2026-09-18 · National Post
🔮 The rise of nicotine pouches among young non-smokers has been swift, and the medical community and policy experts are concerned about the implications.
Public health experts attribute the growth of nicotine pouches to lifestyle marketing reminiscent of the tobacco advertising of the past — now banned in Canada — and social media, where influencers promote nicotine as a wellness hack.
“The advertisements seem to appeal to, or are designed to appeal to, younger folk, and I think sometimes they’re portrayed as being an alternative to smoking a cigarette, and they’re implying that it might be safer,” says Dr. Michael Mak, a staff psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. assertive