It may remind you of Swedish snus, but it’s not the same. “It really contains tobacco,” doctor Esther Croes of the Trimbos Institute explains the difference. “These are packets of nicotine: they have a powder in them that the nicotine has been sprayed over. It’s illegal if they contain more than 0.035 milligrams of nicotine.”
Deal on social media
Most of those bags and trays are therefore prohibited, according to Croes, but there is still trade. “School directors and mentors notice that it is used in different places in secondary school. People also saw that you can get it online everywhere,” said Croes. “There are stories that it is also going around in primary schools.”
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Team coach youth work Jerrol Lashley of the Network Hoorn Foundation notices this too. “We see illegal nicotine bags, which in slang are called snus, among young people and even primary school students. We see an increase in use: the age is falling and social media is being dealt with.”
Growing problem
According to Lashley, the type of dealing is prohibited. “You can’t get it in the store, it contains more nicotine than is allowed and that is why it goes through social media.” The youth worker thinks this is a worrying development: “We see it a lot in Hoorn. We are sounding the alarm and want parents and teachers to recognize it as a growing problem. We talk about it with young people, parents and teachers and want to clarify what the consequences are.”
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Heart palpitations and addiction
Those consequences are not wrong. “Patches, high blood pressure and your gastrointestinal system will work faster,” says Croes of the Trimbos Institute. But most of the concerns are about addiction. “We find any product containing nicotine unsuitable for children. It is a kind of stepping stone towards nicotine addiction and smoking. The younger you become addicted, the more serious the addiction can become and the more difficult it is to get rid of.”
Parents should therefore be alert, according to the doctor. “Information is not always desirable: it can also stimulate interest.”
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