As tobacco-free month approaches, the Minister of Health announces the ban on nicotine sachets, which are popular with young people.
- “Pouches” are nicotine sachets to be placed between the lip and the gum.
- The Minister of Health, Geneviève Darrieussecq, wants to ban them from sale “before the end of the year.”
- These products cause “sometimes severe acute nicotine syndromes”, which result in vomiting, convulsions, hypotension or impaired consciousness.
Recently appearing on the market, “pouches” are nicotine sachets made of permeable fabric, which do not contain tobacco but polymer fibers impregnated with nicotine, according to the Coves. As a reminder, nicotine is the molecule responsible for withdrawal and dependence syndromes. Just like snus, these small bags, sometimes flavored, are placed between the lip and the gum for diffusion of the substance through the buccogingival mucosa. In 2023, the health authority reports that “pouches” “are currently not covered by any specific regulations in France or Europe.”
Nicotine syndromes: more and more teenagers poisoned after consuming “pouches”
However, on October 29, the Minister of Health, Geneviève Darrieussecq, announced that these products will soon be banned. “The marketing of these nicotine sachets is directly targeted towards young people and I hope that we can protect our youth. (…) I am very concerned because poison control centers are receiving more and more calls from adolescents for acute nicotine syndromes, sometimes severe, linked to the consumption of pouches”, she explained in an interview with Parisian.
Last year, ANSES called for particular vigilance towards nicotine sachets. She reported that the majority of people intoxicated after their consumption were aged between 12 and 17 years old. “These adolescents presented acute nicotine syndromes, sometimes severe: prolonged vomiting with risk of dehydration, convulsions, disturbances of consciousness, hypotension requiring vascular filling”we can read in the press release.
Stop the marketing of nicotine sachets “before the end of the year”
The government member added that “These are dangerous products because they contain high doses of nicotine.” Indeed, regular consumption of nicotine contained in these products exposes you to the development of medium and long-term dependence. So, “it is our duty to prohibit its marketing”, declared Geneviève Darrieussecq. She sets this goal for herself “before the end of the year. (…) A ban text will be published in the coming weeks.”
