We wanted to ask Health Canada questions about pouches. So we did what we usually did, asked those questions! Take a read of the email we sent on Thursday, September 17, 2026

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Dear Health Canada,

Hi, it’s Maria Papaioannoy from Rights4Vapers (R4V). I hope whoever is reading this email is having a wonderful day. I am not sure who this email should be directed to, however I hope that it gets into the right mailbox. 

I am writing because we were both quoted in a recent National Post article, where we shared vastly different perspectives on the August 2024 Ministerial Order that placed restrictions on nicotine pouches in Canada, and the consequences of that reactive Order.

In the article, Health Canada spokesperson Karine LeBlanc stated:

“To date, there is no evidence that the 2024 place-of-sale restrictions have contributed to increased illicit market activity or diversion of authorized products. Current illicit sales appear to be driven primarily by unauthorized products approved as recreational items in other jurisdictions and by illegal cross-border importation.”

The term “No evidence” is doing a lot of work here. There is an important difference between having evidence that shows the Ministerial Order did not contribute to the illicit market and simply not having evidence one way or the other. If the research has not been conducted, then the absence of evidence should not be presented as evidence that the policy has had no impact.

Since the former Minister of Health enacted the Ministerial Order in August 2024, access to authorized nicotine pouches has been significantly restricted. Legal products were moved behind pharmacy counters and flavour options were limited. Even a few weeks after the Ministerial Order, I was able to buy hundreds of dollars of illegal nicotine pouches within 2 km of the former Minister of Health’s riding office.  

This summer, I decided to look for them across Canada. And I found a lot. I know that I don’t have the resources Health Canada has. I don’t have your staff, your budget, your inspectors or your ability to collect national data. What I do have is a gut feeling and enough heart and determination to go looking for answers when something doesn’t make sense.

And what I saw does not seem to match what the folks in your department are saying. So instead of making assumptions, I am sending this email to ask the questions because I want to understand why what I saw is not what your evidence says. 

1. How has Health Canada measured the size and growth of Canada’s illicit nicotine-pouch market since August 2024?

Is there a data set or a study that was conducted?

2. How many inspections, seizures and enforcement actions involving unauthorized nicotine pouches occurred before August 2024, and how many have occurred since?

Is there somewhere I can find these numbers? 

3. Has Health Canada measured whether the pharmacy-only restriction has actually reduced youth nicotine-pouch use?

If so, what data is being used? What was the baseline before the restrictions were introduced, and what measurable change has occurred since August 2024?

Protecting young people was one of the primary reasons given for taking such significant action. We should be able to measure whether it worked.

4. Has Health Canada assessed the impact of these restrictions on adult smokers and former smokers seeking access to lower-risk alternatives to cigarettes?

Have you looked at what the barriers are for adults trying to access pouches?

5. Has Health Canada studied whether restricting the legal market has affected consumer demand for unauthorized products?

Your statements talked about items coming across the border, however I followed up with the manufacturers. I was told  the products I purchased were not made in the U.S. They were most likely fake.  Literally everything we purchased during our trip from Canadian retail outlets was unauthorized for sale in Canada. We also found Canadian made and promoted brands!.

6. What would it take for Health Canada to reconsider the August 2024 Ministerial Order?

What outcomes or thresholds would trigger a repeal of the current place-of-sale restrictions? I mean there has to be a point where everyone must agree that this is not working. 

7. When will the Ministerial Order be formally reviewed?

This happens for most legislation, and I would assume there would be a review of this, as it was decided by only one person: the former Minister of Health. 

At the end of the day if Health Canada has measured illicit sales before and after the August 2024 restrictions and found no relationship between the Order and the illicit market, that is important information. 

There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that more research needs to be done. What concerns me is using an absence of evidence to defend a policy that in real life is not working. 

I have been reaching out to Health Canada for more than two years trying to have a meaningful conversation about the Safer Nicotine Act and about how we can actually move the ball forward.

We need to make it harder for youth to access, while making it easy for adults. We need enforcement so we can have a safe market.  And we are not getting this. 

Nicotine isn’t going away. Innovation isn’t going away. And Canadians are already using safer nicotine products to move away from smoking. What is the obstacle stopping Canada from building proper policy that helps everyone?

How do I live in a country where people are quitting smoking using safer products, but our federal public health authority seems so reluctant to fully acknowledge what that innovation could mean for people who still smoke? And, where deadly cigarettes are available in every corner store!

I don’t expect Health Canada to agree with me on everything. You don’t have to like my approach. You don’t have to like my advocacy. You don’t even have to like me.

But you do need to respect me as a Canadian. There is a difference. And part of that respect is answering reasonable questions about a federal policy that affects Canadians.

So I am asking for genuine responses to the questions above, showing me that what I saw was not real. That your data and your own investigations conducted are opposite to mine. I care about people who smoke, people who use nicotine. 

If the evidence exists, I want to read it and share it with others. You say that there is no problem, but I thought you might want to read this and look back at your data, as the illicit market is sending press releases about their products, with a cashback offer. 

https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/nicotine-pouches-canada-launches-pouch-224700848.html

Maria Papaioannoy
Rights 4 Vapers