If recent weeks have highlighted anything, it’s the vast chasm between Irish people and their government. While the latest touchpoint was action involving farmers and hauliers about the escalating costs of fuel prices, to many commentators, the fuel protests captured a broader public mix of dissatisfaction over a range of issues, such as EU directives, immigration policy, poor public funding for key services, healthcare inefficiency, infrastructure underinvestment and an overall feeling of getting a bad deal despite the country's relatively healthy GDP.
Considering the outright hostility that people such as the Health Care Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill have towards pouches, there is utility in a pulse check on what Irish citizens actually think about the harm-reduction product.
Thankfully, a new poll from Considerate Pouchers and RED C is here to provide much-needed clarity about where the Irish populace stands on nicotine pouches.
Let’s take a look at five of the most interesting points raised by the poll.
#1. Irish people want nicotine pouch regulation for youths
A whopping 85% of citizens support both regulation and an immediate ban on the sale of nicotine pouches to anyone under 18. This sentiment is entirely sensible and matches the thoughts of pouch manufacturers and advocacy groups, such as 20 Is Plenty in the UK.
Almost all policies require some sort of balancing act between various parties. If anything, this 85% figure could be higher, and I would not be surprised.
#2. Strength limits are important
Strength limits on pouches are a deceptively complex subject. Some EU countries have implemented limits, such as Luxembourg's 0.048 grams (48 mg) of nicotine per pouch. These arbitrary caps are essentially a way to render the product absolutely useless to anyone who wants to use them to quit smoking. In other words, they’re a de facto ban.
Again, 20 Is Plenty is guiding the way by recommending a far more sensible and scientifically rigorous 20mg limit. Per the survey, 75% of respondents think nicotine pouches should be subject to similar nicotine strength limits as other regulated products like vapes.
Organisations like Haypp have long pushed for a reasonable approach to pouch strength, stating in this article that:
“The cap of 20 mg of nicotine per pouch corresponds roughly to the nicotine dose delivered by a cigarette during the time it takes to smoke it.”
#3. Pouches help people quit
Cigarettes kill 6,000 Irish citizens each year. They also add to the burden of an already creaking health care system, and add an untold amount of suffering to the health of citizens and those around them.
The RED C survey shows that 60% of respondents believe nicotine pouches may help people quit smoking. Granted, nicotine pouches are a fairly novel product in the UK & Ireland, which means robust supporting studies are limited, for now. However, the success story of snus in Sweden cannot be ignored. The Nordic countries' 5% smoking prevalence rate is the envy of the entire EU, and Ireland's troubling 15% smoking rate.
#4. Flavours matter
Humans like flavours. That quirk of mankind does not suddenly change when it comes to nicotine pouches. 61% of people believe pouch flavours are an effective tool in diverting people from smoking, per the RED C poll.
While some rogue manufacturers and retailers might use packaging and flavours that attract a younger audience, legit operations use sober marketing and flavours that could never be confused with sweets or similar products, despite the persistent myths.
#5. Black market concerns
64% of people responded that adult-focused restrictions, such as flavour bans, will drive people to source products from the black market or online. This is a legitimate concern across a wide range of nicotine-containing products, like vapes and pouches.
If you ban something from a market, even under the guise of protecting youth, you risk both harming and alienating the people who make up the overwhelming demand for the product. The black market is savvy enough to spot opportunities to give people what they want, especially when the government won't.
While it might be unfashionable to think of the second and third-order consequences of public policy, people in the real world do it instinctively. We should all put more care and thought into regulations, especially when they affect the health of our adult population.
Final thoughts
The Tobacco-Free Ireland target was to reduce smoking to less than 5% by 2025. Today, it stands at 15%, which constitutes an effective failure. A large part of this mess is because of the near-constant stream of negative press, misleading statements by tobacco control and public health, and a government that just doesn’t seem to be able to get its head around the potential of safer nicotine products.
Rather than represent an existential threat to youths, nicotine pouches represent a vital tool in helping people both quit smoking or never start at all. On balance, the public can see the value of this harm reduction product: 60% of Irish adults see nicotine pouches as a legitimate way to quit smoking. When will the lawmakers catch up?
