In a press conference, Mark Holland, the Health Minister, said that he planned to restrict flavours in nicotine pouches and vape to those that are essential and legitimately aimed at adults who smoke and want to quit. He would ban any flavours aimed at making these products attractive to non-smoking kids.

That would be a great idea if there were some flavours that only appealed to kids and others that only appealed to adults. Sadly, teenagers and adults like the very same flavours. They both like fruit, mint, dessert and sweet things. They do not like tobacco flavour and sour things.

This table lists eight flavours in alphabetical order. Which flavours are geared to attract people under eighteen to use Zonnic pouches, and which are legitimate flavours aimed at making nicotine replacement therapy appealing to adult smokers and used to make Nicorette gum?

Each flavour is used only once, either in a Zonnic pouch or in Nicorette gum.

FLAVOUR	Is it in a ZONNIC POUCH?	Or in NICORETTE GUM?
Berry Frost
Chill Mint
Cinnamon
Extreme Chill Mint
Fresh Fruit
Spearmint
Tropical Breeze
Ultra Fresh Mint

It is impossible to separate flavours into those that attract kids and those that adults enjoy. Our food tastes do not change as we go through puberty.

Zonnic nicotine pouches are available in only three flavours in Canada:

Chill mint

Berry Frost

Tropic Breeze

In Canada, Nicorette Nicotine Gum comes in five flavours, two more than Zonnic:

Spearmint

Extreme Chill Mint

Ultra Fresh Mint

Cinnamon

Fresh Fruit 

Banning flavours in vape and nicotine pouches makes it less likely that smokers will quit, increases their chances of dying, and only benefits the tobacco and funeral industries. It also encourages an entirely unregulated black market so that profits go to criminal gangs rather than taxation going to the government.

The best way to protect children is to impose an age limit on nicotine pouches, as already exists for vaping and tobacco, and then enforce that law rigorously. Everyone, including the tobacco industry and healthcare advocates, would support such a move.