On Thursday, Alberta's Health Minister, Adriana LaGrange, said the government is not looking to change regulations on Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRTs) products that are enforced by the federal government. "The reason the changes were made was to align with policies and direction that we were given from the federal government in terms of restricting access to youth for those products," stated Minister LaGrange"We're always relooking at those policies and decisions, but at this time, there was no intent to change that."The feds had previously announced Canada's Tobacco Strategy in 2018, which was set to achieve "the target of less than 5% tobacco use by 2035."They had stated they would spend $66 million to "help Canadians who smoke to quit or reduce the harms of their addiction to nicotine, and protect youth and people who do not use tobacco from the dangers of tobacco use and nicotine addiction.".In a federal survey published in 2024, 12% of Canadians 15 years and older were reported smoking cigarettes in 2022.However, products that are meant to help curb smoking habits, like (NRTs), are currently federally regulated under the Natural Health Products Regulations (NHPR)."To reduce the potential for nicotine exposure, dependence and other health harms for this population, the Order was published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, on August 28, 2024," they stated. "To achieve these aims, the Order sets restrictions on the advertising of NRTs in addition to other measures such as those for labelling and packaging."For example, ZONNIC is an NRT that is now restricted to pharmacies, as it is "no longer be available at other retail locations, such as gas stations or convenience stores.""ZONNIC will only be available for purchase in select pharmacies."
