Canadian Anti Tobacco Organizations Urge The Government To Restrict The Sale Of 'Zonnic' Nicotine Bags

The sales of "Zonnic" nicotine bags are booming in Canada, and anti tobacco advocates are calling for government restrictions to prevent underage smoking.

According to The Globeandmail on November 14th, Canadian anti smoking advocates have called on the federal government to restrict the sale of the recently approved flavored nicotine product "Zonnic" by the Department of Health. They have warned that this product is being marketed and sold directly to children and adolescents.
Last month, British American Tobacco subsidiary Imperial Tobacco Canada launched the nicotine bag product "Zonnic" in Canada, which contains four milligrams of nicotine and is designed to stick to users' lips.
However, anti tobacco advocates have called for the federal government to restrict or even suspend sales of the product in order to prevent minors from purchasing it, given its high sales popularity and low age users in multiple countries, including the United States.
Although nicotine bags are officially positioned as "adult tobacco substitutes" by Zonnic, the fact that they are publicly sold in convenience stores and gas stations raises concerns about their impact on minors.
Anti tobacco groups such as the Canadian Cancer Association and the Canadian Tobacco Free Physicians Association are calling for immediate government action to impose prescription restrictions on nicotine bags, and to suspend approval of other similar products unless they also implement prescription restrictions.
British American Tobacco has identified the product category of nicotine bags (referred to as "modern oral") as an important growth area. At a meeting in September, Kingsley Wheaton, Chief Strategy and Growth Officer of British American Tobacco, stated that the company was "very excited about the future development of modern spoken language".