All we are asking for is fairness concerning the sale of nicotine pouches
As we celebrate Canada’s convenience industry and how we support communities coast to coast during National Convenience Week, it should be time for celebration. Yet in 2024, collectively we are angry.
Why?
It’s obvious that the federal government views our industry as nothing but a convenient scapegoat.
The recent landmark decision concerning the retailing of nicotine pouches demonstrates how the political discourse in the nation follows the easy route, where it’s much more convenient, not to mention expedient, to check a box and make key stakeholders happy rather than making good public policy decisions.
The regulations restricting the sale of nicotine pouches released by Federal Health Minister Mark Holland are at best confusing and ill-informed, but that’s giving he and his department too much credit.
While the federal rallying cry is all about protecting youth, the new regulations amazingly do not address age-gating these products. Rather, they focus on restricting the sale to pharmacies only, shutting the door in the face of Canada’s convenience retailers.
The furor over nicotine pouches has been going on for 10 months now. It started with the Minister publicly stating his anger at his own department on how these were funnelled through what he called a flawed approval process. It took two years, to be clear.
We heard from many advocates that retailing these products in our channel is a terrible idea, because a toddler can walk into a store, reach on the bottom shelf and then purchase an unlimited amount, no questions asked.
Give me a break.
READ: CICC comes out against proposed legislation to remove NRTs from c-stores
Yet, that’s the narrative promoted by the media despite it being the furthest thing from the truth.
CICC members took swift action last November when the outcry started, adopting responsible retailer guidelines for the sale of these products. We committed to ensuring:
1. Retailers should not sell nicotine pouches that are not approved by Health Canada
2. Nicotine pouches should be sold as an age-restricted product the equivalent to the provincial legal age for the sale of tobacco at the point of purchase
3. Retailers should always ask any person who looks to be under the age of 25 to provide valid, government issued photo-id to establish proof of age
4. Nicotine pouch products should be kept behind the counter
5. Retailers maintain reasonable efforts to avoid in-store advertising that may be seen to target youth
We worked with both the department and the Minister’s office encouraging them to look at the convenience industry as part of the solution, not the problem.
Unfortunately, despite some lip service, they ignored us.
It’s obvious they see us as a problem, despite our historical stellar track record selling age-restricted products. They are apathetic to the fact that in both good times and bad, we are there to support Canadians in communities, 24/7. They don’t care that we collect billions of dollars in tax revenue either.
No, to the federal government, we don’t matter and are a convenient scapegoat to check a box to score political points with key stakeholders who presumably are more important than our 193,000 workers who show up every day to help Canadians.
Ironically, as we celebrate the true nature of our industry and the real narrative on how vital we are to communities – MAKING COMMUNITIES STRONGER -- the message the federal government has sent to our industry is: “You can’t be trusted to do the right thing.” The irony is further compounded as our certified responsible retailers get ready to sell beverage alcohol in Ontario.
Regardless of the federal government’s erroneous perceptions, Canada’s convenience retailers will continue to serve our communities, because we truly believe that convenience and community are synonymous, and it’s our daily mission to MAKE COMMUNITIES STRONGER. Nothing can change that, and we will continue to stand up for our industry and our customers that we serve every day.
