Extra-strong nicotine products designed to appeal to children \u2013 including some which have ripped off the logos of popular sweet brands \u2013 are being openly sold in shops, BBC Scotland has found.<\/p>\n
A Disclosure reporter, filming undercover, bought nicotine pouches which mimic the name and branding of the well-known ‘Millions’ sweets in a shop in the east end of Glasgow.<\/p>\n
The shop worker who sold the pouches claimed they contained 100mg of nicotine, which would make them about 10 times the strength of a cigarette.<\/p>\n
Tests later showed a lower level of 17mg, which would still be defined as extra strong by most legitimate manufacturers.<\/p>\n
Trading Standards said they were concerned about products with a \u00ab\u00a0worrying child appeal\u00a0\u00bb as well as flavours and \u00ab\u00a0eye-catching packaging\u00a0\u00bb that mimicked sweets.<\/p>\n
However, there is no law restricting the age of sale for nicotine pouches, so any child can legally enter a shop and buy the addictive products.<\/p>\n
The pouches are small, pillow-like sachets that contain nicotine – a chemical found in tobacco which acts as a stimulant.<\/p>\n
There are no restrictions on the strength of the nicotine in the pouches.<\/p>\n
They are placed under the top lip, against the gum and deliver a nicotine hit which can be stronger than cigarettes or vapes.<\/p>\n
The pouches are significantly less harmful than cigarettes, and because chemicals do not enter the lungs, they may carry fewer risks than vapes.<\/p>\n
Some people use them as a way to quit smoking, though they are not recommended by the NHS.<\/p>\n
Kate Pike, from the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards, said it was \u00ab\u00a0outrageous\u00a0\u00bb that products were mimicking popular sweet brands in a bid to target children.<\/p>\n
For the BBC Disclosure documentary Nicotine Pouches: What’s the Problem?, a reporter was secretly filmed buying a tub of orange-flavoured Millions pouches for \u00a37.50.<\/p>\n
The shop worker who sold the product told her: \u00ab\u00a0They’re special.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The product did not have all of the required hazard warnings, nor did it have traceable manufacturer details.<\/p>\n
The design on the tub featured photos of the Millions sweets, made by Scottish confectionery manufacturer Golden Casket Ltd.<\/p>\n
They told the BBC they had no connection to nicotine pouches and were \u00ab\u00a0appalled\u00a0\u00bb their branding was being used in this way.<\/p>\n
Another brand called ‘Candys’, with pictures of Gummy Bears, was also for sale.<\/p>\n
The makers of the Candys brand did not respond.<\/p>\n
Ms Pike told the BBC: \u00ab\u00a0Millions sweets are clearly a product for children and there is no reason to link them with nicotine pouches unless you want to attract children.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0If this was alcohol, there would be an outcry. A child coming across that would think it’s for them and nicotine is a highly addictive substance.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Retailers should be more responsible for what they are offering in their communities.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Prof Crawford Moodie, of the University of Stirling, has been researching the marketing of tobacco and nicotine products for years.<\/p>\n
He said: \u00ab\u00a0It makes you question what these companies are trying to do. I mean, clearly, they don’t have consent to do that.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0But the fact that companies are putting these on the market and retailers are quite happy to sell them shows that we are not in a good place with respect to controlling the nicotine pouch market and protecting young people in particular.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0There’s very little in the packaging to tell you that they’re not sweets and the potential for abuse and detrimental effects for young people are clearly there.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
When contacted by the BBC, the retailer said it had now taken the Millions product off its shelves.<\/p>\n
The Disclosure programme spoke to young people who said they had used pouches.<\/p>\n
Alex started taking them two years ago when he was 15 in school and became addicted.<\/p>\n
He said he had never tried smoking or vaping before.<\/p>\n
It was the packaging, how the different flavours were advertised and seeing his friends take the pouches, that made him want to try them himself.<\/p>\n
He said: \u00ab\u00a0I think it was just something different.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It went from one a day to three a day to – at my highest – I was using probably 15 a day.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0If I didn’t take them, I’d just get withdrawals and just feel demotivated and like I didn’t want to do anything until I took another one.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Nicotine pouches are currently unregulated and can be sold legally to under-18s.<\/p>\n
The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is going through the House of Lords but there are calls for government to speed up the legislation to shut down loopholes.<\/p>\n
The bill will ban the sale of nicotine pouches to under-18s and will restrict things like where they can be positioned in shops as well as limiting flavours, strengths, packaging and how they are advertised.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We are receiving widespread reports from across the UK that these nicotine pouches are being sold to children,\u00a0\u00bb said Ms Pike, Trading Standards’ lead officer for tobacco and vaping.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Parents are getting in touch assuming we can take action and are shocked when we tell them we can’t.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0At the moment it’s perfectly legal and there’s nothing we can do.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
The BBC contacted several of the biggest manufacturers of nicotine pouches and all of them supported forthcoming legislation.<\/p>\n
British American Tobacco said its pouches \u00ab\u00a0should never be used by those under-age\u00a0\u00bb, manufacturer Phillip Morris said nicotine pouches had proved \u00ab\u00a0hugely successful\u00a0\u00bb for adults to quit cigarettes, and Japan Tobacco International said \u00ab\u00a0minors should never use or access nicotine-containing products\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Extra-strong nicotine products designed to appeal to children \u2013 including some which have ripped off the logos of popular sweet brands \u2013 are being openly sold in shops, BBC Scotland has found. A Disclosure reporter, filming undercover, bought nicotine pouches which mimic the name and branding of the well-known ‘Millions’ sweets in a shop in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9052","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9052\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}