Gofrixty [8 August 2025] – High strength nicotine pouches in the style of children’s sweets are being sold by retailers in the UK. Packaged to look like mock-ups of sweets from popular brands, for instance under the guise of “Millions”, the pouches are typically sold for about £7.50. Nicotine content is 17 mg per pouch, labelled to be “extra strong” Their candy-like packaging makes their products appear to be benign treats. The brand responsible for Millions sweets has denounced this use of their branding and began the necessary legal proceedings to end this illegal activity.
Trading standards in the UK have sounded alarm bells over the branding of such nicotine pouches, which come in bright colours and sweet fruity flavours that could appeal to underage users. These items are often positioned in conspicuous places as checkout counter, and thus easily available for purchasing. They are also calling on lawmakers to impose stricter rules around the marketing tactics that draw kids into nicotine use.
These young-patron-targeted nicotine pouches have also been associated with a disturbing increase in unintentional poisonings among little children. The pouches have largely been mistaken for candy which has resulted in an alarming increase of cases involving children under six ingesting nicotine poisoning. The pouches themselves have had toxic levels of nicotine, resulting in at least two hospitalizations. Campaigners have caution than these drinks in lurid colored cans and sweet flavors are among the worst kinds of product.
Also Read:
Watch Our Videos:
From January 2020 to November 2023, the number of nicotine pouch ingestions by children aged ≤5 years reported to U.S. famine control centers increased by 763% We have heard from experts who say that the colourful, candy-looking designs of the packaging are in part responsible for the uptick, and because they can be stored haphazardly around a home which is especially dangerous to young children. In the cases where a child consumed the nicotine, he was mostly always an unsupervised toddler.
A peculiar function of the nicotine pouches is use of artificial sweeteners [22], such as ace‑K and sucralose, which cover up the bitterness of nicotine and slightly increase its attractiveness. Evidence suggest sweetness increases consumption, especially among those sensitive to strong taste. These sweetened options in pouches can increase use, but the extra-strength formulations coupled with sweetness concerns us there could be inadvertent increases.
Why This Matters
Addiction risk of Nicotine: Nicotine is highly addictive, as all ages even children are at high-risk. If ingested, it is poisonous and even fatal.
Failure of regulation: Even though all current tobacco-control enforcement laws may be misapplied to nicotine pouches, they have enough loopholes to allow manufacturers to use candy-like packaging and flavors that would attract very young consumers.
Action needed now: The health officials are calling on limiting nicotine pouch flavors, packaging standards and increasing warnings to protect children.
