Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Thank you to the witnesses for being here.
Your testimony is valuable and important.
As Mr. Thériault just said, we believe it is very clear that amendments must be made with respect to nicotine products. I think we all get that.
Thank you for expressing your point of view on that.
I want to start off by stepping back a little.
My question is for Ms. Butson, Ms. Patel and Dr. Moore Hepburn. This came from what Ms. Butson talked about. I was really surprised by the fact that nicotine products were approved under natural health products regulations. It was surprising to me that Health Canada would allow this product to be distributed.
My first question for the three of you is this: To what extent were you or your organizations consulted before Health Canada, under the natural health products regulations, approved these products? What was the timeline and to what extent were you consulted?
Second, in terms of nicotine products and nicotine replacement products and pouches, I want to completely understand your concerns in terms of health impacts. Obviously, it's a gateway product, but what are the health ramifications of the products themselves, the nicotine pouches? What are the consequences of consuming those products, even if the individual doesn't move on to smoking?
We'll start with Ms. Patel.