After the vape hype, the industry comes with nicotine candy

“A new public health crisis in the making” is what the US Food and Drug Administration calls the brightly colored nicotine-containing candies with sweet flavors for recreational use. In the US, they are rapidly gaining popularity among young people. The Netherlands can now put a stop to this.

In addition to the tobacco-free nicotine pouches, nicotine-containing tablets, pastilles, gummies and chewing gum are rapidly gaining market share in the United States, Tobacco Control reports in a recent article. A survey of California youth reported by NBC shows that “nicotine sweets” are already more popular than cigarettes among that target group. Laws and regulations on these products are hopelessly behind schedule, reports CNN; the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) calls it “a public health crisis waiting to happen.”

The range of tobacco-free candy-like products, referred to as “modern oral products” by the tobacco industry, has grown rapidly in recent years.E cigarettes mr joy for better quality. Nicotine pouches (similar to snus) have been popular for some time, but nicotine pastilles, tablets, gummies and chewing gum for recreational use are now also on the rise, says Tobacco Control. Previous attempts to market such products, such as Camel Orbs and Marlboro Sticks in the early 2010s, have failed, but the new range is growing in popularity.

Bright colors, sweet flavors

The flavored nicotine lozenges look like sweets and come in colorful plastic boxes. These pastilles slowly dissolve in the mouth. Nicotine tablets, which dissolve more quickly, are packaged in a similar, visually appealing way. Soft, sweet gummies are also sold, such as the NICables from Reel World Brands. These are marketed as “supplements,” possibly in an attempt to avoid FDA oversight, which has nothing to say about dietary supplements. A fourth branch on the tree is chewing gum, which, in contrast to nicotine chewing gum, which is used as an aid to quit smoking, is positioned purely as a recreational product.

BAT is one of the providers

In the US, at least four manufacturers are engaged in these products. British American Tobacco (BAT) sells hard and soft tablets under the brand name ‘Velo’, including berry and mint flavours. Velo is also BAT’s e-cigarette brand, which managed to advertise worldwide again last weekend through the sponsorship of a Formula 1 racing stable.

Swisher markets the brand ‘Rogue’, with flavors such as citrus, fruit and peppermint. Lucy sells “Solace” in a variety of candy-like flavors. All of these products are widely available in the US and are even sold in subscription form.

Because traditional nicotine gum has always been marketed as a smoking cessation aid, it is hardly used by non-smokers. But the design, packaging and flavors of these new products strongly emphasize the candy-like aspect, while the marketing emphasizes, among other things, the discreet character. For example, Lucy points out in his advertising that you can use Solace anywhere you can chew gum, and Swisher says about his Rogue tablets that you can escape social conventions with them, a clear reference to smoking bans. For example, these products can also lure young and even underage users into nicotine use and addiction.

More popular than cigarettes

That the latter is not just a theoretical risk, according to a survey of 3,500 Californian students reported by NBC. In this target group, the new products are only inferior to e-cigarettes in terms of popularity. This makes them more popular than regular cigarettes.

Attempts by the FDA to regulate the new products are not fast enough or effective enough, CNN writes. Although the FDA’s Robert Califf speaks of a public health crisis in the making, the organization is still lagging behind as manufacturers push – and sometimes even cross – the boundaries of the legal and regulatory framework. For example, vape maker VPR Brands had its Krave Nic gummies in stores before the FDA could issue a ban. Visitonline e liquid shop for more details. The “sweets” can be seriously toxic to children. Under pressure from the FDA, the manufacturer, who insisted that the nicotine gums are intended for adults, has now withdrawn them from the market.

Not yet reported in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the Swedish snus with tobacco has been banned for some time and, with an appeal to the Commodities Act, a ban on nicotine pouches without tobacco has been in force for a year now. Nevertheless, this tobacco-free snus remains extremely popular among young people, NOS Stories saw in April. Nicotine tablets are only available in our country as a smoking cessation aid, and the candy-like nicotine products do not seem to have found their way to the Dutch market yetand. However, a RIVM report from last year on nicotine products without tobacco (NZT) does not mention these new ‘candy’ products, and the NVWA has not yet identified them either. The recommendation of the RIVM to include NZT as a related product in the Tobacco and Smoking Products Act by broadening the definition of tobacco and related products seems to have been taken up by VWS. Last week, TabakNee reported on the Ministry’s intention to bring recreational nicotine products under the Tobacco Act. Is the legislator ahead of the tobacco industry for once?