their products were only meant for over-18s and they welcomed stronger regulations.

The Department of Health and Social Care said: "Snus is harmful and illegal to sell in the UK, which is why we are cracking down on illicit retailers by boosting funding for enforcement on the high street and at the border.

"Our Tobacco and Vapes Bill will put us on track for a smoke-free UK and stop vapes and nicotine products, including nicotine pouches, from being marketed to children."

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