They worry the unusually high number of the items could show a frightening increase for the unregulated product.
Finn Macdiarmid reports.
Finn Macdiarmid reports.
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NewsTranscript
00:00As cigarettes become less and less popular with younger people, vapes and e-cigarettes have become
00:04the new norm. But now local authorities worry that a third type of nicotine product could be
00:08on the rise with dangerous implications. Nicotine pouches, also known as snus.
00:14How do you know what you're consuming is safe? Well, that's where the Kent County Council's
00:18trading standards and ports team come in. It's their job to stop any products that people want
00:23to sell in the UK if they think they're unsafe. And that includes 66,000 of these.
00:29Nicotine pouches. Now, these pouches were stopped because they have Spanish
00:32labelling on them, meaning the team just didn't know if they were safe or not.
00:36I visited Kent Trading Standards Warehouse at a secret location near Dover. They told me they
00:41couldn't discuss the exact nature of who had sent it or where it had come from because there was an
00:46ongoing inquiry. But they did say they worked with intelligence given to them by the border force
00:51and had fully detained the seven pallets in their storage. And unlike vapes, there's no law that
00:56regulates the amount of nicotine in the pouches or who can buy them. On a different shipment,
01:01the standards team found higher concentrations of nicotine in the pouches, which was concerning.
01:06This detained shipment of 66,000 is especially rare and especially large, and they say could
01:11show a shifting trend towards more people consuming them. To put it in context, so we've
01:17got a team who go out dealing with illegal vapes, and that team over the last 10 to 12 months have
01:23seized about 4,000. So for the ports team to take 66,000 out of circulation is really, really
01:29effective and it's really good. And we're slowly seeing these types of products, nicotine pouches,
01:36becoming, I suppose, more frequently seen on the high street. So it's a new product, but it's
01:42gathering momentum. There was also an issue with the packaging, which normally has braille,
01:46that gives safety warnings to those with visual impairments. And unlike vapes, there's no law
01:50that regulates the amount of nicotine in the pouches or who can buy them, meaning some are
01:55worried about the knock-on effect, especially if dangerous ones made it into the country.
01:59They contain a powdery material which is laced with nicotine, but also has flavourings,
02:06and those flavourings are basically very attractive, guess what, to young people.
02:11And the packaging of it is also made that it's actually attractive and looks really cool.
02:16And that actually tries to aim it and gear for younger audiences. And it's for profit. From
02:22their side, it is all about money. From the public health side, it's all about risk.
02:27As for the 66,000 vapes, they'll likely be destroyed. There is the possibility they could
02:31be reworked, but according to the trading standards team, the effort would be outweighed
02:35by the potential dangers for the public. Finn McDermid for KMTV.