Extra-strong nicotine pouches packaged like children’s sweets

Extra-strong nicotine products designed to appeal to children – including some which have ripped off the logos of popular sweet brands – 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 the east end of Glasgow.

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.

Tests later showed a lower level of 17mg, which would still be defined as extra strong by most legitimate manufacturers.

Trading Standards said they were concerned about products with a “worrying child appeal” as well as flavours and “eye-catching packaging” that mimicked sweets.

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.

The pouches are small, pillow-like sachets that contain nicotine – a chemical found in tobacco which acts as a stimulant.

There are no restrictions on the strength of the nicotine in the pouches.

They are placed under the top lip, against the gum and deliver a nicotine hit which can be stronger than cigarettes or vapes.

Some people use them as a way to quit smoking, though they are not recommended by the NHS.

The pouches are significantly less harmful than cigarettes, and because chemicals do not enter the lungs, they may carry fewer risks than vapes.

However, they can cause a variety of side effects including nicotine addiction, oral health issues and gastrointestinal problems.

People may experience gum irritation and recession. The pouches can also lead to increased heart rate, blood pressure and increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Kate Pike, from the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards, said it was “outrageous” that products were mimicking popular sweet brands in a bid to target children.

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 £7.50.

The shop worker who sold the product told her: “They’re special.”

The product did not have all of the required hazard warnings, nor did it have traceable manufacturer details.

The design on the tub featured photos of the Millions sweets, made by Scottish confectionery manufacturer Golden Casket Ltd.

It told the BBC it had no connection to nicotine pouches and was “appalled” its branding was being used in this way.

Another brand called “Candys”, with pictures of gummy bears, was also for sale.

The makers of the Candys brand did not respond.

Ms Pike told the BBC: “Millions sweets are clearly a product for children and there is no reason to link them with nicotine pouches unless you want to attract children.

“If 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.

“Retailers should be more responsible for what they are offering in their communities.”

Prof Crawford Moodie, of the University of Stirling, has been researching the marketing of tobacco and nicotine products for years.

He said: “It makes you question what these companies are trying to do. I mean, clearly, they don’t have consent to do that.

“But 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.

“There’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.”

When contacted by the BBC, the retailer said it had now taken the Millions product off its shelves.

The Disclosure programme spoke to young people who said they had used pouches.

Alex started taking them two years ago when he was 15 in school and became addicted.

He said he had never tried smoking or vaping before.

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.

He said: “I think it was just something different.

“It went from one a day to three a day to – at my highest – I was using probably 15 a day.

“If 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.”

Nicotine pouches are currently unregulated and can be sold legally to under-18s.

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.

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.

“We are receiving widespread reports from across the UK that these nicotine pouches are being sold to children,” said Ms Pike, Trading Standards’ lead officer for tobacco and vaping.

“Parents are getting in touch assuming we can take action and are shocked when we tell them we can’t.

“At the moment it’s perfectly legal and there’s nothing we can do.”

The BBC contacted several of the biggest manufacturers of nicotine pouches and all of them supported forthcoming legislation.

British American Tobacco said its pouches “should never be used by those under-age”, manufacturer Phillip Morris said nicotine pouches had proved “hugely successful” for adults to quit cigarettes, and Japan Tobacco International said “minors should never use or access nicotine-containing products”.