Yesterday, I had the opportunity to sit down with Mike Smyth from CKNW AM-980 for an interview. I genuinely appreciate the platform and I appreciate Mike for the space he gives on this subject. He doesn’t judge and he comes with questions. We don’t really get that with nicotine.
In today’s media environment, conversations about nicotine, especially safer nicotine products, are often one-sided or framed in a way that shuts down nuance before it even begins. So having the chance to answer questions, to explain, and yes, to be challenged, matters. It’s how we learn as a public.
There was one question that came up, and it’s one I hear constantly:
“Aren’t you concerned about nicotine pouches being sold in retail stores?”
And every time, I find myself thinking “what exactly should we be afraid of?”
There’s a deep, almost instinctive fear around nicotine itself. Not smoking, just nicotine. The word alone seems to trigger alarm bells, despite the growing body of evidence distinguishing nicotine from the harms of combustion.
So when people hear “nicotine pouches in convenience stores,” the reaction is immediate: This will be dangerous! This will lead to youth access! This will to kids smoking!
Why is the fear focused on regulated retail, while the black market gets a free pass? Because right now, kids and adults are getting their hands on pouches, and none of them are the regulated Zonnic.
Convenience stores in Canada are NOT the Wild West. They are one of the most tightly regulated retail environments in the country. They sell everything, booze, food, lottery, cigarettes, but they are not responsible enough to sell safer nicotine products?
Retail in Canada operates under strict rules: they are required to verify age and check ID, they have consequences for non-compliance, including fines, license suspensions, or even closure. They are subjected to regular compliance checks, such as mystery shoppers, inspections, and provincial of federal oversight are standard. Every aspect of many the products they sell, from what can be sold to how they are packaged and displayed, is tightly controlled by federal and provincial regulations. Products are kept behind the counter, not available for self-serve, and most importantly, retailers have something on the line, their business, their license, and their reputation, which creates a strong system of accountability.
So when legal regulated access is restricted or removed, something else doesn’t just appear, it expands, and that’s the black market. There’s no age verification, no product standards, no ingredient transparency, no enforcement, and no accountability, yet somehow, this doesn’t trigger the same level of fear. We don’t see headlines asking, “Aren’t you concerned about unregulated nicotine products being sold through unregulated markets?” but we should be, because that’s where the real risk lives.
Somewhere down the line, people have been brainwashed that retailers are seeking a child’s allowance to make rent. This couldn’t be further than the truth, and shame on those of you that think this way.
The 2024, a federal decision moved nicotine pouches behind pharmacy counters products that were originally designed and approved to help people move away from smoking. Meanwhile, cigarettes remain widely available in convenience stores across the country.
The most harmful form of nicotine delivery is still easily accessible in regulated retail and no one is freaking out about that. BUT lower-risk alternatives are restricted, because NGO’s are telling you that these same people that won’t sell your kids, cigarettes, booze or lottery. But somehow NGO’s want us to believe they are willing to risk it all for a $10 tin of pouches. In what world does that make sense?
During my conversation with Mike, I wasn’t there to dismiss concerns. I understand them. Truly. People care about youth. About public health. About unintended consequences.
Good policy isn’t driven by fear, it’s driven by common sense. It’s about asking where the real risk is, what we’re actually trying to prevent, and whether our actions might make things worse. Because when we restrict access to regulated, lower-risk options, we don’t eliminate demand, we simply push it elsewhere. And that somewhere else is the illicit market.
This is exactly why we launched #UnlockThePouch a campaign built on a simple idea: adults deserve reasonable, regulated access to safer nicotine products, not through back channels, grey/black markets, or unnecessary barriers that make switching harder than smoking, but through the same regulated retail environments that already exist and work.
The campaign allows Canadians to send personalized letters directly to the Minister of Health, this isn’t a petition or a copy-and-paste form, but an opportunity for Canadians to share their opinion with the Minister of Health, in a easy simple way. We will mail those letters for you, because we believe your voice matters, especially when so many so called public health organizations work so hard to remove you from the conversation.
If yesterday’s interview showed anything, it’s that we’re still asking the wrong questions, focusing on whether regulated access is scary or might increase youth use, instead of asking why so little is being done about the black market, why we’re making it harder for Canadians to access tools that could help them quit smoking while leaving the most harmful products untouched, and why fear and bullying often lead by government funded NGOs like Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, is driving decisions that should be grounded in evidence, experience, and reality.
I appreciated the conversation, we have a lot more talking to do, and if you’re ready to be part of it, you know where to go: www.unlockthepouch.ca, because it’s time we stop asking the wrong questions and start demanding better answers.
Want to hear the full interview?