Federal health minister rejects looser nicotine pouch rules despite Alberta's push
Premier Danielle Smith had written to Ottawa arguing current restrictions fuel a black market for nicotine pouches, but Health Minister Marjorie Michel says she won't ease the rules.
Why it matters
Alberta's premier had pushed Ottawa to loosen these rules, so the federal rejection directly affects the province's push on nicotine pouch policy.
Federal Health Minister Marjorie Michel said Tuesday she is not considering changes to regulations restricting the sale of nicotine pouches, despite lobbying from the tobacco industry and pressure from provincial and federal politicians. Health Canada currently regulates pouches as a smoking-cessation aid, restricting sales to adults, banning recreational marketing, and requiring pharmacies to keep them behind the counter. Only one product, Zonnic, made by Imperial Tobacco, has been approved for sale since 2024.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney last March, arguing the restrictions create barriers for adults trying to quit smoking and have driven growth of the illicit market. Convenience store lobbyists have also met with Carney's chief of staff, and Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives campaigned in 2025 on a pledge to "free the Zyn."
Michel acknowledged the illicit market, including pouches like Zyn entering Canada and reaching youth, is a problem, but said she cannot track every illegal package and favours a public health approach focused on education. Tobacco control groups, including Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, warned that loosening the rules would make pouches easier for young people to access and urged the government to resist industry lobbying while improving enforcement against illicit sales.
Compiled by the Alberta Daily Desk — an AI-written summary of reporting from the credited sources below, produced and reviewed under our editorial policy.