Nicotine pouch ban for under 18s fast-tracked by MHKs

A bill to ban the sale of nicotine pouches to under-18s on the Isle of Man has been unanimously approved by the House of Keys.

The legislation, brought forward by Cabinet Office minister David Ashford, aims to close a loophole that currently allows children to legally buy the products here.

In a rare move, the bill had its first, second, and third readings in the same House of Keys sitting on Tuesday, as well as its clauses stage.

Ashford described the bill as an "immediate response to an issue of significant public concern" that had been "developed at pace".

He said it was "important to act quickly" because nicotine and nicotine addiction was "harmful to children".

The bill will now be voted on in Legislative Council before being sent to Westminster to be granted Royal Assent - Ashford said the laws would come in immediately after this.

The bill was intended to be a "stop gap", he said, while more complex work on wider regulation continued.

Ashford said he wanted the Isle of Man to introduce restrictions similar to those in the UK "as soon as possible", but had deliberately kept the legislation "short and focused" to make it "as uncontroversial as possible".

During the debate, several members raised concerns about the marketing of nicotine pouches, which are placed in the mouth, often have colourful labelling and can be a range of flavours.

Ashford said he had been "shocked" by some of the advertising he had seen, describing some adverts as "clearly aimed at children", which he called "disgraceful".

Rushen MHK Michelle Haywood welcomed the bill, something she had campaigned for several years.

She said tobacco companies were looking for their "next generation of sales" through "manipulative practices", and that parents had raised concerns about nicotine pouches becoming more popular as restrictions on vaping had increased.

She said they were "sending an important signal" to tobacco companies that were "dragging" young people into addiction.

Several members suggested the legislation needed to go further.

Glenfaba and Peel MHK Kate Lord-Brennan said the pouches should be subject to the same display restrictions as vaping products in shops.

Meanwhile, Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper proposed amendments to protect shop workers from being held personally responsible for illegal sales, instead placing liability on business owners.

His amendment was unanimously supported.

During the bill's final reading, environment minister Clare Barber said the speed at which the legislation had progressed was "absolutely justified".

As the mother of a 14-year-old boy, she said many parents already assumed the protections were in place.

Ashford agreed that many parents were unaware it was not already illegal and said: "We really are closing a loophole here."

Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.