TORONTO, Aug. 23, 2024 /CNW/ – On behalf of the millions of Canadians who have quit smoking and the tens of thousands of smokers currently trying to quit, Quit Club condemns the federal government for allowing the Minister of Health to put his personal agenda ahead of the health of Canadians.
The new counterproductive regulations announced yesterday by Mark Holland will restrict the access of nicotine pouches to pharmacies and reduce our choice of flavours that many of us have successfully used to quit smoking.
Restricting the sale of nicotine pouches to pharmacies will put up barriers for people trying to quit. Smokers make the switch to safer nicotine alternatives where we buy cigarettes.
Canadians trying to quit depend on flavours as a way to migrate to less harmful alternatives, like pouches. Research and our own experience show that without these options, smokers return to smoking.
Canadians who want to quit have long been waiting for innovative nicotine replacement products. The moment these products arrive, they get restricted.
Mark Holland leaves us no other option than going back to cigarettes and the illegal, unsafe black market of pouches.
Ironically, the Health Minister’s decision undermines public health.
If he cared about our health, he would have consulted the tens of thousands of consumers, including our members, who have successfully used nicotine pouches and other nicotine replacement therapies to quit smoking for good. Forcing smokers to go to a pharmacy to purchase pouches will make it more likely for people to simply buy cigarettes at convenience stores to manage their cravings.
This decision is extremely shortsighted.
As a country, we will never reach our goal of a less-than-five percent smoking rate by 2035 if the government regulates based on emotion over fact.
Is Prime Minister Trudeau’s call for evidence-based policy only relevant when the Liberal government feels like it?
We call on the Trudeau government to consult with us before unilaterally making regulations that make it harder for us to quit.
SOURCE Quit Club
