Apr 03, 2024
It has no problem with nicotine products from Big Pharma. But nicotine products from Big Tobacco transform it into a Raging Bull
The first thing to be said about Health Minister Mark Holland’s recent media outburst is that he has reason to be frustrated with British American Tobacco, parent of Imperial Tobacco Canada (BAT/ITC). After two years of negotiation and safety verification, Imperial obtained Health Canada approval to sell its Zonnic oral nicotine product as a smoking cessation aid but then proceeded to market it as a consumer product, using images of young adults, as the e-cigarette Juul did when it first came on the market. The promotion has put Big Tobacco back in the public eye and again painted it as untrustworthy, even though Zonnic is about the safest nicotine product that can be purchased anywhere and is as safe as the nicotine gums, patches and sprays marketed by Big Pharma.
But annoyance with Imperial’s promotion of Zonnic does not justify Minister Holland either losing it at his press conference or punishing Imperial via public policy. Deploying fabrications and claims unsupported by any evidence, he is trying to get the provinces to help him take on every segment of the nicotine industry. If he succeeds, he will ultimately hurt consumers and the perfectly legitimate production of what are, at bottom, low-risk nicotine products.
Read More: https://www.intelligencer.ca/opinion/nicotine-isnt-health-hazard-why-ottawa-against-vaping