The Alberta government is asking the federal government to use some “common sense,” demanding Ottawa scrap rules that force nicotine pouches behind pharmacy counters and let them be sold wherever cigarettes are found.
In a sharply worded letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney, Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally argue that a 2024 federal ministerial order that restricts the products to pharmacies has backfired, fueling an illegal market and making it harder for adults to quit smoking.
“It’s time to bring back common sense,” Nally posted on social media alongside the letter.
“Let’s cut the red tape and treat it the same as other products.”
The province’s push comes roughly 18 months after Ottawa required the pouches, a smokeless nicotine alternative, to be kept behind pharmacy counters.
The only pouches allowed to be sold in Canada and approved by Health Canada are Zonnic nicotine pouches.
Alberta argues the policy has created regulatory inconsistency and done little to curb use.
“If retailers can responsibly manage the sale of other nicotine products, why do nicotine pouches require a more restrictive sales model?” said the letter.
Smith echoed that on social media, questioning why it remains easier to buy cigarettes than a product designed to help people quit them.
Rather than shrinking demand for nicotine, the province argues the restrictions have simply shifted purchases to unregulated channels.
Unauthorized sellers online now offer the pouches with no age verification and no product oversight, the letter states.
That growth in the illicit market, Alberta warns, could actually increase youth exposure to nicotine by bypassing provincial controls.
“Restricting access to nicotine pouches creates barriers for adults who are actively trying to reduce or quit their nicotine consumption,” wrote Smith and Nally.
Alberta points to its own long-standing retail system for nonprescription nicotine products, which includes strict age checks, as proof that a less restrictive model can work.
The province wants nicotine pouches treated like any other tobacco product, arguing the current approach sends the wrong signal to smokers trying to quit.
The letter urges Carney to revisit the federal framework, reduce what Alberta calls unnecessary red tape, and steer sales back into regulated retail channels while maintaining a focus on public health.
The federal government has not yet responded to the request.