{"id":13640,"date":"2025-09-26T09:12:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T08:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/?p=13640"},"modified":"2025-09-26T12:27:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T11:27:54","slug":"urgent-need-for-regulation-of-nicotine-pouches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/ga\/urgent-need-for-regulation-of-nicotine-pouches\/","title":{"rendered":"Urgent need for regulation of nicotine pouches"},"content":{"rendered":"

The government must urgently regulate the sale and marketing of nicotine pouches, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore.<\/p>\n

Deputy Whitmore said:<\/p>\n

\u201cNicotine pouches are increasingly being used by teenagers across the country – they\u2019re cheap, flavoured, and aggressively marketed to children.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe product is widely available in corner shops with no age restrictions, packaging rules, or oversight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese products deliver a strong hit of nicotine and are being promoted directly to young people – schools are reporting serious issues with addiction and disruption, and despite repeated calls from the principals\u2019 association, the HSE has yet to provide any guidance.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs regulations tighten on vapes, the tobacco industry is shifting its focus to nicotine pouches, exploiting the lack of legislation to target a new generation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been raising this issue for nearly two years – we cannot afford to wait for Europe or for the problem to escalate further.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government must act now to ban sales to under-18s, restrict marketing, and stop companies from giving these products away for free.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Minister for Health and the HSE need to take immediate action to regulate nicotine pouches and support schools in tackling this growing issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

September 26th, 2025<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The government must urgently regulate the sale and marketing of nicotine pouches, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. Deputy Whitmore said: \u201cNicotine pouches are increasingly being used by teenagers across the country – they\u2019re cheap, flavoured, and aggressively marketed to children. \u201cThe product is widely available in corner shops with no age restrictions, packaging […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,268,7,648],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-jennifer-whitmore","category-press-release","category-youth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUrgent need for regulation of nicotine pouches - Social Democrats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.socialdemocrats.ie\/urgent-need-for-regulation-of-nicotine-pouches\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ga_IE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Urgent need for regulation of nicotine pouches - Social Democrats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The government must urgently regulate the sale and marketing of nicotine pouches, according to Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore. 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