As the latest reading of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill rolls through parliament, the Independent’s Charlotte Cripps takes a look at youth nicotine pouch use in an article titled, A generation of children is addicted to nicotine pouches – why didn’t anyone notice until now? As ever, it’s the data that is omitted that tells the real story.
The article
I don’t want to savage the article too much. It’s kind of a “hot take” op-ed piece rather than a nuanced, considered analysis on youth pouch use. Additionally, I quite like Cripps as a writer. However, there are several problems with this article that should be noted.
#1. A generation addicted
This piece of tobacco control rhetoric was commonly used when vapes were more popular with youth users. However, now it’s being laundered into articles about nicotine pouches. The article makes claims like “the fruity flavours that have lured a generation into believing they are as harmless as Haribo” and “nicotine pouches have doubled in four years”. However, it’s strange that they omit actual usage figures.
The thing is, data suggests that about 1.2% of 11 to 17-year-olds use pouches. A paper released this year, titled, Prevalence of Nicotine Pouch Use Among Youth and Adults in Great Britain, backs up this number and suggests only 3.3% of teens have ever used the product.
Including this data would totally undermine many of the article's anecdotal claims that suggest a huge number of teens use pouches. Sure, youth use might cluster around 16 to 17-year-olds, but then that doesn’t feel as shocking as claiming children are being addicted or tricked. You can’t have it both ways.
#2. ASH’s awareness stat
Recent data published by ASH focused on youth awareness of pouches, shrieking that a 7% increase in awareness was a sign of something terrible. But awareness (43%) hasn’t translated into use (1.2%).
It’s no wonder that many smoking harm reduction advocates eye ASH with suspicion. When you’ve got friends like that…
#3. Regulation
While it is important that regulations are tightened around pouches, the article paints a picture of a Wild West where 11-year-olds can access high-strength pouches by simply walking into mainstream supermarkets. The truth is far less terrifying. Responsible manufacturers and shops didn’t need laws to have pouch limits set at a responsible 20mg. Similarly, the likes of Sainsbury’s, Tesco, etc, weren’t selling pouches to under-18s.
Indeed, pouch advocacy groups are currently campaigning for 20mg limits under the 20 is Plenty campaign, which you can join here.
Indeed, a Haypp survey from earlier this year suggests that 56% of under-18s bought from corner shops, 31% from friends, 17% from supermarkets, and 21% online. Implementing a fine for underage sales could have some impact. However, it won’t make pouches unavailable to youths because they use multiple channels to access pouches.
#4. As harmless as Haribo
There is a really strange thing that happens with articles, vapes, and pouches. Writers chide the fidelity of marketing copy by making up that copy. No vape or nicotine pouch product has ever been advertised as being as harmless as sweets. Some have advertised the products as safer than cigarettes, which they are.
#5. Nicotine has “significant health concerns”
Does nicotine, detached from combustible cigarettes, have great health concerns? Vapes, pouches, and snus have zero deaths attached to them. In fact, people are so desperate to attach harm to nicotine that they’re all the way down to claims of raised heart rate or blood pressure, something that also happens during exercise.
#6. Bioavailability
Finally, the author hasn’t done enough research on how much nicotine is absorbed via pouches. Just as the bioavailability of cigarettes is a percentage of the contained amount of nicotine, no pouch actually delivers the 4mg to 20mg that the author fantasises about.
Final thoughts
Ancedotes are not data. When you compare the scaremongering in this article to actual youth usage rates, it’s clear that reality is being concealed. But why, and to whose benefit?
