CSNA: Age restriction needed on nicotine pouches
CSNA urges retailers to require photo ID for nicotine pouch sales, despite no current Irish or EU ban
Print1 September 2025
The CSNA believe that adults that are 18 should require valid photo ID to purchase nicotine products regardless of their current legal status.
There is no specific ban on nicotine pouches in Ireland currently, as they are not covered by existing EU or domestic tobacco control legislation.
However, their sale is being discussed at an EU level, with a proposal from the European Commission expected following a 2023 public consultation on novel products, the CSNA claim.
Minister for Health
Ireland’s Minister for Health has noted that some Member States are classifying them as food or medicine and data is being collected on their use, particularly among young people.
Nicotine pouches are a relatively new product.
There is little evidence of their potential health harms.
They are not currently regulated under tobacco or related products legislation in Ireland or the EU.
The European Union is actively discussing how to regulate products like nicotine pouches, including their categorization and inclusion in the review of the EU Tobacco Products Directive.
Ireland is collecting data on the prevalence of nicotine pouch use, especially among adolescents, through initiatives like the European School Survey Project on alcohol and other drugs.
Both at domestic (Dail and Seanad Eireann) and at EU level, discussions are ongoing to determine the appropriate regulatory approach for these products.
The CSNA notes that both the Irish Cancer Society and the Royal College of Physicians Ireland have been vocal in its condemnation of several Music Festival promoters for allowing sponsorship of these events by companies such as Velo and Nordic Spirit.
ID essential
Adults that are 18 are entitled to make choices; retailers should ensure these products, regardless of their current legal status, are sold to those with valid photo ID which proves the holder to be at least 18 , or the same age your store has adopted as a Challenge Age.
The CSNA is providing an excerpt from a news item from the RTE site citing statements from Minister of Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill has said she would “absolutely” be in favour of banning nicotine pouches for under-18s.
The pouches, which are the size of a stick of chewing gum and contain nicotine powder of varying doses, are consumed by being placed between the lip and the gum, which releases the nicotine.
“I described those nicotine pouches back in July as particularly invidious because they represent that sort of sweet-type appearance, they can be hidden from parents,” she said.
The minister said there was a challenge to impose such measures within Irish legislation.
“Those companies take that extra step further, I don’t like that situation of there being a catch-up between the State and the product that we’re trying to regulate,” she said.
“I have yet to explore whether future-proofing is a measure that can be achieved in Irish legislation.
“But would I include them [in a ban]?
“The answer is absolutely, as soon as I possibly can,” she concluded.
Read more: Labour costs to increase in 2026, notes CSNA
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