Brett Crundwell, owner of Triumph Vapes in Didcot, said he was put off nicotine pouches after he experienced a nasty reaction to one at a trade show: “After 20 seconds it was stinging so I moved it to another part of my lip.
“I turned to speak to one of my friends and my gums were bleeding.
“I had a sore on my gums where I first put it on and one of my friend’s daughters, who was on a stand with us, tried one and she said ‘I’ve just been to the toilet and I was physically sick after trying this pouch’.”
Some of the major tobacco companies are behind new nicotine products which are marketed at young people via free giveaways at music festivals and events.
Hazel Cheeseman, Chief Executive of Action on Smoking Health (ASH) said companies had been using aggressive marketing strategies to entice underage consumers ahead of the introduction of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, external expected later this year.
She said: “Many of the big brands are owned by tobacco companies and they’re very much using the playbook that they’ve used over the decades to promote cigarettes to young people and create themselves a new market of young people who perhaps don’t smoke but might use these nicotine pouches.”
Two of the largest companies, Japan Tobacco International and British American Tobacco that are behind brands such as Nordic Spirit and Velo, said their products were only meant for over-18s and they welcomed stronger regulations.
The Department of Health and Social Care said: “Snus is harmful and illegal to sell in the UK, which is why we are cracking down on illicit retailers by boosting funding for enforcement on the high street and at the border.
“Our Tobacco and Vapes Bill will put us on track for a smoke-free UK and stop vapes and nicotine products, including nicotine pouches, from being marketed to children.”