CPhA welcomes health minister's commitment to maintain pharmacy oversight of nicotine pouches

September 28, 2026 (Ottawa): The Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) welcomes Health Minister Marjorie Michel’s clear commitment to maintaining the current safeguards for nicotine pouches, including the requirement that these products remain behind the pharmacy counter, where pharmacists and pharmacy teams can provide appropriate oversight and smoking-cessation support.

Authorized nicotine pouches are nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs) intended to help adults quit smoking. The current safeguards help reduce unintended use, particularly among youth and people who do not smoke, while ensuring that adults seeking smoking-cessation support can access these products with advice from a pharmacy professional.

“We are encouraged by the Minister’s commitment to maintaining the current safeguards,” said Dr. Sadaf Faisal, Chief Pharmacist Officer and Vice-President of Professional Affairs at CPhA. “Keeping nicotine pouches within pharmacies helps ensure that people can access them with professional advice and smoking-cessation support. Pharmacy teams can provide guidance on appropriate use, answer questions and connect people who want to quit smoking with evidence-based treatment and support.”

CPhA also shares concerns about unauthorized nicotine products being sold through illicit retail and online channels. Continued and coordinated compliance and enforcement efforts are needed to address the illicit market and protect Canadians, particularly young people.

Maintaining pharmacy oversight reinforces the intended role of authorized nicotine pouches as therapeutic smoking-cessation products and provides an important safeguard. Decisions about access to nicotine products must continue to be guided by evidence, public health and the need to prevent nicotine uptake among youth.

About the Canadian Pharmacists Association

The Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) is the uniting national voice of pharmacy and the pharmacist profession in Canada. As pharmacists undertake an enhanced role in the delivery of health care services, CPhA ensures that the profession is recognized as a national leader in health care, influencing the policies, programs, budgets and initiatives affecting the profession and the health of Canadians. 

For more information, please contact:

Tyler Gogo
Senior Manager, Communications
Canadian Pharmacists Association
tgogo@pharmacists.ca   
613-293-7223