I'll start off with the health impacts of nicotine pouches, because that is the biggest concern here. Speaking from a cardiovascular perspective, nicotine by itself increases blood pressure, heart rate and cholesterol levels. These are important biomarkers that are concerning in the short term but over the long term can also create complications leading to increased risk of cardiovascular diseases down the line.
My colleagues have also noted the cognitive consequences of it, particularly on learning and attention. Especially when kids are in school, these are important functions for them.
By itself, using a nicotine pouch without graduating to other, higher-risk products like vaping and cigarettes would still be very harmful to young people's health, which is why these are very concerning products.
To answer your first question, we weren't much involved in the consultation process in deciding on the approval of these pouches, but hindsight is always 20/20. Now that we look back, we want to make sure that, going forward, kids are protected from nicotine pouches, because we've seen the grave concerns and the implications they have on children and youth.