The pouches – which the World Health Organization warns are a growing “public health concern” – are being heavily publicised on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, with at least one post by an Australian-based fitness influencer garnering more than 2m views.
According to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) the products require a prescription to be legally supplied in Australia. One website that ships the pouches directly to consumers maintains they are legal in Australia.
The nicotine pouches are being sold on several websites in Australia with flavours similar to vapes, such as “bubblegum,” “lemon spritz” and “frozen cloudberry”. The products are manufactured by tobacco companies such as Philip Morris International’s Zyn brand and British American Tobacco’s Velo brand.
It comes ahead of a federal ban on non-prescription vapes, which the health minister, Mark Butler, promised would halt the tobacco industry’s attempt to create a “new generation of nicotine addicts”.
autotldr@lemmings.world [bot] 9 months ago
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Australian social media influencers are promoting highly controversial and likely harmful flavoured nicotine pouches in viral videos claiming they are an effective tool to quit vaping, as public health experts warn the increasingly popular products could become the next youth epidemic.
It comes ahead of a federal ban on non-prescription vapes, which the health minister, Mark Butler, promised would halt the tobacco industry’s attempt to create a “new generation of nicotine addicts”.
Videos from several young Australians proposing the pouches as an alternative to vaping have routinely garnered tens of thousands of views and hundreds of comments, with many asking where the products can be bought and one asking, “Are they all good to take to school?”
Snusitout’s website has been updated following Guardian Australia’s inquiries, removing the reference to “nicotine satisfaction” and now states “we’re committed to providing Australian smokers an aid in the cessation of smoking”.
A British Medical Journal study found half the nicotine pouches it tested contained tobacco-specific compounds that can damage DNA and in the longterm lead to cancer.
Prof Emily Banks, an epidemiologist with the Australian National University and leading tobacco control expert, said there were registered safe and effective products for helping people quit such as nicotine gum, patches and inhalers.
The original article contains 1,330 words, the summary contains 208 words. Saved 84%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!